LSVT BIG Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease
Current neuroscience studies suggest that exercise-based behavioral therapies may improve functioning and possibly slow progression of motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
About one million Americans live with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and roughly 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease each year.
The LSVT (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment) programs for people with PD were researched and created twenty years ago and began with a focus on speech motor treatment (LSVT LOUD®). They have more recently been extended to address limb movement (LSVT BIG®) by physical and occupational therapists.
“LSVT BIG is a program specifically for people with Parkinson’s disease,” says Stefanie Halperin, PT, DPT, an LSVT-certified physical therapist at Ability Rehabilitation. “The goal is to help them move bigger: take bigger steps, improve their balance, increase their speed, and enhance their overall quality of life.”
How Does LSVT BIG Work?
A physical or occupational therapist delivers LSVT BIG. The treatment consists of sixteen 60-minute sessions over the course of one month. The protocol is both intensive and complex, including extensive repetitions of core movements used every day. The practice is designed to optimize learning and carryover of enhanced movement into daily life.
“The LSVT BIG protocol is an intensive-based program that typically runs four days a week and lasts for four weeks,” says Stefanie. “Patients are required to do ‘homework’ on their own every day. The goal is that the more that you do, the more your brain will recalibrate the motor feedback, so you’ll start to move bigger in your daily life.”
The unique aspects of the LSVT BIG program center around three primary components:
- Increase amplitude and magnitude in the limb motor system
- Focus on sensory recalibration to help patients recognize bigger movements within their standard limit
- Facilitating self-cueing and attention to action to ensure long-term maintenance of treatment outcomes
Benefits of LSVT BIG
The intensive nature of LSVT BIG delivery has been shown to promote activity-dependent neuroplasticity and motor learning and increase the amplitude of limb and body movement in people with Parkinson’s disease.
Specific LSVT BIG benefits include:
- Improved trunk rotation
- Enhanced gait and speed of the upper and lower limbs
- Increased velocity of walking and reaching movements
- Improved sensory attention and body awareness
- Better balance
- Enriched quality of life
If you’d like to learn more about the LSVT BIG program, please feel free to contact us.