ALS

About ALS 

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, is a progressive, degenerative disease that affects motor neurons.  Motor neurons activate muscles contractions and, without stimulation, muscles atrophy.  As voluntary muscle action is affected, people lose the ability to speak, eat, move and breathe.  Your therapy team will be an important support as you face these changes:

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy will address pain, walking, mobility, bracing and equipment needs to help you stay independent. They will prescribe a program of stretches to help prevent pain and help your muscles function at their best and low-impact exercises to help maintain your cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength and range of motion for as long as possible.  They will help you adjust to a brace, walker or wheelchair and might suggest devices such as ramps that make it easier for you to get around.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy will help you find ways to remain independent despite hand and arm weakness. They will prescribe adaptive equipment to help you perform activities such as dressing, grooming, eating and bathing.  They also help you modify your home to allow accessibility if you have trouble walking safely.

Speech Therapy

Speech therapy will teach you adaptive techniques to make your speech more understandable. They will also help you explore other methods of communication, such as tablet computers with text-to-speech applications, computer-based equipment with synthesized speech, an alphabet board or pen and paper to help you communicate.