Kids and PT

Some might ask why would a child need physical therapy? Well, for the same reason an adult would: Pain, injury, post-casting/surgical and dysfunction.

Kids DO have non-injury pain. There are some doctors and other people that say it’s not possible, but it is. There are hundreds, if not thousands of birth disorders, big and small, that lead to painful situations for kids. Even more common are repetitive stress disorders. Show me anyone over 10 not staring at their phone 24/7 and I’ll show you a purple unicorn. There’s even a name-tech neck. Sitting is the worst thing you can do for your back. That’s all kids do anymore! Also, backpacks that shouldn’t ever exceed 10-20% of a kids body weight are more like 110-120%.

Injury-I have 2 brothers and Wendy has 3. There wasn’t a point from 1975-2005 that one of us didn’t have a cast or stitches. Between the rising demands of kids sports and regular ol’ rough housing; the odds of getting hurt are at all-time highs. Speaking of casts; any time someone is casted or braced, that area immediately begins to de-condition. On top of that, adhesions (think cobwebs) start to form.

With pain, injury, deconditioning, etc. the body changes the way it works. It adapts. Your brain will always find a way for you to continue moving, even if it’s the wrong way. These adoptions will engrain pathways that continue the pain cycle, or create movement patterns that will lead to pain and degeneration. This is even more true with surgery. Our own daughter was born with a diaphragmatic hernia. She had to have corrective surgery at just days old. The surgery leads to adhesion formation that thwarted the development of her core muscles. Her body still allowed her to walk, crawl and run; but not the exact right way. With ongoing and continuous PT she’s been able to lead a pretty normal life.

And that is the ultimate goal of not just Physical Therapy, but Chiropractic, Massage, Acupuncture and everything we do here. Make life more normal. It is normal to NOT have pain; it’s normal to have a full range of motion, to have the strength and in the proper ratios; to be physically able to do anything and everything your body allows.

Dr. Hickey and I both have Physical Therapy privileges in the State of Maryland. Meaning that in addition to being Doctors of Chiropractic with all that entails, we have the same training and privileges as Physical Therapists. Over the last almost 20 years of practice, I’ve treated 1000’s of children including my own.