“It’s so rewarding to help create life-changing moments” – Marissa Clark, MPT
Marissa Clark has spent her whole life trying to understand neurological disorders. Her interest started when her grandfather – a once active, hardworking farmer – suffered a crippling stroke, which left him in a wheelchair.
“It tore the whole family apart, but it inspired me to pursue a career focused on making life easier for people living with disabling neurological diseases,” said Clark. After college, she earned a master of physical therapy degree, and later become the founder and CEO of Clark Neuro Rehab Consultants, a company based in Lawrence, Kansas, which uses innovative physical therapy methods to create hope and improve quality of life for patients living with neurological disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS).
Marissa and her team are now applying the methods and techniques developed at Clark Neuro Rehab Consultants and sharing them with people throughout Kansas who might not have access to such cutting-edge approaches. She recently created INK: Innovative Neuro-Rehab for Kansas, which looks at how to reach and treat patients with neurological disorders in rural areas.
Clark also regularly collaborates with scientists and national organizations, typically focusing on how to help improve balance and quality of life for people living with MS. Her involvement varies from research projects to speaking engagements with MS patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals across the country – she did 50 talks in 2013 alone! Clark’s speeches generally focus on fatigue, mobility or new interventions/equipment (among other topics), but all impart a message of hope about what the future could hold for this patient community. She is also hoping to soon bring to market a novel product that helps people living with MS by using resistance bands to assist with their balance and gait. She continues to push the envelope on what should be considered the “norm” for people living with neurological disorders and what they can achieve when it comes to their mobility.
Approximately 2.3 million people are currently living with MS, and 400,000 of them are in the U.S. alone. Of those, approximately 85 percent are initially diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), the most common form of the disease. RRMS is characterized by clearly defined acute attacks with full recovery or with residual deficit upon recovery.
Clark admits that MS is a difficult disease to face, because there is still so much fear that surrounds the disease and prognosis. She states, “One day you can be walking, and the next day you could be severely disabled. MS does not care if you are a doctor, the wife of a presidential candidate, a student, mother, brother, or even a child. If there is anything that I can do to better the lives of people living with MS, I will!”
This is exactly why Clark has continued her work for nearly 20 years. She has witnessed firsthand how education, research and tools are improving MS patients’ lives.
“I was working with a woman with MS who could barely walk 16 steps and couldn’t turn over in bed,” said Clark. “Our team started compression and bed mobility exercises, supplied her with a new walker and started interval training. Five years later, the same woman is averaging 1,000 steps in 30 minutes. It’s so rewarding to contribute to these life-changing moments.”
This article is presented by Biogen Idec as part of the MS VisionariesTM program. This program recognizes individuals such as Marissa who are doing something positive for people living with MS. Biogen Idec is not affiliated with Clark Neuro Rehab Consultants or any of the other MS Visionaries featured on this site, and does not endorse any services that they provide. Always check with your doctor before starting any exercise program. Biogen Idec does not control the websites referenced in this article and is not responsible for their content.
© 2014 Biogen Idec.
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