The diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease can be overwhelming and scary for both the patient and the family.
It is important that from the time of diagnosis you surround yourself with a team of caring providers that have experience in handling the physical, mental and emotional aspects of the disease. Although progressive, Parkinson’s can be managed medically to allow patients to achieve the best quality of life. Part of this care should include specialized, disease specific physical therapy to target the functional deficits that start to develop over the course of the disease.
The hallmark signs of Parkinson’s include resting tremors, bradykinesia (slow movement) , rigidity of the limbs and “freezing” of movement. These symptoms occur due to lack of neurotransmitter production in the brain which is responsible for normal motor function. Physical therapy treatments should be centered around improving fluidity of movement, improving balance to prevent falls and compensating with specific techniques to overcome the abnormal motor function.
We have providers who are Certified in the LSVT-BIG (Parkinson’s Disease Specific Care) Technique and have been trained in these specific techniques to improve a patients functional movement and therefore quality of life. It is vital that you advocate for yourself/family members from the time of diagnosis and throughout the progression of the disease.