[re+think]

Answer:  Yes, if it is the RIGHT class! There is growing evidence that working in groups is beneficial for people with PD for motivational reasons, accountability, emotional and psychological support, and for socialization (among other things).  Since we started group exercise classes at [re+active], we were curious about whether a patient doing group therapy could actually improve function or would participation just help them maintain at the same level (or just slow progression since it is a neurodegenerative disease!).  So we decided to test our hypothesis in a patient case and see. We created our [re+move] High Intensity Parkinson’s Exercise class to target specific problems that people with Parkinson’s disease have, such as difficulties with balance, walking, turning, agility, coordination, functional movement, bradykinesia, and stiffness.  We put this all into one fun group class set to music!  The time frame for this trial class was 1 time per week for 12 weeks.  As

Dr. Caudill and I have the privilege to teach in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at USC, where we recently taught in the Neuropathology course.  As many of my students know, I love the cranial nerves!  There is something charming and lovely about the 12 small pairs of cranial nerves exiting from the brainstem.   More importantly, the cranial nerves provide exquisite insight for neurologic differential diagnosis.    I cannot emphasize enough the importance of completing an efficient and accurate cranial nerve screen for patients with neurologic dysfunction.  The students in our class are now completing their final internships and I received a request from one of them to post “5 minute Cranial Nerve Screen” video that I had filmed for our class.   I put this short video together in my kitchen one afternoon with my then 4 year old daughter in order to demonstrate that a brief cranial nerve screen could be done in 5 minutes or less (I believe we completed it in 4:05).   I hav