Celeste Delap, DPT, LSVT BIG certified, CCI, AZOPT Goodyear Physical Therapist
Parkinson’s disease is an incurable, progressive disorder of the nervous system that gradually affects movement. In the United States, Parkinson’s disease occurs in 13 per 100,000 people and about 60,000 new cases are identified each year. In our West Valley, many people know someone who is affected by Parkinson’s disease. Yet, I am often surprised by how many people are not familiar with the LSVT BIG and LOUD program, specifically how this program can benefit a person with Parkinson’s disease.
The LSVT BIG program interested me after I witnessed people with Parkinson’s disease improve significantly in a relatively short period of time while observing another physical therapist. Upon research, I realized there is a desperate need for LSVT BIG physical therapists in our community. In 2010, I became certified in the program and currently, I am the only LSVT BIG certified physical therapist within a ten-mile radius of AZOPT Goodyear.
LSVT LOUD is a speech treatment program for individuals with Parkinson’s disease named after Lee Silverman, who helped develop the Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT) in 1987. “LSVT LOUD improves vocal loudness by stimulating the muscles of the voice box (larynx) and speech mechanism through a systematic hierarchy of exercises.” These principles were effectively applied to limb movement in people with Parkinson’s disease to create the LSVT BIG program.
The LSVT BIG program works by training patients to increase the amplitude of body movement. This program was developed specifically to address the unique movement impairments for people with Parkinson disease. In essence, the program aims to help improve body movements of the arms, legs and trunk rotation. These changes help to improve speed and balance walking and the patient’s quality of life while decreasing common problems like shuffling, tripping or issues with freezing. LSVT BIG is performed and delivered by a trained and certified physical therapist. Treatment sessions are one hour, four times per week, for four weeks, or a total of 16 sessions. The protocol is both intensive and complex, with many repetitions of core movements that are used in daily living. This type of practice is necessary to optimize learning and carryover of improved movement into everyday life.
Make no mistake, the LSVT BIG program is an intense program that may require an immediate nap following, but it is also one of the only treatments guaranteed to produce positive results. Often, at the initial evaluation, people tell me they “can’t do” four days a week or “it will be too much.” I usually ask people to give me two weeks to show them what the program can do for them. By the end of the four weeks, most people do not want to stop sessions due to their positive changes in everyday life. However, the objective of this program is to teach patients the tools to continue the work at home on their own. After four weeks, they can!
If you, or someone you know, have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, you can start right now. A certified physical therapist can perform an evaluation to determine appropriateness for the program. The benefits of this program at any stage of the diagnosis are effective, but especially at the beginning. This is when the greatest impact on quality of life can be seen. I am proud to help people through the LSVT BIG program and look forward to their return to dancing, walking, spending quality time with their significant other and especially getting their “life back.”
If you are interested in more general information, you can contact me at AZOPT Goodyear by calling 623-242-6908 or emailing [email protected].