Rehabilitation Medicine Initiative

Our Rehabilitation Medicine initiative aims to raise awareness of the importance of rehabilitation care in Parkinson’s disease (PD).

The Problem

Rehabilitative care is under-utilized in Parkinson’s care. It is often used only in later disease stages, despite research demonstrating its positive effects. Rehabilitation can play a crucial role in managing and improving PD symptoms, quality of life and reducing disability from day one.

How We Are Addressing It

Our Rehabilitation Medicine initiative aims to raise awareness of the importance of rehabilitation care in PD. That means helping people with Parkinson’s advocate for starting rehabilitative services at any point in their disease and motivating healthcare professionals to include evidence-based rehabilitation interventions to every patient with Parkinson’s. 

The Parkinson’s Foundation Global Rehabilitation Medicine Task Force published a consensus statement regarding the incorporation of rehabilitation in PD care. This expert-based consensus statement outlines key tenets of rehabilitative care including its multidisciplinary approach and discipline-specific guidance for occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech language pathology, and psychology/neuropsychology across all PD stages. Key takeaways include: 

• Rehabilitation for PD should involve the person with PD and care partner and should incorporate shared decision-making to promote symptom management and independence.
• Care coordination and communication among the rehabilitation team, the entire PD care team, the person with PD, and care partner are critical for best results. 
• Rehabilitation professionals should have knowledge and expertise in treating people with Parkinson’s disease.
• Since Parkinson’s is a progressive disease, rehabilitative care should be offered proactively at diagnosis, to promote healthy behaviors and  proposed regularly throughout the disease course with repeated assessments and restorative interventions adapted to changes in one’s condition, to best support a person with PD and their care partner.

Read our Article

Rehabilitation care pathways have been designed to educate and support healthcare professionals in effectively evaluating the appropriateness and feasibility of care delivery options for people living with Parkinson’s disease. These pathways offer comprehensive guidance, including financial, operational, and discipline-specific considerations, applicable across various care settings and all stages of the disease.

• Proactive
• Restorative
• Supportive 

The care pathways were created with our Rehabilitation Medicine Learning Collaborative in partnership with the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, University of Southern California, and the University of Utah designated Parkinson’s Foundation Centers of Excellence. The Collaborative aims to create resources and widely disseminate evidence-based Parkinson’s disease rehabilitation recommendations building on the guidance of the Rehabilitation Medicine Consensus Statement.