10 Things You Didn’t Know A Pediatric PT Can Help With

In honor of October being Physical Therapy Month, we wanted to share a list of things that you may not realize a pediatric physical therapist can help your child with. If any of these resonate with you, call your local pediatric physical therapist to ask questions. Happy Physical Therapy Month!

1. Yes we work with BABIES! Pediatric PT treats newborns for things like torticollis, plagiocephaly, and delayed achievement of milestones.
2. Yes we facilitate BREASTFEEDING! Pediatric PT can help you and your baby with the following things: positioning, range of motion and mobility for access (latching), relaxation, and proper trunk and pelvic stability.
3. Yes we support POSTURE and ERGONOMICS! Pediatric PT can analyze and teach both you (lifting safety) and your child (posture, backpacks, handwriting, and more).
4. Yes we address challenges related to TOILETING and BEDWETTING! Pediatric PT works with your child to strengthen the pelvic floor, develop routines, and educate in all areas that affect toileting.
5. Yes we provide NUTRITION SCREENING! Pediatric PT does nutritional screening to promote health and wellness, address obesity, and enhance rehabilitation.
6. Yes we address CONCUSSIONS! Pediatric PT performs pre- and post-concussion screens including subsequent vestibular rehabilitation.
7. Yes we analyze FOOTWEAR! Pediatric PT assesses proper fit and function of shoes for sports, everyday use, and even picking out their first pair.
8. Yes we facilitate development of COORDINATED PLAY SKILLS! Pediatric PT helps your child keep up with their peers by working on body awareness and coordination for skills such as bike riding, monkey bars, skipping, jumping jacks, and more.
9. Yes we support YOUTH ATHLETES! Pediatric PT not only treats injuries but prevents them through running and movement analyses, and performance enhancement training.
10. Yes we perform GROSS MOTOR CHECK-UPS! Pediatric PT helps ensure your child is on track with their gross motor skills by recommending annual check-ups just like you go to the dentist every 6 months.

 

Backpack Safety for Back to School

image retrieved from: tucsonweekly.com

With school starting again, most kids will be asking for new backpacks to help carry their supplies to and from school.  Make sure you are aware of how to help them prevent injuries by understanding backpack safety.

Every year the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) has a National School Backpack Awareness Day.  This years is September 19, 2012.  They have also published several handouts on proper backpack use and safety tips as well as several videos for both kids and adults to watch.

It’s recommended that kids don’t carry more than 10%-15% of their body weight in a backpack in order to prevent back aches and injuries.  This means if your child is 50 pounds they shouldn’t be carrying a backpack that weighs more than 5-7 pounds.  With the increase in homework this may prove challenging.   There are some solutions out there that are presented in this ABC’s of backpack use.  Some of the practical ones suggest using backpacks with wheels, organize the backpack so that the heaviest items are the ones that are closest to the back, bigger isn’t always better (its harder to overstuff a smaller backpack).

Because of the high number of injuries from backpack use its recommended that you talk to your children about telling you if their back hurts, they have numbness or tingling.  Also it helps for you to note if your child’s posture changes when they are wearing their backpack.  Do they arch their back more or slump more?  All of these are signs that the backpack is too heavy or not fitting correctly.

What backpacks have you found fit well and are safe for your kids?