Parkinson’s Disease Rehab

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurologic disorder. It affects motor planning and cognitive regions in the brain. Individuals with Parkinson’s disease may experience difficulty with:

• walking, turning, rolling, and getting out of a chair
• everyday tasks such as dressing, eating, and writing
• projecting their voice, being heard, swallowing, and thinking

Research shows that targeted exercise combined with medication slows the motor deterioration associated with Parkinson’s disease.

Our credentialed, experienced staff provides specialized physical, occupational, and speech therapies tailored to each individual’s needs and goals. These therapies are available in all of our practice settings, including home health, skilled nursing, inpatient and outpatient rehab, ensuring continuity of care throughout the rehabilitation process. Therapy should begin at time of diagnosis and occur in regular bouts throughout life to ensure patients experience optimal function and quality of life.

LSVT Big & Loud Treatment Providers

Parkinson’s is defined as a progressive disease. Although each person with the disease will experience different symptoms, one of the defining features is decreased movement and body control. Parkinson’s affects a person’s mobility and ability to communicate in many different ways, but all people diagnosed with this disease suffer from some sort of movement disorder whether it be tremors, slow movement, rigidity, or instability when standing.

Due to the overwhelming community response to the initiation of a Parkinson’s Program, Allied Services has actively pursued certification of our therapists in a research-based Parkinson’s treatment technique, LSVT BIG and LOUD. Along with traditional therapy interventions, our comprehensive treatment for patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) will incorporate LSVT BIG and LOUD techniques. Our therapists are also trained in Parkinson Wellness Recovery (PWR!).

About LSVT BIG and LOUD

The LSVT BIG and LOUD is a highly specialized exercise program designed specifically for patients with Parkinson’s Disease and other movement disorders. The program teaches patients to move BIG and speak LOUD based on the principles of amplitude, sensory calibration, and self-awareness of motor patterns (movement) without cognitive overload. Success of the program translates into new motor plans that carry over into everyday activities, thus positively impacting quality of life.

LSVT® BIG is a four-time weekly, month long, intense protocol that targets the slow, small movements common in Parkinson’s disease. Our LSVT® BIG certified physical and occupational therapists guide participants through seated, standing, and walking activities using large amplitude (BIG) movements with a high effort, teaching them to recalibrate the size of their movements and carry them into successful performance of everyday activities.

LSVT® LOUD is a four-time weekly, month long, intense protocol that targets a reduced vocal loudness common in Parkinson’s disease. Our LSVT® LOUD certified speech-language pathologists guide participants through repetitive verbal exercises using increased vocal intensity (LOUD) teaching them to recalibrate the loudness of their voice and carryover into everyday conversational speech.

About Parkinson Wellness Recovery (PWR!)

Parkinson's Wellness Recovery^{® -} PWR!^{® -} is an individualized, functional skill retraining program that targets four motor control skills shown to deteriorate and adversely affect everyday movement for people with Parkinson’s.

These 4 skills called PWR!Moves® can be practiced in isolation in multiple positions or built into tasks designed to improve a participant’s particular deficits in walking, balance, agility, endurance, dexterity, posture, and everyday activities. Our PWR!Moves® certified physical and occupational therapists apply Parkinson-specific teaching strategies to target multiple motor and cognitive symptoms, adapting for disease severity. Learn more here.

About SPEAK OUT!

SPEAK OUT!® is a an intensive, functional program that incorporates speech and cognitive activities targeting improved vocal loudness by speaking with intent along with promoting communicative effectiveness. Each participant will receive a workbook including 25 lessons in order to continue practice at home during and after completion of the SPEAK OUT® program.

Cognitive-Communication Therapy helps to improve difficulty with memory, thinking, or attention. One might find it more difficult to focus during a conversation or have increased difficulty multi-tasking. An individual might have difficulty remembering or report ‘slowness’ in their memory or thinking. A speech-language pathologist can help an individual through education and incorporation of memory strategies into daily life.

Dysphagia Therapy helps to improve difficulty swallowing including coughing or throat clearing while eating or drinking, pain when swallowing, difficulty swallowing food or drinks, complaints of food getting ‘stuck’, or weight loss. Treatment may include different strategies, positioning changes, exercises, diet modifications, or diet changes. Video swallow studies are available at our Wilkes-Barre and Scranton locations and assist in guiding dysphagia treatment.

Learn more about Parkinson Wellness Recovery (PWR!) or call 570-826-3900

Types of Patients

Although higher functioning patients tend to maximize the benefits, LSVT BIG and LOUD programs are designed for all patients with PD in all stages of the disease process. The focuses of BIG movement and LOUD voice can be adjusted to meet the needs of the patient cognitive deficits. As with all therapeutic interventions, severe cognitive and physical deficits will impact outcomes.

LSVT BIG and LOUD protocol is intense and requires the ability to participate 4 times a week for 4 weeks. Any patient can be referred to outpatient therapy for a comprehensive evaluation for physical, occupational, and speech therapy.

Following Discharge

Following discharge from an inpatient stay, the patient will continue with the LSVT BIG and LOUD program at one of our outpatient clinics. Patients are encouraged to join our established Parkinson’s-specific exercise class run by an exercise physiologist. We also recommend a 3-6 month follow-up appointment to maintain progress.

Specialized Parkinson’s Therapy techniques are offered at the following locations:

• Carbondale Rehab Center570-282-3344
• Dunmore Rehab Center570-207-8700
• Kingston Rehab Center 570-283-9211
• Moscow Rehab Center 570-842-3400
• Scranton Luger Rehab Center 570-348-1360
• Taylor Rehab Center 570-562-3971
• Wilkes-Barre Rehab Center 570-830-3900

Referrals & Insurance

Because Parkinson’s is a progressive disease, these patients should be evaluated and treated at the time of diagnosis, but can still benefit from therapy at any stage of the disease process. However, the sooner a referral is made the better.

Insurance coverage for this program is provided by most health insurance policies.

For specific questions on how to obtain a referral, please call 570-826-3900 (Wilkes-Barre) or 570-348-1360 (Scranton). Contact us to learn more or start your referral process today.