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Hi Scott, Maxine, Robert, and All, A "movement disorder specialist" is a neurologist who has specialized in one of the movement disorders, in our case, Parkinson's. The advantage of seeing a "movement disorder specialist" is that, in general, these highly trained individuals are usually found in the center of a "multi-disciplinary team" located in a "movement disorder center" often at research hospitals... such as Emory in Atlanta, or UBC in Vancouver... see Who are your Health Care Team Members? on topic 29 on my web site URL below... (I've lifted the words of others and applied them here to my own experience..) Hospital multidisciplinary teams may include the following professionals: Consultant - neurologist, movement disorder specialist, care of the elderly physician, rehabilitation medicine specialist, psychiatrist, psycho-geriatrician... Brain surgeon (DBS, pallidotomy, thalamotomy) Pharmacist Nurses (specialist and non-specialist) PET Scan suite Physiotherapist Occupational therapist Speech therapist Dietician Clinical psychologist Social worker/Counsellor Podiatrist Orthotist Continence advisor Sex therapist Ongong clinical trials... Get the picture? Experts in every facet of Parkinson's dealing with hundreds of patients, experts on the leading edge.... Expect superior treatment... Don't forget, this isn't a dx, treatment, cure, quick turn around and you're done in a finite term, days, weeks to full recovery... oh no, far from it.... This is a chronic ailment, progressive, unrelenting, long term, nocure as yet... etc. Parkinson's is manageable by degrees but we need all the help we can get... If a movement disorder specialist is available, then we owe it to ourselves to take advantage... my 25 cents .... murray see Parkinson's & Your Health Care Team http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters/029.html On 24 Mar 2003 at 16:37, scott burnett wrote: > Generally speaking I have been happy with my Neurologist but I'm > wondering if I need to look into a more balanced approach to my health. > In other words, continuing with the pharmacological approach but > looking into other avenues to make myself feel better. For example, > I'm beginning to work out (finally!) and have been trying to get more > sleep. I remember people talking about a health care person called a > movement disorder specialist (I think.) Is that the same as a physical > therapist or occupational therapist? Are there any people you would > recommend here in Northern California? What about massage? It's > expensive but does it help fight off the effects of Parkinson's or is > it a temporary relief approach only? > > Scott Burnett > 45 years old (ouch) and 6 years into this jazz.... > * * * Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn