Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders

Movement disorders are a group of neurologic issues that include Parkinson’s disease and tremors. These conditions cause too much or too little muscle movement, and make it difficult to go about your life. Through the Nuvance Health^® Neuroscience Institute, we offer relief.

Our movement disorders program is among the first program in New York’s Hudson Valley and Western Connecticut offering comprehensive care. At convenient locations close to home, eligible patients have access to advanced treatments that restore quality of life. Many patients resume their favorite pastimes, including spending time with loved ones, riding bicycles and fishing.

Movement disorder care at Nuvance Health: Why choose us?

Neurologists tailor services to help you achieve your unique goals. Our continued focus on your needs means you don’t have to face your care journey alone. Highlights of our program include:

Comprehensive services
Nuvance Health offers more of the services you need in one program. Your care may include advanced testing using a DaTscan, a tool that is not widely available. Care may also include innovative options through clinical trials.

Team approach
You benefit from the recommendations of neurologists, neurosurgeons, therapists and neuropsychologists. We work together to determine the services that are best for you and plan the next steps of your care.

Ongoing follow-up
We maintain regular contact with you to make sure treatments stay on track. Some medications can cause mental fog or concerning behaviors, like new habits you can’t control. We explain these risks upfront and check in with you regularly to identify problems early on. Adjusting your medication dose can help you get relief.

Timely access
We maintain regular contact with you to make sure treatments stay on track. Some medications can cause mental fog or concerning behaviors, like new habits you can’t control. We explain these risks upfront and check in with you regularly to identify problems early on. Adjusting your medication dose can help you get relief.

Movement disorders we treat

We treat common and complex movement disorders, including:

• Chorea causes jerky, irregular motions and fidgeting that can interfere with speech, walking and swallowing.
• Dystonia causes temporary or ongoing muscle movements that can result in abnormal, sometimes painful, postures.
• Essential tremor runs in families and typically cause shaky hands, but can also affect your head, arms or legs.
• Huntington’s disease causes difficulty with walking and balance, as well as depression and personality changes.
• Parkinson’s disease brings symptoms such as tremor, stiffness and slowness that typically get worse over time.
• Restless legs syndrome often strikes when you’re trying to sleep, causing an irresistible urge to move your legs.
• Tourette syndrome causes involuntary, repetitive movements called tics that may include movements and sounds.

Evaluations for Parkinson's Disease, tremors and other movement disorders

Your care starts with a thorough evaluation from our movement disorder specialists. In addition to performing a neurologic exam, we listen carefully as you describe your symptoms and medical history.

Additional tests help confirm your diagnosis or plan treatments, including:

• DaTscan, an imaging study that uses radioactive substances to determine whether symptoms like tremors are due to Parkinson’s disease
• Genetic testing to determine whether the movement disorder is genetic
• Neuropsychology evaluation to assess how symptoms impact your daily life

Advanced treatments for movement disorders

Medications are a common treatment for movement disorders. But they don’t work for everyone and sometimes cause side effects that can slow your progress. At Nuvance Health, you still have options.

We offer advanced movement disorder therapies that give eligible patients more chances for symptom relief, including:

• Botox^® injections: Doctors inject Botox into overactive muscles for temporary relief of dystonia and Tourette syndrome symptoms.
• Deep brain stimulation: Experienced neurosurgeons implant a device that delivers gentle electrical impulses to prevent abnormal movements. DBS helps you gain better symptom control if standard treatments are not successful