Physical Therapy and Huntington's Disease treatment and management

Types of Physical Therapy

Physiotherapy is physical therapy that focuses primarily on the control of larger bodily motions, such as walking and standing. Occupational rehabilitation aims for ‘adaptive' improvement—learning new ways to accomplish day-to-day tasks involving fine motor skills made difficult by HD symptoms. Speech therapy deals with the patient's physical difficulties involving mouth and throat muscles, and the process of speaking. Below is a table summarizing some of the major components that each type of therapy addresses:

Physiotherapy involves several large areas of rehabilitation. It may focus on gait, balance transfers, general strengthening, coordination, and postural stability. Many different types of exercises are performed in this type of treatment, as each patient's individual exercise regime will vary depending on his or her specific needs. The different exercises focus on training different areas of the body, but all aim to prevent falls, promote correct walking and body control, build coordination, and encourage a positive and confident attitude towards the body. Exercises are done in a variety of positions—lying down, sitting, and standing. Some exercises make use of common gym props and machines such as exercise bicycles, treadmills, weighted balls, and dumbbells, while others focus on flexibility or posture training. In posture training, exercises help patients maintain good form and balance while moving and staying still. For example, a patient may be asked to focus on transferring body weight from one leg to the other or to walk with hands clasped behind the back.

Like physiotherapy, occupational therapy is individually tailored. This type of rehabilitation integrates both mental and physical exercises to aid patients in learning new strategies to accomplish tasks that become more challenging as HD progresses. Activities focus on memory stimulation and concentration as patients learn approaches for completing common tasks such as walking or standing safely, dressing, and personal hygiene. Oftentimes, an occupational therapist will also aid in assessing whether or not it is practical and safe for a patient with HD to continue driving, and also in recommending changes in the work environment to better accommodate the progressive symptoms of HD.

Speech therapy attempts to help patients regain or maintain verbal adeptness, and other skills related to the mouth and throat. Respiratory exercises such as blowing up balls and blowing on tissues at different distances aim to increase the efficiency of breathing. On the cognitive side of speech rehabilitation, patients complete exercises which test and strengthen their ability to understand, interpret, and use metaphors, synonyms and other figures of speech.

Last Modified: 05/22/2009

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