Tidewater Physical Therapy’s Tracey Vick earns LSVT BIG Certification
Published 9:24 am Wednesday, May 21, 2014
FRANKLIN—If you ask Tracey Vick, she’ll tell you she decided to pursue a career in physical therapy after helping her grandfather to his clinical appointments following his stroke.
Tracey Vick of Tidewater Physical Thereapy in Franklin recently earned earned her LSVT BIG Certification. This is a physical and occupational therapy treatment for people with Parkinson’s disease, as well as other conditions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, cerebal palsy and Down syndrome. — STEPHEN H. COWLES | TIDEWATER NEWS
Today, Tidewater Physical Therapy is pleased to announce that Vick, a Physical Therapy Assistant who works with patients in the Franklin location, still helps stroke victims recover, and now is among an elite group that does it with an innovative and specialized treatment.
Vick recently earned her LSVT BIG Certification, an innovative physical/occupational therapy treatment for patients with Parkinson’s disease as well as other conditions including stroke, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and Down syndrome.
She is one of less than 100 clinicians across the state, and one of 1,600 worldwide, to earn this certification, according to LSVT Global.
LSVT BIG treatment is delivered by a physical or occupational therapist that’s designed to improve whole body movement.
According to LSVT (Lee Silverman Voice Treatments) Global, people with Parkinson’s disease undergoing LSVT BIG treatment have seen positive short-term effects. The treatment, which takes place four times per week for four weeks, specifically trains patients to increase “amplitude of limb and body movement (bigness) in people with Parkinson disease.”
Results showcase patients with improved gait and trunk rotation and that help increase speed of moving upper and lower limbs, balance, and quality of life.
“This protocol was developed specifically to address the unique movement impairments for people with Parkinson disease,” according to LSVT Global. It’s “both intensive and complex, with many repetitions of core movements that are used in daily living.”
Vick, a Franklin native who earned her Applied Science Degree from John Tyler Community College, looks forward to helping patients, many of whom she knows from the community, live and maintain more active lives even when faced with a debilitating disease like Parkinson’s.
“Living in a small town, you run into a lot of your patients in the community,” said Vick. “They are more than just patients.”
Tidewater Physical Therapy, established in 1986, has long supported the lifelong learning efforts of its staff, from completing additional collegiate-level education to hosting monthly in-services for its clinical staff, offering frequent continuing education courses in its clinics with nationwide leaders in physical therapy treatments.
“We strongly encourage and promote our PTs to never stop learning, always bringing new, innovative and proven treatments to our clinics,” said Jeff Verhoef, PT, MBA Tidewater Physical Therapy’s chief executive officer. “We’re proud to announce Tracey’s new certification knowing what this will mean for the patients she treats in Franklin.”
Founded in 1986, Tidewater Physical Therapy remains a physical therapist-owned, independent, outpatient physical therapy practice, with more than 30 locations across Southeast and Central Virginia and three Performance Centers.
For more information about Tidewater Physical Therapy, visit http://www.tpti.com. Learn more about the Tidewater Performance Center at http://www.tidewaterperform.com.
