St. Luke’s helps Parkinson’s disease patients with specialized therapy

CEDAR RAPIDS - Mike Van Horn has run 14 marathons and several Ironman Triathlons in his lifetime.

And despite being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease two years ago, the 65-year-old said he isn't letting it slow him down.

'I probably run an 18-, 19-minute mile these days,” he said. 'But I'm planning to do a half-marathon in October.”

LSVT Big, a new therapy program at UnityPoint-Health St. Luke's Hospital, is helping him get there. The idea behind the therapy, which the hospital began offering to patients in April, is right in its name. It includes exaggerated movements and speaking in loud voices.

Patients do intensive hourlong exercises four days a week at the hospital in addition to exercises at home for four weeks, said Amy Yotty, a physical therapist at St. Luke's.

And while it's a big commitment, patients see big improvements, she said.

The therapy 'helps retrain the brain,” she said, making tasks such as getting out of a car, walking up stairs or buttoning a shirt easier.

Parkinson's affects a person's nervous system, causing stiffness or slowing movement, according to the Parkinson's Disease Foundation. More than 1 million people in the United States live with the disease.

As Parkinson's progresses, the amount of dopamine - a neurotransmitter - in the brain decreases, which makes controlling movements difficult.

There is no cure, but doctors can prescribe medication that prolongs or replaces the dopamine.

Another way to improve the symptoms is through exercise.

LSVT Big isn't new - it's been around since the 1990s - but St. Luke's Yotty thinks it is gaining in popularity as more research has come out about the benefits exercise can have for Parkinson's patients.

The exercises, which include jumping, turning from side to side, and spreading arms out wide, help with motor skills and balance.

'Patients see a difference, and family members see a difference as well,” said Rosemary Russell, an occupational therapist's assistant.

Most insurance plans cover the therapy program, Yotty noted.

Therapists at Mercy Medical Center and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics have received LSVT Big certification, Russell and Yotty said. But Russell pointed out that most programs in the state don't include both a physical and occupational therapist.

So far, Yotty, Russell and the other therapists have completed the program with four patients. They have two new patients who will begin in the next week or so, and there is a waiting list.

As for Van Horn, he's keeping up with the exercises at home through the help of a video. And while the former social worker said this wasn't how he expected to spend his retirement, he's making the best of it.

'My idea of retirement was to train for another Ironman,” Van Horn said. 'I still might do one. You have to adapt because you don't have any choice.”