In this installment of our series on rare neurologic diseases, Ken Vinnaco talks with Megan Iammarino about physical therapy for people with Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD), an umbrella term that encompasses a varied group of disorders affecting the proximal muscles around the shoulders and hips that impacts approximately 2 in every 100,000 people. Megan covers the assessment, PT treatment and prognosis for people with this unique diagnosis that causes significant balance and gait challenges.  

Show notes available here : https://www.neuropt.org/docs/default-source/degenerative-diseases-sig/4d-podcast-show-notes—2019/ddsig-podcast-show-notes-2023/show-notes—episode-48-megan-iammarino-lgmd.pdf

The Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group is part of the Academy of  Neurologic Physical Therapy – www.neuroPT.org

In this episode, Chris interviews Michelle Walaszek, a winner of the DDSIG platform award at CSM Boston in 2024. Michelle, a PhD candidate and research associate in the Knowledge Translation of Exercise and Activity for Symptom Management (KTEAM) lab at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, explains important qualitative research that her team completed in their local Chicagoland area. She discusses themes that arose from survey data and analysis that assessed attitudes and experience with PD rehabilitation care for the Black or African American (BAA) community. Chris and Michelle also talk about some early applications of this information for clinicians, as well as next steps in the research.  

The Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group is part of the Academy of  Neurologic Physical Therapy – www.neuroPT.org 
 

In this episode, Parm interviews Chelsea “CJ” Duppen, a winner of the DDSIG platform award at CSM Boston in 2024. CJ, a fourth year PhD student at the University of North Carolina, works with Dr. Mike Lewek in the Recovery of Gait and Neurorehabilitation (ReGaiN) lab, studying gait and gait initiation impairments in people living with Parkinson Disease, as well as motor learning. Parm and CJ discuss CJ’s poster, “Gait Initiation Dynamics in Parkinson Disease: Impact of Weight Shift Amplitude and Freezing of Gait.” CJ tell us about the importance of anticipatory postural adjustments for weight shifts required in gait initiation, and how these play a role in first step length. Have you ever wondered if better weight shift improved someone with PD’s first step? Listen in to learn more!  

The Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group is part of the Academy of  Neurologic Physical Therapy – www.neuroPT.org 
 

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.  

The Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group is part of the Academy of 
Neurologic Physical Therapy – www.neuroPT.org 

Are you a PT who works with this population? Participate in a national survey on outcome measures for Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants working with pALS (Link active as of April 2024): https://redcap.nova.edu/redcap/surveys/?s=JKYLEC3KC9RFK7WF 

Show notes available here:
https://www.neuropt.org/docs/default-source/degenerative-diseases-sig/4d-podcast-show-notes—2019/ddsig-podcast-show-notes-2023/csm-award-winners-bonus-episode-2—kayla-chomko.pdf

In this episode of 4D, hosts Parm Padgett and 4D student intern Shannon Brown talk through the degenerative disease programming scheduled for CSM 2024. If you’re going to CSM this February, tune in while you travel, or even while you commute from your hotel in the morning to get some inspiration for what to see each day. We at 4D hope to see you there!  

The Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group is part of the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy –www.neuroPT.org  

Learn more about CSM and the programming discussed by visiting the CSM website: https://www.apta.org/csm   

This is for informational and educational purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for clinical decision making. The Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy and its collaborators disclaim any liability to any party for any loss or damage by errors or omissions in this publication. The views or opinions expressed are those of the individual creators and do not necessarily represent the position of the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy

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

Show notes available here :

https://www.neuropt.org/docs/default-source/degenerative-diseases-sig/4d-podcast-show-notes—2019/ddsig-podcast-show-notes-2023/show-notes—episode-47-jeannie-stephenson-staci-shearin.pdf

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 available here:

https://www.neuropt.org/docs/default-source/degenerative-diseases-sig/4d-podcast-show-notes—2019/ddsig-podcast-show-notes-2023/show-notes—episode-46-carolyn-dasilva.pdf

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 within interdisciplinary teams to support patients with PSP, and so much more. 
 

Enjoying our new series on rare neurologic diseases? We want to hear from you! Give us feedback, share ideas for future podcasts, and connect us to expert clinicians treating patients with those diseases. Email us at: [email protected] 

The Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group is part of the Academy of 
Neurologic Physical Therapy – www.neuroPT.org 

Show notes available: https://app.box.com/s/59dhwr9i0p29p4hrkxjnvbdyxl8kh94m

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 interdisciplinary best practices for management of patients with SMA.
The Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group is part of the Academy of
Neurologic Physical Therapy – www.neuroPT.org

Show notes:

https://www.neuropt.org/docs/default-source/degenerative-diseases-sig/4d-podcast-show-notes—2019/ddsig-podcast-show-notes-2023/show-notes—episode-44-kyle-reedy_gdoc.pdf

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 progression and mitigating fall risk. The Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group is part of the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy – www.neuroPT.org

Show notes available here: https://www.neuropt.org/docs/default-source/degenerative-diseases-sig/4d-podcast-show-notes—2019/ddsig-podcast-show-notes-2023/show-notes_episode43.pdf