Often when a parent brings their child to us for physiotherapy they say that they didn’t know what to do. There are no trustworthy guidelines for parents when they are worried about their children. It’s often the luck of the draw if they find the right treatment for their child. In Kilkenny Physiotherapy clinic we have spent 25 years developing our paediatric service ensuring appropriate physiotherapy for all children.
Our Treatments
Cerebral Palsy
Theresa McGinn has huge experience in treating children with all neurological conditions, including cerebral palsy.
Parents often present in our clinic saying their child has a “funny run”. Basically the parent is watching the child, is aware that something does not look right, but can’t quite put their finger on it.
The benefits of infant or baby massage have been highly researched and documented and in our clinic we give the new mother expert advice and instruction through her classes.
“Mother knows best!” I remember once bringing my young son to be assessed and was told that there was nothing wrong. There was! and it took me 3 doctor consultations to find it. I’m a firm believer that if Mam says something is wrong, then something is wrong. It might not be much, and it might require very little input, but it will be there.
If you have any of the following concerns about your child, you should contact the clinic for an assessment.
If you look from behind and the tendons looked curved, or if you look from the side and the arch is flattened then your child may have flat feet. There are some special tests we use in Kilkenny Physiotherapy clinic to assess if your child has flat feet. Find details on assessment of flat feet.
Flat feet occur in children when
The heel bone does not sit upright on the floor but tilts inwards. This usually results in the arch of the foot looking flat as it falls in.
The arch of the foot is collapsed without the heel falling in. People sometimes call a fallen arch a flat foot.
Why do children have flat feet?
correction of flat feet using orthotics
There are many reasons why a child may have flat feet. It may be genetic, it may be due to tight or weak muscles in the feet legs, hips or core, it may be birth related or due to early development. More details on causes of flat feet
Can you treat flat feet in children?
There are many trains of thought regarding treatment of flat feet in children. In our clinic we believe each child is individual. We do a thorough assessment and device a plan for each child. Our intervention might include orthotics or insoles, but it will always include exercises. Treatment of flat feet in children
Parents usually ask if it was something they did, or were the shoes wrong, this is usually not the cause.
Parents also ask can flat feet be fixed? The true answer here is that sometimes they can improve as the muscles strengthen, but more often it is that the flat feet will need to be supported by orthotics long term, but the ill effects can be reduced by strengthening and stretching exercises programs.
Growing pains are unexplained pains in the limbs of a child. They usually occur at rest, and especially after activity. The child may waken at night crying with pains, usually in the calves or shins. The child may also have a low tolerance to walking and look to be carried or use a buggy.
Can you treat Growing pains?
Too often when children complain the parent is told that it is just “growing pains” or that the child will “grow out of it”. We however believe that if a parent feels there is a problem with their child they are usually right. They may appear to resolve as the child grows, but often come back in a different form later in life.
In Kilkenny Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic we believe that growing pains have a physical cause. While the child may grow out of the pain, they may not grow out of the cause, and the symptoms will return to haunt them.
For more information on growing pains and how we can help click Growing Pains
Clumsy Incoordinated child
If a child is clumsy or incoordinated or poor at sport it may be because they have poor support for their trunk (poor core stability) This is a huge problem for many children today and is a direct product of the society in which we live, where we need to know where the child is at all times and can not let them wander off and cycle on their own as previous generations could. These children will frequently benefit from our back classes, pilates and Core Agility classes.
Obesity in Children
Obesity is a huge problem amongst children today. It is not recommended by nutritionists that children go on diets to loose weight, but rather that they grow into the weight they are. They ideal way to tackle this is by structured, and monitored exercise programmes. Frequently an overweight child will have muscle imbalances through weakness in some muscles and shortening of others.
We run classes designed to address the problem of obesity in children while also addressing any issues the child may have with muscle imbalances, poor core strength, agility and flexibility. We will also work to improve the child’s self esteem by involving them in activities which make them feel good.
Poor Posture in Children
Round shoulders and poor posture are usually related to poor trunk control and poor core stability. Parents can frequently be heard telling their children to stand up straight and bring their shoulders strength. This is not as easy as it sounds. When a child brings their shoulders back, they usually do it by arching their back and letting their ribs poke out in front, so reducing one problem while bringing on another.
Our Core strengthening, Pilates and Core Agility Classes are all designed to improve posture by stretching and strengthening the relevant muscles to provide optimal good posture
Many of the children who have attended our clinic for other issues such as clumsiness, poor posture, flat feet etc. also suffer from headaches. In fact we have had several children in the past few years who have been investigated in hospital for headaches.
Our detailed assessments often lead us to believe that their headaches are related to over use of the muscles around their shoulders and neck. These muscles are frequently over working because of poor core strength and muscle imbalances around the shoulders and neck area. Their headaches are often related to over use of the muscles around their shoulders and neck which are over working because of poor core strength. This results in the development of Myofascial trigger points in these muscles can refer pain to the head.
We address these problems by doing a detailed thorough assessment which will identify sources of pain. We then give exercises and activities to reduce the problem.
Again our back class, pilates and Core Agility classes are designed to address these issues.
Sports Injuries in Children
Many children who are involved in multiple sports present with acute or recurrent sports injuries which you would traditionally associate with the older athlete. Most of these can be traced back to some imbalances in muscles in these children, usually on a low core strength.
This happens because , no matter how active we think our child is, they are not a patch on the generations who went before. Our ancestors never sat down, mainly because there was no reason to do so. They were active and moving all the time. Now we know where our children are all the time, we transport them in cars and we give them exercise by bringing them to organised training sessions where they engage in repetitive activities strengthening certain muscle groups but not providing an over all over rounded strength.
Our detailed assessments will accurately determine where these imbalances lie, and we can provide exercise programmes to address these issues.
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