Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease and Neurological Conditions
Progressive neurological diseases, such as Parkinson disease (PD) impair speech, swallowing, limb function, gait, balance, and daily living activities. Even with medical management these changes can have a negative impact on the quality of life of people living with PD.
Recent advances in neuroscience have suggested that intensive behavioral treatments may improve function and possibly slow progression of motor symptoms in individuals with PD.
Individuals with PD perform movements that are hesitant (akinesia), slow (bradykinesia), and with reduced amplitude (hypokinesia). In addition, almost ninety percent of people with Parkinson’s Disease will have difficulties with speech that start early in the disease process and that will progressively impact on their ability to communicate and to maintain relationships with friends and family. Common difficulties include: soft or quiet voice, mumbling, monotone speech, or hoarse voice.
Typically, medical and surgical approaches don’t help these difficulties. Over 20 years of research has shown that speech and exercise therapy can improve the ability of individuals with PD to communicate with others; improving loudness, how well you can be understood, use of facial expression and confidence.
Alliance Rehabilitation provides support services for all areas of care and an interdisciplinary approach that can help you achieve your goals for Parkinson’s treatment including: physiotherapy, social work, nurse support, exercise physiology, speech pathology, psychology, occupational therapy, dietetics and neuropsychology.
What Alliance Rehabilitation will offer?
Alliance Rehabilitation provides interdisciplinary assessment and analysis that is individualised to each participant. Our programs for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are based on the principle that the brain can learn and change (neuroplasticity). The aim of the intensive programs offered through our service is to improve people’s ability to make bigger movements and bigger sounds. Our specialist interdisciplinary team can then help you generalise these skills for different functional activities and situations in your daily life.
Intensive programs for Parkinson’s and neurological conditions at Alliance Rehabilitation can assist with:
- Improving walking, and moving with bigger steps
- Prevention of secondary changes (e.g. flexed postures, loss of range of motion)
- Falls prevention and balance retraining
- Home environment and equipment review
- Psychoeducation and carer support linking to learning support group
- Adjustment counselling and psychology support
- Meal and medication management and timing
- Groups offered for neurological conditions
- Exercise groups (low to high level functional activities to increase strength and fitness)
- Fishing and community participation
- Conversation groups (practice your skills in the community or with others)
- Unless you think you are speaking too loudly, you are probably not speaking loud enough
- See a speech pathologist to:
- Obtain a baseline assessment of your speech
- Learn to increase loudness in a healthy way without strain
- If you cough or choke when eating and drinking, schedule a swallow assessment
- Do you feel like everyone around you is deaf? You might not be aware if you are speaking loud enough. Parkinson’s Disease and other neurological conditions can cause faulty feedback.