About Thrive
Thrive is a personalized home workout program specific to Parkinson’s Disease (PD) designed to target all the areas your body needs to improve. These workouts are guided by a qualified Parkinson’s Physical Therapist to help you work on what is needed. Some benefits of the program are: 1) you don’t have to leave your home, 2) extensive library of diverse videos for individual member’s use, 3) access to a one-on-one consultation each month with me.
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I will hold a zoom meet and greet with a potential client interested in joining Thrive to get to know you, understand your goals, see how you are moving, etc., to determine which class most suits you and challenges you the best. The class size will be kept small so that I can closely monitor all participants, making sure you are focusing on the techniques of each movement to maximize your results from the class. I believe you get the most out of your exercise if it is led by a therapist who is highly trained in PD.
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I also believe that laughter, smiling, and anything to make your heart smile is also a part of therapy. Did you know that a simple smile or laughing can release oxytocin and can boost your mood? Oxytocin is known for decreasing stress and improving sleep, as well as decreasing blood pressure. Oxytocin is a neuropeptide, which is a tiny molecule that allows neurons to communicate. They facilitate messages to the whole body when we are happy, sad, angry, or excited. In addition, there are other feel-good neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin, that are all released when a smile flashes across your face. So, these metabolic reactions will also improve your symptoms of PD and are one of the reasons we have fun in the classes. We share trivia, tell jokes, and talk before and after class to socialize and get to know each other. This is an easy piece of the puzzle that we work on as part of therapy as well.
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Here at Thrive, I will keep you educated and up to date on current research and about PD to learn more about how to help your bodies. That means we focus on more than just motor symptoms, but also concentrate on many of the non-motor symptoms of PD as well. Sleep, nutrition, and blood pressure can be affected by PD, as well as mental and social health, and cognition.
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You also get a one-on-one consultation each month with me. This can be anything you want it to be; you can ask me any question about Parkinson’s. We can talk about any movement difficulties you might be having and try to problem solve how to fix them, etc. Consultation changes each month depending on your needs each time. This is a valuable part of the program, as I speak with each person individually to help them solve their unique problems!
Meet Leslie
My Why
I have been a Physical Therapist since 2004 when I graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina. In 2014, I began working with People with Parkinson's and fell in love with treating this population. Since then, it has become my life's work and passion. People with Parkinson's can have many difficulties in life, but I have noted that with retraining of the brain, focusing on coordination, flexibility, strength and dual tasking, people with PD can improve their fluidity of movement and decrease their risk of falls as well as improve their quality of life. One of the things that people say to me often is, "Parkinson's is progressive so I can't really get better." Some of the best statements I hear from clients are that they went to their Neurologist and the Neurologist told them that they have improved from their last visit. Other clients say that they have improved from a stage II Parkinson's to a stage I Parkinson's. So, I spend time with my clients to let them know the ball is in your court and that you can improve if you put the work in. The research is showing that retraining the brain and exercise are ways to slow the disease process. I have seen many clients improve after working with someone who is properly trained by a Parkinson’s Therapist like myself. I watch them maintain that improvement through continued exercise and work. So, join me in this venture and let's fight PD!!
Thrive was built on the need for a community where you have exercise, education, and support from someone trained in Parkinson's, as well as support from others with Parkinson's to improve your quality of life and overall well-being. Thrive takes a holistic approach and focuses on all aspects of our body and health like nutrition, sleep, mental health, and social health as well as other non-motor symptoms of PD to improve our overall well-being and physical health. There is more to our physical movement, and these parts of our lives need to be looked at to improve your physical well-being, as well as exercising efficiently. Integrating all these aspects let's us create the best you!
