Course Description:

Recent advances in basic and clinical science research suggest exercise and rehabilitation approaches may protect and repair dopamine circuitry, improve motor and non-motor symptoms, and delay motor deterioration in people with Parkinson disease (PD). Participants will be introduced to the PWR!Moves® curriculum, a PD-specific functional skill training curriculum guided by the essential principles of learning and neuroplasticity. PWR!Moves can be personalized, adapted across disease severity, and implemented in both therapy and group exercise settings. The PWR!Moves® curriculum advocates for effective, proactive rehabilitation paradigms which start at diagnosis, offer ongoing programming for life, and integrate therapy and community exercise.

Central to the PWR!Moves curriculum is the training of amplitude directly into four building blocks of function. Each building block counteracts a primary motor control deficit shown by research to interfere with everyday functional mobility in people with Parkinson disease, antigravity extension, weight shifting, axial mobility, and transitions. These basic four building blocks are initially instructed in five positions: prone, supine, all 4’s, sitting, and standing. Thus, PD-specific training is achieved by focusing on training amplitude and functional, whole-body movements. Additionally, therapists can personalize the curriculum to target specific PD symptoms, including rigidity, bradykinesia, incoordination, and reduced self-awareness.

In addition to familiarizing themselves with PWR!Moves, participants will learn to apply Exercise4BrainChange® (E4BC) techniques while instructing the PWR!Moves in order to optimize learning skills such as retention, generalization, and automaticity. E4BC techniques, informed by research, have been organized into categories that employ high physical effort, attentional focus, cognitive engagement, and emotional engagement. The repetition required to optimize learning is uniquely achieved by emphasizing functional building blocks first as exercise, and subsequently in combination with E4BC techniques to optimize engagement, motivation, and specificity of practice.
This flexibility allows for therapists to reinforce goal-directed and habitual movements while also targeting personalized symptoms, functional mobility goals, posture, fall reduction, ADL, and quality of life. To extend the benefits gained from therapy, therapists can also instruct PWR!Moves in a group format or refer to other PWR!Moves community group classes.

Live demonstrations, videos, and an interactive instruction will be used to discuss practice essentials and treatment plans, as well as to illustrate the real-world implementation of this framework across disease severity levels. Participants will have the opportunity to observe faculty working in small groups and one-on-one with PWP, practice PWR!Moves® with each other, and practice PWR!Moves with volunteers with PD during the workshop.

Upon completion, therapists will be able to instruct the PWR!Moves curriculum and develop PD-specific, neuroplasticity-principled, personalized treatment plans for individuals of varying disease severity. PWR!Moves are appropriate for any therapy setting and can be integrated into fitness, lifestyle, and community exercise programs for continuous access to PD-specific quality functional skill practice anywhere, anytime!