247: Follow These 5 Neuroplastic Principles To Improve Patient Outcomes (With Examples!) With Briana Elson, MS, OTR/L
Release Date: 01/06/2025
268: When You’re Compelled To Serve With Leann Vitale, MS, OTR/L
I Love Neuro
So many clinicians are passionate about ensuring their clients get everything they need to gain the level of independence and quality of life they deserve after diagnosis. The disappointing part is they don’t always have access to the expert care they need. That’s where Leann Vitale, MS, OTR/L found herself several years ago realizing she had a dream to start her own practice in order to fill the gap. Taking that leap is scary and risky. Fortunately she met the perfect contact and mentor to get her going! In this episode of the I Love Neuro podcast, Leann shares her transformative journey...
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267: Advanced Strategies And Insights For Treating Individuals With Ataxia With Dr. Jeannie Stephenson, PT, PhD, MS, NCS And Dr. Staci Shearin, PT, PhD, NCS, GCS
I Love Neuro
Treating individuals with ataxia is challenging for many reasons. Having some key insights from the literature is just what you need! That’s why on this week’s episode Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS interviewed Dr. Jeannie Stephenson, PT, PhD, MS, MCS and Dr. Staci Shearin, PT, PhD, NCS, GCS to discuss their research and clinical experiences in treating ataxia. The speakers recently presented a webinar inside NeuroSpark for members and the takeaways were so good we had to bring them on the podcast to share more! In the episode you’ll learn their insights on various types of ataxia,...
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266: How To Go From Mobile To Brick-And-Mortar In Neuro Rehab With Han Nguyen, PT, DPT, NCS
I Love Neuro
Are you a neuro clinician working mobile or thinking about starting your side gig? Perhaps you’ll want to expand into your own space. day. Perhaps you already are and want to see if you can learn anything new. This episode will break it all down! Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS has a conversation with Han Nguyen, PT, DPT, NCS about how she built Neubility Rehab from a mobile practice to a brick-and-mortar in St. Petersburg, FL. She shares her top tips for negotiating equipment and co-op space as well as strategies to increase revenue outside of patient care. Key Insights: - Negotiated...
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265: To Residency Or Not To Residency With Mari Biers, PT, DPT
I Love Neuro
A question many clinicians face is whether or not to go to a residency program. There are pros and cons either way and a LOT to consider. Additionally, with so many residencies available to clinicians there are things you want to look for that will be a good fit for you. Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS and Claire McLean, PT, DPT, NCS talk with Mari Biers, PT, DPT who is currently completing a neurologic residency at the University of Missouri. This conversation highlights multiple perspectives as Mari is currently in residency, Claire completed a neurologic residency and Erin did not do a...
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264: Dementia Care - Evidence-Based Strategies For Rehabilitation Professionals With Dr. Natalie Douglas, PhD, CCC-SLP
I Love Neuro
We’ve heard from our audience a lot that working with people with dementia can be very challenging for a number of reasons. In this episode Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS interviewed Dr. Natalie Douglas, a speech-language pathologist and dementia expert on her insights for rehabilitation professionals working with individuals living with dementia. Learn key tools that will help individuals follow through with tasks more independently while breaking down the barriers to application of the tools, practical strategies, do’s and don’ts of working with individuals with dementia and how to...
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263: Every Vestibular System Has A Person With Marc Broberg, PT, DPT, NCS
I Love Neuro
Today’s episode compares persistent dizziness with persistent pain. There are patterns and insights from the literature that can help clinicians improve their approach to treating people with dizziness. Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS interviews Marc Broberg, PT, DPT, NCS on his theories after diving into the literature and treating people with dizziness for 15 plus years. Marc explains how approximately 25% of people with dizziness develop persistent symptoms. He shares the one key factor in determining how well they will recover. He believes successful treatment isn't about eliminating...
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262: Delivering Intensive Virtual Rehabilitation Through Neurofenix With Amy Rohe, MS, OTR/L, CSRS, ATP
I Love Neuro
We all know rehab is not accessible to everyone who needs it after a neurologic injury. There are a number of reasons why, and, fortunately, there are also people looking to solve that problem. On today’s show we interviewed Amy Rohe, MS, OTR/L, CSRS, ATP who works for Neurofenix, a company that is transforming neurological rehabilitation with its innovative virtual therapy platform. The primary tool used by the OTs of Neurofenix is the NeuroBall, an FDA-approved device, that offers patients engaging, data-driven occupational therapy from the comfort of their homes. This model of delivery is...
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261: Emerging Research In Neuro Rehab With Dr. Tim Faw, PT, DPT, PhD
I Love Neuro
Staying up on the latest evidence in neuro rehab? This interview is for you! Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS interviewed Dr. Timothy Faw, a neuroscientist and physical therapist about his research path - where he’s been and where it’s going. Tim discusses the work his labs have done in a few areas including the plasticity of gray matter and myelin and the implications on motor learning and movement in spinal cord injury. He also discusses tactics on eccentric gait training - that are basically the opposite of what we think of as high intensity - and how they are impacting outcomes. More...
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260: Improving Parkinson's Care In Rural Areas: Insights From A Physical Therapy Monitoring Program With Jamie Haines, PT, DScPT, NCS
I Love Neuro
When people live in a rural area it can be very challenging for them to get access to specialty care. What are they missing? What could be different? How can we help? In this episode, Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS sits down with Jamie Haines, PT, DScPT, NCS to discuss her work on a Parkinson's disease monitoring program in rural Michigan. People with Parkinson's in rural areas face significant barriers to accessing specialized care, with only 9% seeing a movement disorder specialist. Jamie's program involved visiting participants 3 times over a year, providing individualized assessments,...
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259: Why Goggles Are Essential And How They Became Accessible In Vestibular Care With Patrick Esmonde
I Love Neuro
Vestibular nerds this one is for you! Even if you’re just a regular neuro nerd, you’ll love this episode. Erin Gallardo interviews Patrick Esmonde of Vestibular First. Patrick shares the inspiring story behind the creation of Vestibular First and the company's mission to develop affordable, accessible tools to support clinicians in providing better vestibular care. Since necessity is the mother of invention, Patrick details the process of building the first prototype of Vestibular First goggles in a single night, leveraging his diverse technical skills and material purchased on Amazon....
info_outlineIn this episode occupational therapist Briana Elson, MS, OTR/L, BCPR, CBIS joined host Erin Gallardo, PT, DPT, NCS to discuss 5 principles of neuroplasticity and how they can be applied in neurorehabilitation. Note: In a previous episode a different 5 were discussed (see the link to that episode below). No need to listen to the previous episode to get what you need out of this one though!
In this episode, we discuss what the principles are and how to apply them to your neuro caseload:
1. Time Matters - Yes we know this, but what does that look like and what if time isn’t on your side? Learn what to do!
2. Salience Matters - This one is so important, but what if your patient MUST learn a novel task?? (For example, someone with vision impairment who must learn to use equipment or new strategies to navigate the environment). Is there any hope? Turns out there is!
3. Age Matters - Younger brains demonstrate more plasticity, but we work with so many people with aging brains. What should you know?
4. Transference - Skills learned in one area can transfer to similar tasks, which is especially useful in cognitive rehabilitation when teaching strategies. How can you harness this?
5. Interference - Do previous compensatory behaviors interfere with retraining proper movement patterns? What about the argument that kinematics don’t matter, just get someone moving? Why context matters and how and when to use error augmentation vs error-less learning.
Listen to episode 197 for our first conversation on the principles of neuroplasticity
Listen to our interview on using the Vivistim episode 196
www.joinneurospark.com to learn more about NeuroSpark and get access to Bri’s lecture on Central Vision mentioned in the episode!