LSVT BIG is an intense, effective, and individualized program designed to help patients with Parkinson’s Disease and other neurological disorders address walking, balancing, and other activities of daily living.
Our LSVT BIG certified therapists will perform a comprehensive evaluation and determine the best course of treatment to improve your specific functional deficits. The program is backed by extensive research and is usually covered by her health insurance.
LSVT BIG treatment in Aiea, HI is delivered one-on-one and is tailored to each person’s own abilities and goals so that they work towards what’s meaningful to them.
The treatment has to be administered by an LSVT BIG Certified Clinician as part of prescribed physical or occupational therapy.
Its holistic approach addresses not only movement issues but also takes into account non-motor symptoms including emotional changes and cognitive changes.
It helps people “recalibrate” to recognize when their movements are smaller or slower than they think.
Its sessions are based on the most effective, evidence-based strategies for learning and neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to change).
The program helps people apply what they learn in treatment sessions to more comfortable, confident movements in everyday life even after they are finished with their sessions with us.
LSVT BIG trains people with Parkinson disease (PD) to use their body more normally.
People living with PD or other neurological conditions often move differently, with gestures and actions that become smaller and slower. They may have trouble with getting around, getting dressed and with other activities of daily living. LSVT BIG effectively trains improved movements for any activity, whether “small motor” tasks like buttoning a shirt or “large motor” tasks like getting up from a sofa or chair or maintaining balance while walking. The treatment improves walking, self-care and other tasks by helping people “recalibrate” how they perceive their movements with what others actually see.
Because LSVT BIG treatment is customized to each person’s specific needs and goals, it can help regardless of the stage or severity of your condition.
That said, the treatment may be most effective in early or middle stages of your condition, when you can both improve function and potentially slow further symptom progression. Beginning your work with LSVT BIG before you’ve noticed significant problems with balance, mobility or posture will often lead to the best results, but it’s never too late to start. LSVT BIG can produce significant improvements even for people facing considerable physical difficulties.
Outcomes backed by research.
LSVT treatments are unique because the principles of LSVT are supported by research and the LSVT protocols have been scientifically studied over the past 25 years.
This research began in 1987 when Dr. Lorraine Ramig met Mrs. Lee Silverman (pictured right) and her family. “If only we could hear and understand her” was the expressed wish of Mrs. Silverman’s husband and her adult children. This motivated Dr. Ramig’s life-long work to develop an effective speech treatment for people with PD, scientifically document its effectiveness, and implement the treatment into real-word clinical practice. This speech treatment protocol, Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT LOUD), was later expanded to a physical or occupational therapy program called LSVT BIG.
The research on LSVT BIG is newer and less extensive than that on LSVT LOUD, but published results of a randomized, controlled trial (Ebersbach et al., 2010) document that LSVT BIG resulted in improvements in the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (the “gold-standard” scale which doctors use to measure the progression of PD) as well as other tests of motor functioning in people with PD. In contrast, other treatments examined in the study (Nordic walking and home exercises) did not.
Because of this research and the standardization of the treatments, positive outcomes of LSVT have been replicated around the globe when the therapy is delivered the same way as in the research studies. This reliable consistency provides people with Parkinson’s increased confidence that they may achieve the outcomes they want and expect!
What LSVT BIG Improves
With exercises involving the whole-body — personalized for each person but all built around “Think BIG!” as a guiding principle — LSVT BIG reteaches you how normal movement should feel. Often these movements seem strange at first — too big, even though they’re comparable to those of people all around you. Over time, you learn to recognize these larger movements as normal.
Specifically, research shows that LSVT BIG treatment can lead to faster walking with bigger steps and arm swings, better balance and more ability to twist at the waist. Clinicians also report that LSVT BIG often helps people with buttoning their clothes, writing and other smaller-movement (“small motor”) tasks, as well large (“large motor”) movements like dressing, getting up from a seat and getting into bed.
Because PD makes it harder to remember to use these bigger movements consistently, treatment includes a lot of repetition and progressive challenges, as well as daily home practice and assignments for using bigger movements in everyday life.
Ultimately, LSVT BIG helps improve the mismatch between what you feel you’re doing and what you’re actually doing, making you more confident, comfortable and empowered. With one month of hard work, LSVT BIG can open doors to a more active and independent life.
After LSVT BIG Treatment
The standard LSVT BIG treatment spans a minimum of one month, including daily practice and carryover exercises. Once that initial treatment is over, you’ll continue to practice at least once a day for 10–15 minutes, which readies you to use your new movement skills all day at home or work and in your community!
Contact us today!
Are you ready to start being more comfortable and confident in your everyday movements? Contact our physical therapy practice in Aiea, HI today! At Atta Rehab, we’ll get you started on our LSVT BIG program with one of our certified physical therapists. Call us today to find out how to get on the path to better movement!