Parkinson’s disease is a disease that affects the central nervous system. When this becomes affected, signs and symptoms begin to occur such as freezing, tremors, shuffling in steps, and overall decreased size in movements and muscle tone. Advanced Physical Therapy offers a specifically designed and extended researched program to assess one’s Parkinson’s Disease called LSVT BIG.
LSVT BIG is an exercise program directed towards Parkinson’s disease. It is geared toward increasing amplitude, or effort, to help re-calibrate the sensorimotor system to create more “normal” movements. The patient and caretaker must be on board with this program from the beginning because it is an intense 4 weeks of therapy, 4 days a week, for 1-hour treatment sessions. There are 7 exercises that are performed with the Physical Therapist or Physical Therapy Assistant, 5 functional activities that the patient has most difficult time with at home or in public, and a hierarchy task such as going out and socializing again. It is expected of the patient to perform these exercises twice a day total as well as a daily carryover exercise chosen by the therapist and patient.
LSVT BIG is an extensively researched program of 25 years that is funded by the National Institutes of Health that originally was based off LSVT LOUD for speech therapy. They documented findings within Parkinson’s Disease patient’s that demonstrated improvement with motor functioning tests such as range of motion, balance, bed mobility, increased gait speed and distance, and functional activities.
Because Parkinson’s Disease affects the central nervous system, it fools them into thinking they are using the “normal” amount of effort they are used to using to perform a simple task, but to a person unaffected, it looks like they are having great difficulty or may need multiple attempts to become successful. The affected one may not even realize they are struggling with a simple task and might be discovered during one of the therapy treatments. LSVT BIG is directed towards reeducating the affected one to use BIGGER movements with activities in their everyday life. To a person diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the movements will feel too big but eventually, as they are educated in therapy 4 days a week and practice twice a day at home, it will begin to look and feel more normal to them and the people around them.
If you or anyone you know who is diagnosed with any stage of Parkinson’s disease and are seeking help to slow down the disease process and improve quality of life, please reach out to one of our Advanced Physical Therapy clinics for recommendations of the closest location that has a certified LSVT BIG therapist. A certified LSVT BIG therapist can evaluate you to determine if you, or someone you know, is a good candidate for this program.
Research and Facts in this article were gathered through LSVTglobal.com
Content provided by Bethany Balzer, PTA
