Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) is a neurological condition in which there is a problem with how the brain and body receive and send signals. This can cause physical and sensory symptoms, like weakness, tremors, seizures, walking, speech or vision problems.
Overview
Our interdisciplinary team of physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) provide one-on-one care and work with you to create a unique treatment plan based on your needs. Additionally, we have a full-time social worker available to assist with counseling and accessing various resources throughout the community.
Your Visit Includes:
- Symptom Management: Tailored approaches for managing sensory disturbances, weakness, tremors, autonomic symptoms (such as dizziness or heart rate changes) to reduce symptom severity and improve daily functioning.
- Self-Management Strategies: Techniques such as pacing activities, stress reduction, and structured routines to enhance control over symptoms and promote independence.
- Brain Re-Training: Neuroplasticity-based techniques, including physiotherapy and cognitive-behavioral interventions, to retrain the brain’s response patterns and restore normal movement and sensory processing.
- Autonomic Nervous System Regulation: Breathing exercises, mindfulness, and graded exposure to stabilize symptoms such as fatigue, palpitations, or digestive issues.
- Adaptive Equipment: Recommendations for mobility aids or ergonomic tools to support safety and function in daily tasks while working on symptom recovery and retraining.
Our Approach:
Our therapists exclusively provide one-on-one care to provide evidence-based, individualized care and effective treatment plans. Our therapists design treatment plans based on your strength and movement needs, including all aspects of prosthesis management and training. We collaborate with prosthetists and offer wheelchair evaluations when needed.
Every WashU Medicine physical therapist holds a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree, with many having board-specialist certifications in specific areas of practice. Our clinicians are trusted experts in evaluating and treating conditions and are committed to providing comprehensive and compassionate care.