Most people think of physical therapy as something you do after something happens. After you start having pain, after you have an injury. But physical therapy is so much more than that. One alternate to rehabilitation is pre-habilitation. Pre-habilitation or pre-surgery physical therapy has been shown to improve outcomes and accelerate recovery. Undergoing surgery can be an overwhelming process. Pre-habilitation involves targeted interventions and exercises to optimize the body’s strength prior to surgery. This proactive approach prepares patients for the physical demands of surgery, setting the stage for a smoother, faster recovery.

Benefits of Pre-Habiliation Physical Therapy

One of the key benefits of pre-habilitation is its focus on building strength and endurance to the muscles surrounding the area to be operated on. Whether preparing for joint replacement, spine surgery, or other orthopedic procedures, strengthening muscles in advance ensures that they are more ready to handle surgery and rehabilitation. Other benefits include:

• Reduced Pain Post-Surgery – Patients who undergo pre-habilitation often report reduced pain as the result of their improved muscular strength. Improved muscle strength helps support the affected area and reduces the stress imposed upon the joints.
• Accelerated Recovery Time – Recovering from surgery can take weeks or even months. However, by improving muscle strength, joint function, and overall flexibility with pre-habilitation, patients can regain their independence and mobility much faster post-surgery.
• Reduced Risk of Complications – As a result of pre-habilitation, patients often are in significantly better condition when going into surgery. This improvement in overall fitness lowers the risk of post-surgical complications, such as infections, blood clots, and muscle atrophy. Pre-habilitation also improves balance and coordination, which reduces the risk of falls during the recovery period.
• Boosted Confidence and Mental Readiness – Pre-habilitation reduces anxiety and improves understanding of the surgery and recovery process. Patients find that they have greater confidence heading into surgery knowing that they have taken steps to physically and mentally prepare their body for surgery and recovery.

Pre-habilitation physical therapy is a proactive and evidenced based approach to surgery. It offers patients numerous benefits to prepare them for the challenges of surgery and recovery. Whether it’s strengthening muscles, reducing pain, speeding up recovery, or preventing complications, pre-habilitation physical therapy is valuable option for anyone preparing for surgery.

The vestibular system includes parts of the inner ear and brain. Movement affects these areas. It is a critical system because it affects development in other areas. But what is vestibular input? In its simplest form, vestibular input is the sensation of any change in position, direction, or movement of the head.

The receptors are located in the inner ear and are activated by the fluid in the ear canals moving as you move. When you go upside down, for example, the fluid in the ear canals gives information to the central nervous system about your body’s position in space. Vestibular input gives our bodies information about whether we are moving with or against gravity, fast or slow, moving or still, and what direction we are headed. From infancy through adulthood, vestibular information contributes to the development of:

• Muscle tone
• Righting reactions
• Balance
• Postural security
• Eye movements
• Overall alertness

What Does it Look Like?

If a child is processing vestibular information appropriately, then movement comes with control, balance, and safety. The child feels comfortable jumping, climbing, swinging, and taking calculated risks in play because the vestibular sense is providing accurate information about where the body is at in space. If a child is demonstrating difficulty with processing vestibular information, then they may be under- or over-responsive to movement, which will impact overall activity. If the child is under-responsive to vestibular input, then they may be able to tolerate a lot of movement before it registers, therefore the body may be in constant motion. When a child is over-responsive, or hypersensitive, to vestibular input then they may not be able to handle movement at all, resulting in avoiding activities that challenge balance and coordination.

Both children can present as uncoordinated and likely demonstrate ocular motor difficulties as well. The vestibular and visual systems work together when our central nervous systems are in harmony. Vestibular dysfunction can present with difficulties tracking, focusing, and smoothly looking between two objects (saccades).

Support Vestibular Development

Supporting your child’s vestibular development can make a big difference in their balance, coordination, and sensory development. Here is a list of vestibular activities that are simple, fun, and engaging that are easy to set up quickly and required with minimal equipment:

• Swinging – playground swing or therapy swing in different directions and speeds
• Spinning and Twirling – spinning in swivel chair or twirling in open space that is safe to avoid falls
• Rolling and Tumbling – rolling on therapy ball forwards, backwards, or sideways
• Obstacle Courses – activities with various textures and elevations (crawling through tunnels, climbing over cushions, walking on balance beams)
• Jumping and Hopping – jumping on a trampoline or hopping on obstacles

For more information regarding vestibular activities check out Your Kids Table for some essential vestibular ideas.

Precautions for Vestibular Input

Always supervise the child closely during vestibular activities to prevent accidents or injuries. Make sure the environment is safe and free from hazards. Introduce new vestibular movements gradually to avoid overwhelming the child and progress the intensity as the child becomes more comfortable. Be aware of specific sensory sensitivities the child may have (spinning or rocking movements).

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s vestibular or other sensory processing challenges, an occupational therapist can help create individualized interventions to meet your child’s specific needs and abilities.

The holiday season is a busy and exciting time of year, but it can also be quite stressful. Between shopping, parties, traveling, and visiting family, it’s easy for your regular exercise routine to fall by the wayside. Research has shown that physical activity levels tend to decrease the most after holidays. But, you can have healthy holidays by following a few simple steps.

That’s why it’s so important to make your health a priority this time of year. Regular exercise can actually help reduce holiday stress and keep you feeling your best. It is important to stick to your exercise routine and reduce stress. Here are some of the key benefits of maintaining your fitness routine:

Stress Management for Healthy Holidays

The holidays bring a lot of added demands on your time and energy. Exercise is a proven way to manage stress and improve your mood. When you work out, your body releases endorphins that can lift your spirits and help you better cope with the pressures of the season. Making time to be active, even just a little big each day, can go a long way in keeping you calm and centered. Use additional stress management techniques to boost the impact of exercise.

Immune System Support

Cold and flu season tends to ramp up during the winter months. Staying active can help support your immune system and reduce your risk of getting sick. Keeping up with your workouts makes you less susceptible to holiday illnesses that could derail your plans.

Weight Management for healthy holidays

The holidays are full of rich, indulgent foods that can pack on extra pounds if you’re not careful. Regular physical activity helps you maintain a healthy weight by burning calories and boosting your metabolism. It also gives you an outlet for all the extra energy you may have from eating richer foods.

If you’re having trouble sticking to your exercise routine, consider talking to your physical therapist. They can create a customized fitness plan to help you stay on track, even with a busy holiday schedule. Physical therapists can teach you exercises you can do at home and provide tips for fitting activity into your day.

Here are a few quick tips to help you stay active this holiday season:

• Schedule your workouts like any other important appointment and don’t cancel them.
• Find ways to be active with friends and family, like going for a walk after a meal.
• Keep home exercise equipment (like weights or a yoga mat) accessible and ready to use.
• Park further away from stores and buildings to get in extra steps.

So, don’t let the hustle and bustle of the holidays derail your health and fitness goals. With a little planning and creativity, you can maintain your exercise routine and enjoy a happier, healthier holiday season.

 

Navigating the complexities of language development in your child can be both rewarding and challenging. There are two ways in which children develop language, not just the familiar milestone charts seen online or at well child visits. When charts describe language acquisition and processing as a progression from cooing to babbling to first words building to sentences, this describes Analytic Language Processing (ALP). ALPs are often thought of as, “word babies”. Gestalt Language Processing (GLP) is another approach to language acquisition where children learn language in chunks or “gestalts.”

Rather than breaking down language into individual words and constructing sentences from scratch (as in ALP), gestalt processors typically learn phrases or sentences as whole units. These can be scripts or memorized phrases from movies, songs, or conversations, which they use in appropriate contexts.  The intonation or inflection of the script is copied by the child, even when the script is long and they do not pronounce all the words. Therefore, parents and caregivers will often know the script by the sound, dubbing GLPs as, “intonation babies”. GLP is less discussed or known about, despite being just as natural and typical as ALP.  Processing language as a GLP is not a disorder nor does it mean a child is autistic. However, however many people with autism are GLPs.

Supporting Communication Skills

Understanding GLP can be crucial for effectively supporting your child’s communication skills. Developing language as a GLP has distinct milestones through a process known as Natural Language Acquisition (NLA). Many children will go undetected as GLPs as they move through these distinct stages of NLA. Others will require speech therapy. Identifying the characteristics of gestalt language processing can help you determine whether your child may process language this way.

Characteristics of Gestalt Language Processing

• Echolalia: This is the repetition of phrases or scripts from others, often verbatim. Children may repeat lines from a favorite movie or recite phrases they’ve heard without immediate modification.
• Delayed Echolalia: In some cases, children may use previously heard phrases in future conversations, applying them contextually.
• Chunked Speech: Instead of constructing original sentences, a gestalt processor may use learned phrases that are contextually relevant.
• Difficulty with novel sentences: These children might struggle to create new sentences or phrases on their own but can communicate effectively using learned chunks.

Recognizing whether your child is a gestalt language processor can significantly influence how you approach their language development. While children who are analytic processors may learn language in a more conventional manner, gestalt processors often display different strengths and challenges. Understanding this distinction can help parents tailor their support, ensuring that their child’s communication needs are met effectively.  Remember, every child’s language development is different. Seeking guidance from speech-language pathologists can provide additional support tailored to your child’s needs. Together, we can foster an environment where our children thrive in their communication skills.

In addition to keeping us alive, breathing is the power source of our voice. Effective breathing facilitates clear speech sound production, adequate loudness of voice, quality of voice, and endurance when speaking. When we do not breathe effectively, the loudness and quality of our voice deteriorates, making it difficult for us to be understood. Shortness of breath is usually due to an underlying medical condition and may or may not be optimally managed. So, how does shortness of breath affect voice?

Affects of Shortness of Breath on Voice

Shortness of breath results in a quieter voice, limits sentence length, changes the flow and rhythm of speech, and can result in a change in vocal quality such as hoarseness.

The most effective breathing to support voice is diaphragmatic breathing. This is same as belly breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing improves our voice by allowing us to inhale more air and control the air we exhale using diaphragm muscles rather than throat muscles. Diaphragmatic breathing allows us to reduce vocal strain and speak with more relaxed muscles of our throat and vocal cords.

Basic Steps for Diaphragmatic Breathing

1. Sit or lie flat in a comfortable position.
2. Relax your shoulders by rolling them down and away from your ears.
3. Place one hand on your chest and one hand over your navel.
4. Breathe in through your nose. You should feel your stomach moving outward while your chest remains relatively still.
5. Purse your lips and exhale slowly for about the same amount of time as in step 4.
6. Repeat these steps.
7. If you start while lying flat, try to complete the same steps sitting up, then when standing. When standing, back up against a wall. This will help keep your back straight and your head and neck over your spine.

As with learning any new skill, it may take practice to breath effectively.  But the result will be a stronger clearer voice.

Fine motor skills development in pediatrics is a crucial aspect of a child’s overall growth. Fine motor skills are honed through play as children engage in a wide range of activities that involve intricate hand and finger movements. Through play, children have the opportunity to refine their fine motor skills, which involve coordination and dexterity. Engaging in activities such as building with small blocks, threading beads onto a string, cutting with scissors, and drawing or coloring not only encourages creativity and imagination but also fosters the development of precise hand movements and hand-eye coordination.

These playful experiences provide children with the chance to strengthen their ability to grasp, manipulate, and control objects, laying a solid foundation for tasks that require intricate hand movements, such as writing, drawing, and performing everyday activities independently. But, how do I know what my kid should be able to do?

Fine Motor Skills by Age

Age Range	Activities
0 to 6 months	– Grasping something with both hands (3 months) – Grasping something with one full hand (5 months)
6 to 12 months	– Pinching things with their thumb and one other finger – Transferring objects from one hand to the other – Picking up and dropping toys and putting them in their mouth
1 to 2 years	– Stacking three small blocks – Turning knobs – Beginning self-feeding with utensils – Turning a few pages of a book at a time
2 to 3 years	– Turning single pages of a book – Holding a crayon with their thumb and first two fingers (not a fist) – Making small cuts with scissors – Rolling, squeezing, and pulling putty
3 to 4 years	– Stacking a tower of nine small blocks – Drawing copies of circles – Using their non-dominant hand to assist and stabilize objects while using them
4 to 5 years	– Cutting continuously with scissors on a line – Printing their name and numbers 1 through 5 – Dressing and undressing without help
5 to 6 years	– Cutting out simple shapes with scissors – Coloring within the lines – Using a three-fingered grasp of a pencil
6 to 7 years	– Tying shoelaces by themselves – Writing consistently on lines – Writing most numbers and letters correctly

Despite being aware of what activities to do, children may still be struggling to meet these milestones. An occupational therapist can further assess and develop a plan to address fine motor skills for children to be successful in their everyday lives. Check out MomLovesBest for more information regarding fine motor skills and various activities to explore.