Loring Hospital’s Rehab Services Department is now offering LSVT BIG treatment for persons with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions. LSVT BIG is a physical therapy program that has been proven to improve motor function. Improvements include faster walking with bigger steps, improved balance, better flexibility, reduced risk of falling, and more.
“The LSVT BIG program is evidence-based and has over 30 years of research to support the standardized protocol focusing on intensity and amplitude to help individuals with Parkinson’s disease move BIGGER,” said Jordan Flickinger, PT, DPT at Loring Hospital.
LSVT BIG treatment is delivered one-on-one and is tailored to each person’s own abilities and goals so that they work towards what is meaningful to them. Sessions use evidence-based strategies for learning and neuroplasticity, which is the brain's ability to change, and are designed to help people apply more comfortable, confident movements in everyday life beyond treatment sessions. Because LSVT BIG treatment is customized to each person’s specific needs and goals, it can help regardless of the stage or severity of the neurological condition.
“LSVT BIG recognizes that there is a sensory deficit in Parkinson’s that causes people to feel that their smaller movements are normal,” added Flickinger, who is a certified LSVT provider at Loring Hospital along with Missy Flynn, PTA. “By learning to move BIGGER, individuals will maintain and improve their ability to perform activities of daily living that are important to them with increased independence.”
Named for Mrs. Lee Silverman, a woman living with Parkinson’s disease, the program was developed in 1987 by Dr. Lorraine Ramig and has been scientifically studied for over three decades with support from the National Institute for Deafness and other Communication Disorders within the National Institutes of Health and other funding organizations. What started as a form of speech treatment, known as Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVT LOUD), later expanded to an occupational and physical therapy program called LSVT BIG.
The standard LSVT BIG treatment spans a minimum of one month, including daily practice and carryover exercises. Once that initial treatment is over, patients are encouraged to continue to practice at least once a day for 10–15 minutes. To learn more, contact Loring Hospital’s Rehab Services at 712-662-6347.