243: Using A Sensory-Based Approach For Treating Functional Neurological Disorders
Release Date: 12/09/2024
316: Proven Fall Prevention Strategies To Implement Today With Dr. Tiffany Shubert, PT, PhD
I Love Neuro
Fall risk for older adults is manageable, modifiable and, guess what? They are capable of owning more of the responsibility than we’ve been giving them credit for! In this episode, host Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS interviews Dr. Tiffany Shubert, PT, PhD, a physical therapist, researcher, and healthcare innovator dedicated to turning strong evidence into practical tools for clinicians and older adults. Tiffany shares how her journey from clinician to PhD and then into digital health led her to champion the Otago Exercise Program and other proven fall prevention strategies. She discusses the...
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315: A Beginner’s Path To Using AI To Improve Your Workflow
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Are you using AI to improve your workflow as a clinician or a business owner? Are you really? Or are you still scared of it? This episode explores how Claire McLean, PT, DPT, NCS and the Rogue Physical Therapy & Wellness team are integrating AI into their practice to save time, improve documentation, and enhance client care so they can do more of what they love and bring enjoyment to the tasks they used to dread. Claire shares how tools like the Plaud NotePin and Claude have transformed consultations and one-on-one notes, streamlined standardized Parkinson’s wellness assessments, and...
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314: Get Advanced Real-Time Gait Analytics With NUSHU With Erica Demarch, PT
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In this episode, hosts Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS and Claire McLean, PT, DPT, NCS interview physical therapist and inventor Erica Demarch, PT, MSPT about her work at the intersection of neuro rehab, motor learning, and wearable technology. Erica shares how her background founding her company, Step and Connect where she developed the Balance Matters system led her to join Magnes, a Swiss company that created NUSHU, a smart shoe with embedded sensors and vibrotactile feedback designed to analyze and improve gait in real time. She explains how the shoes capture over 35 gait parameters, support...
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313: Vision, Autonomics & Neuro Rehab: What PTs and OTs Should Know Now
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Eager to learn more about vision rehab in neuro? In this episode, host Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS talks with optometrist Melissa Zarn, OD, FAAO, FNAP and occupational therapist David Katz, OTR/L, CBIS about current advances in neuro-visual rehabilitation and updates within the Neuro Optometric Rehabilitation Association (NORA). They describe how NORA’s clinical skills fellowship program has evolved into a hybrid model with asynchronous online coursework plus in-person hands-on training across three levels, increasingly emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration among OTs, PTs, speech...
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312: Upleveling Vestibular Rehabilitation With The Vertigenius
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Vestibular rehabilitation is incredibly effective at treating dizziness, yet barriers exist. Just to name a few - access to expert care, scheduling, ability for patients to adhere to home programs and billing. What if there were a device that helped not only with all of those issues while also helping clinicians get vestibular patients better? The Vertigenius may just be the answer! In this episode, host Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS interviews experienced physiotherapist and Vertigenius inventor and founder, Dr. Dara Meldrum, PhD as well as Sparky and neuro biz owner using Vertigenius in...
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311: How To Add Personal Training To Expand Your Neuro Biz And Improve Client Outcomes
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Are you a business owner looking to increase revenue streams and add more cash-based services into the mix? In this episode host Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS and NeuroBiz coach Emily Duval Ledger explore how personal trainers can significantly strengthen neuro-focused businesses by offering wellness sessions that complement therapy. This is a 100% collaboration over competition focus and you’ll learn exactly who to look for to hire in your neuro biz. The benefits to having personal trainers is that this service can clearly separate insurance-based medically necessary care from ongoing...
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310: The Evidence-Based Approach To Dementia Care With Rachel Wiley, MS, OTR/L
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Working with people with dementia and their care partners can be complicated and confusing. What does the evidence say is the best approach? Is it rehabilitative or habilitative?? In this episode, hosts Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS and Claire McLean, PT, DPT, NCS interview occupational therapist and Dementia Collaborative founder Rachel Wiley, MS, OTR/L about her approach to working with people with dementia and their care partners. Rachel shares how past experiences with conflicting recommendations between professionals—and the confusion and mistrust this caused for families—motivated her...
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309: Using Dry Needling To Reset The Nervous System With Tyler Niemack, PT, DPT, OCS
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This is the episode that will help you understand the opportunities and functionality of dry needling! Host Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS interviews Tyler Niemack, PT, DPT, OCS, Functional Dry Needling Certified Specialist about how dry needling can be used not just to relax tight muscles, but to “reset” the neuromuscular system and improve function. Tyler, who teaches Dry Needling Certification courses for Evidence In Motion explains how PTs approach dry needling differently from acupuncturists, using their orthopedic and neurological assessment skills to decide whether to target spinal...
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308: How NeuroLab 360 Uses A Nonprofit Model To Deliver High Intensity Neuro Rehab
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Interested in looking at how a nonprofit clinic operates for neuro rehab? In this episode hosts Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS and Claire McLean, PT, DPT, NCS interview co-founder Meagan George, PT, DPT, NCS about how she and her partners built a nonprofit, cash-based neuro clinic in Encinitas, California. After feeling constrained by insurance limitations in hospital systems, the trio incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2021 with a mission to deliver intensive, goal-oriented PT, OT, and wellness services regardless of a person’s financial situation. NeuroLab 360 operates using a scholarship...
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307: Research Update: Treadmill VS Overground Walking In Persons With MS With Herb Karpatkin, PT, DSc, NCS, MSCS
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In this episode host Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS interviews Multiple Sclerosis specialist and researcher Dr. Herb Karpatkin, PT, DSc, NCS, MSCS to discuss how therapy for people with multiple sclerosis must be fundamentally different from approaches used for stroke, spinal cord injury, or TBI. In his research Herb discovered an incidental finding that led to more questions that he and his team wanted to investigate: does treadmill walking carry over to overground walking in persons with MS? In the show he explains the nuances of treadmill walking for persons with MS vs healthy controls and...
info_outlineWorking with clients with Functional neurologic disorders (FND) can be confusing and challenging. If you’re stuck and aren’t sure how to help your clients you’ve gotta check out this episode! Occupational therapists and industry leaders in the treatment of FND Julie MacLean and Jessica Ranford discuss their expertise in using a sensory-based approach to treatment. In their work they noticed certain patterns emerging for people experiencing FND.
By conducting detailed sensory profiles and histories, the OTs were able to identify patterns in how these patients processed sensory information. Many exhibited heightened sensory sensitivity, sensory avoidance, and low sensory registration - leading to cognitive, emotional, and motor control issues.
The OTs developed a multi-step treatment approach focused on:
1) Increasing patient self-awareness of their sensory processing and arousal levels
2) Exploring individualized sensory strategies to self-regulate
3) Creating personalized "sensory diets" of activities to maintain balance
This sensory-based framework, combined with motor retraining when needed, has been effective in helping FND patients improve their symptoms and expand their participation in daily life.
Overall, this discussion highlighted the valuable role occupational therapy can play in assessing and treating the complex sensory processing difficulties experienced by many individuals with functional neurological disorders.
FND specific resources:
Overcoming Functional Neurological Disorders Workbook, Reset and Rewire: The FND Workbook
OT and sensory processing specific resources:
Living Sensationally: Understanding Your Senses by Winnie Dunn
Sensory Modulation & Environment: Essential Elements of Occupation by Tina Champagne
The Sensory Connection Program and Workbooks by Karen Moore
Recent OT publications:
McCombs KE, MacLean J, Finkelstein SA, Goedeken S, Perez DL, Ranford J.
Neurol Clin Pract. 2024 Jun;14(3):e200286.
Ranford J, MacLean J. Neurol Clin. 2023 Nov;41(4):695-709. doi: 10.1016/j.ncl.2023.02.008. Epub 2023 Apr 20
Sensory Processing Difficulties in Functional Neurological Disorder: A Possible Predisposing Vulnerability? Ranford J, MacLean J, Alluri PR, Comeau O, Godena E, LaFrance WC Jr, Hunt A, Stephen CD, Perez DL.Psychosomatics. 2020 Jul-Aug;61(4):343-352.
Occupational therapy consensus recommendations for functional neurological disorder.
Nicholson C, Edwards MJ, Carson AJ, Gardiner P, Golder D, Hayward K, Humblestone S, Jinadu H, Lumsden C, MacLean J, Main L, Macgregor L, Nielsen G, Oakley L, Price J, Ranford J, Ranu J, Sum E, Stone J. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2020 Oct;91(10):1037-1045.