Tag Archives: massage

elf injuries

Elf Injuries and How PT Can Help: Part 3 of 3

It’s that time of year, when we check in on Santa’s helpers to see if they can use some physical therapy. With their heavy lifting and high demand job they’re always experiencing injuries. Our new elf friend Ziggy, is the perfect patient for PT.

Previously…

Ziggy was at one of PTandMe’s partnering physical therapy clinics awaiting the arrival of one of our trusted physical therapists.
Our therapist first performed some stretching techniques on Ziggy to help relieve his aches and pains (Don’t worry Santa said it was okay to touch our “elf on the shelf” friend).

Then so more stretching techniques to help out our little friend…

Now the therapist has Ziggy doing some pulls ups on our wonderful clinic’s pull-up bar to help Ziggy get back to working shape.

Time for deep tissue massage on Ziggy’s aching back…

elf back massage

Thanks to the great physical therapy Ziggy got at our wonderful PT & Me clinics he is now ready to lift all the toys into Santa’s sleigh just in time for the holiday!

THE END.

See Ziggy’s complete physical therapy experience here!

elf injuries physical therapy PTandMe   Elf on the Shelf Physical Therapy

elf injuries

Special thanks to Action Physical Therapy, in Houston, TX, for accommodating the demanding work schedule of Santa’s elves. Click Here for more information about Action Physical Therapy.

Torticollis

ThinkstockPhotos-470795452
Torticollis is a condition of the neck in which the child’s head tilts toward one shoulder and the chin rotates towards the opposite shoulder. It occurs when one of the muscles (sternocleidomastoid muscle) in the child’s neck is tight.

 

Signs & Symptoms

  • Flattening of the back of the head on one side
  • Hip dysplasia
  • Limited range of motion in the head
  • Small bump on the side of the baby’s neck

Your Child and Torticollis

About 1 in 250 infants are born with torticollis. (Ten to 20 percent of babies with torticollis also have hip dysplasia, in which the hip joint is malformed.)

Torticollis limits the ability for a child to move their head freely to see, hear and interact with his/her environment. Because of this torticollis may lead to delayed body awareness, weakness and difficulties with balance, and asymmetrical use of their arms and legs through developmental stages. This asymmetry can lead to uneven weight bearing through the legs and favoring one side of the body.

If your child does have Torticollis your pediatrician would likely diagnose your baby within the first 2-3 months. Most cases of torticollis respond very well to physical therapy intervention. It is important that parents get their children into physical therapy as soon as possible. The older the child is the tighter the SCM becomes and the harder it becomes to stretch the child due to their increased activity level.

Physical Therapy is safe Effective Treatment

At the physical therapy initial evaluation, the parents will be given a home exercise program including:

  • Range of motion exercises
  • Massage instructions
  • Positioning ideas

The combination of physical therapy and home exercise is important to the success of the program. A good deal of parents are surprised as to how quickly they see improvement in their infant’s posture and ability to move to different positions.