Parkinson’s Rehabilitation

Henry Ford Health offers a robust rehabilitation program for people living with Parkinson’s disease. Licensed therapists build treatment plans tailored to your unique challenges. We help improve gait, speech, movement and overall quality of life.

Parkinson’s therapy: Why choose Henry Ford?

Highlights of our Parkinson’s therapy program include:

• Expert providers: We have therapists certified in Lee Silverman Voice Therapy (LSVT) BIG® and LSVT LOUD®, as well as PWR!Moves®. You receive care from experts with extensive training in these highly effective, evidence-based therapies.
• Range of services: Our extensive rehabilitation program offers specialties that can help with the effects of Parkinson’s disease. We provide neurorehabilitation, pain therapy, balance and vestibular rehabilitation, speech therapy and other services.
• Specialty clinic: Therapists work closely with Parkinson’s specialists at the Henry Ford Movement Disorders Center. We can connect you with a provider at this specialty clinic, or coordinate care with your current physician.

Conditions we treat

Parkinson’s disease affects everyone differently. Therapists learn about your specific challenges and how they’re affecting your life at home, work or in the community. Parkinson’s therapy can help with:

• Difficulties with activities of daily living (ADL)
• Freezing, or feeling like you’re stuck in place
• Posture or gait instability
• Slow body movement (bradykinesia)
• Small body movements (hypokinesia)
• Soft speech (hypophonia)
• Stiff body movements (hypertonia)

Treatments we offer

Our treatments for Parkinson’s are based on improving three core aspects of your voice and body mechanics:

• Amplitude: Changes in your sensory system can make it hard to perform movements fully. This may make it hard to stand, walk normally or reach for objects. Therapists work on helping you project, or amplify, your movements.
• Calibration: You may feel as though you’re shouting even when you’re talking softly. We help you recognize when and how to project your voice to achieve the right volume when speaking with others.
• Modification: We show you how to modify your routine and your environment to meet your changing needs. Therapists identify the tasks that you most want to accomplish and provide strategies for completing them safely.

Lee Silverman Voice Therapy (LSVT) BIG, LSVT LOUD and PWR!Moves

As the name suggests, LSVT BIG and LSVT LOUD are designed to help those living with Parkinson's speak “loud” and move “big.” We also offer PWR!Moves, which focuses on helping you recover specific skills through exercise. All of our therapy programs for Parkinson’s disease are taught by specially trained therapists:

• LSVT BIG: Physical or occupational therapists help you perform exercises and teach skills that improve major motor skills like walking, balance and arm and leg movements.
• LSVT LOUD: Speech-language pathologists teach patients how to stimulate voice box muscles, which increases vocal loudness without shouting or yelling.
• PWR!Moves: Exercises help you overcome specific symptoms of Parkinson’s. We target issues like rigidity, slow movements and loss of coordination.

Find a location

Henry Ford offers Parkinson’s rehabilitation at multiple locations throughout southeast and south central Michigan. Contact a location near you to schedule an appointment.

Explore our blogs

Read blog articles to learn more about managing Parkinson’s disease:

• Managing Parkinson’s Disease Through Exercise
• Parkinson's Patients Rediscover Freedom of Movement with Dance