LSVT BIG & LOUD Therapy
RVNAhealth offers two therapies geared toward improving function in those with Parkinson’s disease—LSVT* LOUD® (*Lee Silverman Voice Treatment) and LSVT BIG®. Often referred to as “the incredible shrinking disease,” Parkinson’s is a degenerative condition characterized by a progressive loss of motor function, impacting both speech and movement. Parkinson’s affects nearly a million Americans today. Both programs address the progressive loss of motor function that impacts speech and movement in those with the disease.
RVNAhealth offers the LSVT Big & Loud Programs in patients’ homes and at the RVNAhealth Rehabilitation & Wellness Center in Ridgefield, CT.
LSVT LOUD
LSVT LOUD tackles the soft voice, mumbled speech, monotone speech and hoarse voice that often afflict Parkinson’s patients. Structured activities that work the patient’s vocal range teach them to increase volume without straining their voices. In each session, the therapist takes the patient through a series of rigorous vocal exercises that alternate between loud and soft.
The ultimate goal is to improve loudness, improve speech intelligibility, increase facial expression, and improve confidence.
LSVT BIG
LSVT BIG addresses the problem of patients’ movements becoming smaller and more tentative as their disease progresses. This program aims to retrain a patient’s brain so their perception of their movement is more accurate and they become able to move with more amplitude. In each session, the therapist takes the patient through a series of seven whole-body exercises that involve reaching up and down, and moving side to side or back and forth. Exercises are all exaggerated to reinforce that the patient needs to make his or her movements bigger.
LSVT BIG also incorporates training in any daily task that causes the patient difficulty. This can be something as simple as picking up a hairbrush to more involved tasks such as doing laundry or getting in and out of a car.
