The Impact of Physical Therapy on DBS Dystonia Patients
School Name
South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics
Grade Level
12th Grade
Presentation Topic
Physiology and Health
Presentation Type
Mentored
Abstract
Over 250,000 people in the United States suffer from generalized dystonia, a disorder that causes uncontrollable muscle convulsions. There are few treatments currently available to lessen the tremor, spasms, and pain caused by dystonia. One specific treatment known as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), in which electrodes are implanted into the brain to control muscle movements, can be advantageous for dystonia patients. However, there is significant variation present in the levels of improvement from patient to patient. We hypothesized that the reason some DBS dystonia patients improve more than others is due to physical therapy (PT). To test this, we looked at a case series of 10 patients who had undergone DBS — 6 who had PT and 4 who did not. Using subjective patient statements before and after DBS, we found that 3 out of the 6 patients who had PT improved (50%) while 3 out of the 4 patients who did not have PT improved (75%). Thus, the group who did not undergo PT tended to improve more. However, there were only 10 patients in the study, making it difficult to determine if our outcome was accurate or not. In the future, we hope to redo this experiment with a larger sample size and focus on more factors such as the time spent in PT per patient. This research is a start to gaining a deeper knowledge of the most accurate treatment for dystonia patients of varying backgrounds and if physical therapy is truly worthwhile or not.
Recommended Citation
Adusumilli, Ritisha, "The Impact of Physical Therapy on DBS Dystonia Patients" (2023). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 113.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2023/all/113
Location
ECL 340
Start Date
3-25-2023 11:30 AM
Presentation Format
Oral Only
Group Project
No
The Impact of Physical Therapy on DBS Dystonia Patients
ECL 340
Over 250,000 people in the United States suffer from generalized dystonia, a disorder that causes uncontrollable muscle convulsions. There are few treatments currently available to lessen the tremor, spasms, and pain caused by dystonia. One specific treatment known as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), in which electrodes are implanted into the brain to control muscle movements, can be advantageous for dystonia patients. However, there is significant variation present in the levels of improvement from patient to patient. We hypothesized that the reason some DBS dystonia patients improve more than others is due to physical therapy (PT). To test this, we looked at a case series of 10 patients who had undergone DBS — 6 who had PT and 4 who did not. Using subjective patient statements before and after DBS, we found that 3 out of the 6 patients who had PT improved (50%) while 3 out of the 4 patients who did not have PT improved (75%). Thus, the group who did not undergo PT tended to improve more. However, there were only 10 patients in the study, making it difficult to determine if our outcome was accurate or not. In the future, we hope to redo this experiment with a larger sample size and focus on more factors such as the time spent in PT per patient. This research is a start to gaining a deeper knowledge of the most accurate treatment for dystonia patients of varying backgrounds and if physical therapy is truly worthwhile or not.
