Leanne Scott, the owner of Move Therapies clinic in Osoyoos, demonstrates the Anat Baniel NeuroMovement techniques that have proven so successful in helping victims of stroke, MS, Parkinson’s Disease and other neurological illnesses. Scott made a presentation to Town of Osoyoos council on Monday. (Keith Lacey photo)
A practitioner of a new therapeutic treatment claims “near miraculous” results for those recovering from the several neurological impairments caused by stroke, Parkinson’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis.
Leanne Scott is a registered practitioner of Anat Baniel NeuroMovement (ABM), who recently opened her new clinic called Move Therapies in downtown Osoyoos Nov. 1.
During a presentation to Town of Osoyoos council on Monday, Scott told Mayor Sue McKortoff and councillors how ABM is an evidence-based, neuroplastic approach to healing brain and body trauma, chronic pain and other neurological or neurodevelopmental challenges through gentle, pain-free, practioner-led movement.
Through gentle, innovative movement lessons, ABM therapy quickly wakes up the brain to form new patterns to eliminate body pain and increase strength, flexibility and co-ordination, she said.
“This approach has helped to restore and improve physical, cognitive and emotional functions for people of all ages and conditions,” said Scott. “It can also improve performance in athletes and typical people that want to stay healthy, functional and age in the best way possible.”
ABM has helped those who suffer from a long list of ailments, including those with chronic back, shoulder, hip, knee and neck pain as well as neurological disorders such as stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, cerebral palsy, autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, traumatic brain injury, scoliosis, repetitive stress injury and much more, she said.
ABM was developed by an Israeli woman named Anat Baniel, who has lived in the United States for several years, and concentrates on working directly with brain function and the central nervous system, she said. She and her husband are parents to a six-year-old son with special needs and while extensive physical and occupational therapy did help, it did not achieve the results they were looking for, she said.
After researching and finding out about ABM, Scott and her son spent two weeks with Baniel in California undergoing intensive therapy.
“The change was incredibly remarkable,” she said.
The key to ABM therapy is “you deal directly with the brain”, while most traditional therapies deal with the body, she said.
“We deal with brain plasticity,” she said.
The results from a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests before and after ABM therapy clearly show brain activity improves dramatically, she said.
“The ramifications are huge,” she said.
For years, anyone suffering from a serious stroke after age 75 was put into acute care if they didn’t recover quickly, but ABM therapy has proven hugely effective in dealing with elderly stroke sufferers, she said.
“We know the brain can change right up until the day you take your last breath,” she said.
Scott says her clinic offers hands-on gentle physical therapy as well as group lessons similar to a yoga or dance class where she will verbally guide patients through a series of steps to increase brain activity.
“It is very, very functional,” she said of her therapeutic methods.
The benefits for those suffering from stroke, MS or Parkinsons “can be fairly miraculous” and she’s convinced the medical community will be prescribing ABM therapy as preferred treatment once its benefits become more widely recognized and accepted, said Scott.
Unlike some other physical therapies for seniors where they can no longer tolerate the pain involved in stretching and manipulating body parts, ABM is “completely without pain … It can help everyone and anyone.”
The pain goes away as your brain keeps changing and evolving, creating better alternatives for patients. At the same time, patients will become stronger and more flexible, will think clearer and be more creative, she said.
Because ABM is relatively new, it is not yet recognized by the provincial government in B.C. and therefore, not covered under Medical Services Plan coverage, she said.
However, three doctors in Osoyoos have already prescribed ABM therapy for patients, “which is a first in Canada.” Several private insurance companies also offer several hundred dollars annually for therapeutic treatment and can use the treatment of their choice, including ABM, she said.
For more information about Move Therapies, phone 250-535-1199 or visit 7611 Spartan Drive.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
