CE195: Evaluation and Treatment of Dysautonomia: Back to the Basics

Although the term “dysautonomia” wasn’t coined until the 1970s, it has garnered significant awareness and clinical interest since the onset of the long-covid subset in 2020. Dysautonomia can be defined as dysfunction of the Autonomic Nervous System’s (ANS) resulting in its inability to effectively regulate vital functions including stabilization of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems. It involves malfunction of the sympathetic and/or parasympathetic divisions and can present with a myriad of symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, fainting, unstable vitals and digestive complaints. Historically, dysautonomia has been associated with the “exercise intolerance” domain of mTBI/concussion. However, there is growing awareness of dysautonomia related to various conditions including autoimmune disorders, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, covid and progressive neurologic disorders (i.e. PD). Due to the variety of clinical presentations, education for clinicians can improve diagnosis accuracy/efficiency, increase access to care and reduce disability. Primary management of this chronic and often debilitating condition is non-pharmaceutical interventions including patient education and supervised progressive exercise, providing skilled clinicians an opportunity to play a key role in improving patients’ quality of life. Specifically, prescribed exercise has significant benefits and is an optimal intervention, as it is vital to facilitate autonomic tone, upright tolerance and overall functional activity participation regardless of clinical presentation or reported symptoms. This presentation will describe the clinical profile of patients with dysautonomia, outline effective examination techniques and provide the tools to design and execute individualized exercise prescriptions for treatment of dysautonomia symptoms.

Date & Time

Asynchronous

CEHs

2

Cost

$100 Clinicians / $20 Students & Residents

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Recognize the signs and symptoms of dysautonomia
  • Delineate examination guidelines for individuals with dysautonomia and appropriately problem solve referrals to the interdisciplinary team
  • Generate a plan of care consistent with current clinical management recommendations for dysautonomia
  • Describe all components of recommended patient education including theoretical foundation of dysautonomia, importance of program compliance and effective implementation of non-pharmacological techniques to manage symptoms

Speakers

Dr. Jenna Tucker

Dr. Jenna Tucker is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at Kean University, where she has served as the Neurological Content Coordinator since 2019. Dr. Tucker earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy, with a minor in psychology, from Northeastern University in 2011. Her clinical practice has included inpatient, outpatient and home-care rehabilitation for adults with neurologic dysfunction, specializing in brain injury. She has been a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy since 2014 and a Certified Brain Injury Specialist since 2012. Dr. Tucker’s research focuses on brain injury rehabilitation and examination/treatment of dysautonomia. Her speaking experience includes workshop symposia at national and state-wide conferences, poster presentations at national and state-wide conferences.

Dr. Lauren Ziaks

Dr. Lauren Ziaks earned a Bachelors in Athletic Training and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy, with a concentration in Business, from Northeastern University. She is actively enrolled at Nova Southeastern University for her Ph.D. in Health Science. Since 2015, Dr. Ziaks has built a specialized comprehensive concussion management program which she now leads at Park City Hospital. She has also served as a lab instructor and guest lecturer for multiple universities over a 10 year period. Her clinical focus is in autonomic disorders and vision and vestibular rehabilitation to address chronic headaches, difficulty with school/work, reading deficits, attention deficits, exercise intolerance, and dizziness and balance issues post head trauma. Dr. Ziaks’ research focuses on examination and treatment of concussion and dysautonomia, which has been disseminated as peer-reviewed publications, poster presentations and conference workshops at local, state and national levels. Her speaking experience includes poster presentations at 10 state and national conferences, workshop presentations at state and national conferences including CSM 2023, development of a CEU approved course for PTWebucation and presentations at local and institution-based conferences for more than six years.