Becky Farley, PT, MS, PhD PWR! GYM™ Founder LSVT® BIG Inventor Researcher/Author/Educator

Dr. Farley (Becky) is a physical therapist with over 25 years experience in neurological rehabilitation for children and adults. She pursued a PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Arizona to better understand how to develop effective rehabilitation interventions for people with neurological disorders. During her post-doc she investigated the muscle activation deficits underlying bradykinesia in people with PD. She has since completed an NIH funded randomized clinical trial to document the efficacy of an exercise approach that targets the PD symptoms of slow/small movements bradykinesia/hypokinesia (LSVT® BIG) – and is now training physical and occupational therapists in this intensive standardized program around the world (www.lsvtglobal.com). She is a published author on exercise for people with Parkinson’s disease and gives public and medical seminars around the US. The PWR!GYM™ is a model health care delivery program for making early and continuous access to exercise a possibility for people with PD and other types of neurodegenerative or neurological disorders. It will provide the infrastructure for future research projects to demonstrate the use of exercise as a therapeutic agent to slow motor deterioration in PD. The goal is to make AZ the leader in early intervention and evidenced-based interventions programs in the US! Who knows, one day, just like Silversneakers, you may be able to swipe your insurance card at the entrance to your PWR!GYM™ class.

Current research projects

• UA (My Lab)
  • Dual task function in early PD
  • PWR! WALK – Over ground high intensity mobility training
  • RECHARGE™ – An intensive program to targe PD-specific motor deficits across disease severity 
    • Use it or Lose it (i.e., early intervention to slow/deter motor deterioration
    • Use it and Improve it (later stage freezing and postural instability problems)

• USC (Beth Fisher, PhD, PT)
  • Treadmill locomotion Training vs. Overground locomotion training

• ASU Art, Media, Engineering Dept (Todd Ingalls/Thanassis Rikakis)
  • Interactive biofeedback technology

• Industry - Alberti's Window
  • Video-based feedback technology to enhance learning and assess function