In this episode, Chris Burke interviews Kayla Chomko who, along with Jen Canbeck, Lauren Tabor Gray, and Rania Massad, won the DDSIG Best Poster Award at APTA’s Combined Sections Meeting in February 2024.  Chris and Kayla discuss her team’s poster, “The Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment Discriminates between Fallers and Non-Fallers in pALS: A Retrospective Study”. They delve into the impetus for and findings from their research, how Kayla utilizes data from outcome measures to facilitate patient discussions in clinic, and what direction future research may take.   ..read more

In this installment of our series on rare neurologic diseases, Christina Burke talks with Jeannie Stephenson and Staci Shearin about Friedreich’s Ataxia, a progressive, autosomal recessive hereditary multi-system neurodegenerative disease that impacts approximately 1 in 40,000 people in the U.S. Jeannie and Staci cover assessment, PT treatment and prognosis for people with this unique diagnosis that causes significant balance and gait challenges.   The Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group is part of the Academy of  Neurologic Physical Therapy – www.neuroPT.org A link to ..read more

In this installment of our series on rare neurologic diseases, Ken Vinacco talks with Carolyn DaSilva about post-polio syndrome (PPS), which can occur in polio survivors 15-20 years after the initial poliomyelitis infection. The constellation of symptoms include new or worsening weakness, pain, and fatigue. Ken and Carolyn also discuss bracing and exercise recommendations in this population.  Listen in to learn more about this unique population! The Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group is part of the Academy of  Neurologic Physical Therapy – www.neuroPT.org Show notes wi ..read more

In this second installment of our series on rare neurologic diseases, host Katy McGraw talks with Heather Cianci about Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), a neurologic disease that can mimic some features of Parkinson Disease (PD) like loss of balance and a tendency to fall backwards, but that also has unique features such as the loss of vertical gaze, and behavioral changes. Heather discusses clinical signs to look for to treat and/or refer out for. She also talks extensively about treating PSP clinically throughout the disease course, palliative care for patients with advanced PSP, working ..read more

In this first installment of our series on rare neurologic diseases, host Jeff Schmidt talks with Kyle Reedy about Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Kyle discusses the etiology and clinical presentation of this disease, as well as best practices for treating patients living with this rare neuromuscular disease, in light of medical advances that have improved patient prognosis. From using SMA-specific outcome measures to advocate for patients to insurance companies, to designing comprehensive and tailored interventions to optimize function and mobility long term, Kyle delves into the research and ..read more

In this episode, host Parm Padgett talks with Mike Lewek and CJ Duppen from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about using implicit and explicit motor learning techniques with people with Parkinson Disease. CJ and Mike do a deep dive into their research on the integration of targeted rhythmic auditory cueing to improve step length and gait speed. Additionally, they discuss their current work looking at the effects of cueing on gait initiation, step length and step speed, and weight shifting for better anticipatory postural adjustments, all aimed at positively impacting PD symptom ..read more

In this episode, we talk with Jake Sosnoff, Ph.D. about frailty in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). We cover how frailty is defined in geriatrics and how that definition applies to frailty seen in MS, as well as how clinicians can use evidence-based tools to characterize frailty in their patients with MS. Host Herb Karpatkin also talks with Jake about whether frailty in MS is modifiable; how clinicians can approach treating patients with MS and frailty based on the available evidence; and why taking a multicomponent, interdisciplinary approach to treating frailty in patients with MS is i ..read more

In this episode, we talk with Mike Studer about intervention and treatment strategies related to fear-avoidance behaviors (as introduced in part 1/episode 40 with Ryan Duncan and Merrill Landers). Host Chris Burke talks with Mike about using autonomy-building strategies to reduce fear and exposure therapy strategies. They also delve into behavior change strategies including tips from the field of behavioral economics. Chris and Mike work through a case application together to help listeners start thinking about how to apply these principles in their own practice to reduce the impact of fear av ..read more

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Alicia Flach, who was awarded the DD SIG 2023 Combined Sections Meeting (CSM) best poster award for her poster entitled “Education and Exercise Support for Individuals Newly Diagnosed with Parkinson Disease and Their Care Partners”. She and her team created educational modules and promoted self-driven exercise habits through local YMCA membership for both persons diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and their care partners. Host Chris Burke and Alicia discuss program outcomes, including participation at the gym, overall physical activity and perceived social sup ..read more

In this episode, host Jeffrey Schmidt talks with Dr. Mark Mañago, who won this year’s DD SIG CSM platform award year.. Dr. Mañago chats with us about his recent presentation at CSM entitled “Feasibility of Low-Load Resistance Training with Blood Flow Restriction for People with Severe Multiple Sclerosis”. While traditionally considered a musculoskeletal intervention, he discusses the benefits blood flow restriction (BFR) can bring to the world of neurologic diagnoses, especially for those with more severe weakness. We review the results of this pilot study, including the feasibility of this in ..read more