We are very proud to announce that the Jersey City clinic is now certified in the innovative LSVT BIG method for Parkinson’s disease treatment, the first clinic to do so in all of Hudson County.
Operating in downtown Jersey City since 2007, they were previously the first to offer specialized dizziness/vertigo programs and more recently, in 2014, they became the first outpatient clinic in Hudson County to offer the revolutionary AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill for athletic training and PT.
The practice cited the lack of specialized care in the area for those suffering from Parkinson’s disease as the impetus for offering this new specialty.
“The need is undeniable,” states LSVT BIG-certified physical therapy provider & co-owner Humberto Colmenares. “One of our current Parkinson’s disease patients, a Jersey City resident, was relieved because, without us, he would’ve had to commute into New York just to find a clinic offering the treatment that is covered by his insurance.”
He continues, “With April being Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Month, the statistics are out there. Approximately 7-10 million people worldwide have the disease. And with no cure currently, physical therapy utilizing the LSVT BIG method is one of the best holistic methods out there that can be used to help improve the quality of life of Parkinson’s sufferers.
LSVT BIG is derived from the LSVT LOUD method, originally developed in 1987 as a speech therapy treatment program for Parkinson’s disease patients. Based on the basic principle that the human brain can learn and change, LSVT BIG uses an intensive, high-amplitude movement training program over the course of 16 hour-long, one-on-one physical therapy sessions aimed at recalibrating the patient’s perception of their own movement.
The method is not just Parkinson’s specific, as individual facets of the program can also be used to help treat other neurological disorders as well, including multiple sclerosis, Down syndrome, balance disorders, and cerebral palsy.
“To put it simply, the concept is to think BIG; to do everything BIG,” says Mr. Colmenares. “When dealing with Parkinson’s disease, which essentially makes everything, including movements and speech, smaller and smaller, LSVT BIG trains your brain to go bigger and bigger.”
Studies are beginning to document the effectiveness of LSVT BIG on Parkinson’s disease patients, with a recent 2005 study published in Experimental Brain Research showing that LSVT BIG patients displayed statistically significant 10-15% improvements in mobility test scores over a 1 month period for control groups. In the same study, mobility test scores for control groups treated with two other common exercise-based methods showed slight deterioration, overall.
“There’s already been great progress, not just for Parkinson’s but for all our neurological patients,” he says.
Complete Physical Rehabilitation is located at 75 Montgomery St. STE 502, Jersey City, NJ 07302.