Tag Archives: pediatrics

Pediatric Incontinence

Treating Pediatric Incontinence with Physical Therapy

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UNDERSTANDING PEDIATRIC INCONTINENCE 

Bed wetting is almost as common as asthma, but it is often not discussed, even with doctors.
The pelvic floor is made up of muscles and other tissues that form a sling from the pubic bone to the tailbone. They help to support the abdominal and pelvic organs and assist with the control of bladder and bowel activity.

Pelvic floor dysfunction refers to a wide range of problems that occur when these muscles are weak and/or in spasm. The tissue surrounding the pelvic floor organs may have increased sensitivity and irritation or decreased sensitivity, causing the resulting dysfunction seen in children.

Although millions of children suffer from pelvic floor dysfunction, most don’t get the help they need. Typically, children are toilet trained by age 4 with only very occasional accidents. After age 4 childhood bowel and bladder dysfunction is considered a major medical problem and greatly affects quality of life for the whole family. Every day, five million American children wake up not knowing if their bed will be wet or dry. Many of these children feel embarrassed and ashamed. Bed wetting is almost as common as asthma, but it is often not discussed, even with doctors, because of its embarrassing nature.

Dysfunctional elimination in children occurs when the pelvic floor muscles are not working together with the bladder and /or bowel and the normal voiding or emptying reflexes can be disrupted. This can lead to a chronic abnormal pattern of elimination which does not allow the bladder or bowel to empty completely. Some children experience difficulty urinating or controlling their bladder function, frequent bladder infections, constipation, not urinating enough during the day, or sensing bladder fullness. Children may periodically have leakage during the day or wake up wet in the morning or both. This can be embarrassing and uncomfortable.

If your child has experienced any of the above symptoms they may have been seen by a physician or specialist, who is now recommending therapy to relax and retrain the pelvic floor muscles. Therapy can provide the tools your family needs to take control of your child’s bladder and bowel functions.

PHYSICAL THERAPY CAN HELP
If any of the below problems sound familiar, then PT can help:
• Urinary incontinence (loss of urine)
• Urinary urgency (constant/strong need to urinate)
• Urinary frequency (urinating over 8 times in a 24 hour period)
• Urinary retention (not fully emptying your bladder)
• Bed-wetting (nocturnal enuresis)
• Fecal urgency, frequency and/or retention
• Bowel incontinence, pain with defecation, inability to empty bowels
• Excessive gas, abdominal bloating
• Constipation, diarrhea with/out soiling/staining

How do we treat pediatric incontinence?
We meet with a child and their parent/s or guardian about pediatric incontinence we  get a thorough knowledge of history and current problems. We then do a physical examination, looking at the muscles of the abdomen, legs, back and others we feel applicable to the specific problem. This exam is with an adult present and over clothing. Finally, we consult with the referring physician to develop an individualized treatment plan. Treatment is one-on-one, hands on, with the child dressed and lasts about one hour-in comfortable, private treatment rooms. We work with each child and family member very closely and modify our treatment according to what works best for each individual. We incorporate a holistic approach, looking at diet, sleep patterns, and other behavioral issues that could be contributing to the current problem.

What exactly do we do?
Treatment includes:
• Biofeedback-surface electromyography (external electrodes or “stickers”)
• Behavioral and diet modification
• Soft tissue mobilization, myofascial release and deep tissue massage if needed
• Hot and cold therapy
• Stretching and strengthening of pelvic floor and surrounding muscles as appropriate
• Relaxation techniques.
• Scheduled bladder retraining
• Pelvic floor muscle re-education

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THE FACTS
Medical research has shown that proper pelvic floor muscle training and biofeedback drastically improves voiding dysfunctions in children.

We use animated biofeedback used a computer program with images of dolphins or space shuttle to get children to activate and relax the pelvic floor muscles.

Your child is not alone
• 20% of pediatrician visits are for incontinence problems
• 15% of visits to gastrointestinal doctors are for lower bowel dysfunction
• 3% of visits to pediatricians are for constipation
• 5 million children complain of nocturnal enuresis (nighttime bedwetting)

Common Myths
Myth: Decreasing my child’s fluid intake will decrease their incontinence?
Fact: Decreasing fluids can actually lead to dehydration, which can actually increase incontinence.

Myth: Once my child has been diagnosed with incontinence, nothing can be done about it?
Fact: Incontinence can almost always be successfully resolved, treated or managed. Physical Therapy can help!

Myth: All children gain control of their bladder and bowels at the same age?
Fact: Children develop control at different ages depending on their physical and cognitive development, as well as their environment. It is typical for a child to develop bladder and/or bowel control between two and five years of age.

HOW COMMON IS BED WETTING?
It might reassure you to know that around 19% of school-aged children wet the bed. It’s really one of the most common of all childhood problems. To give you an idea, in a class of 30 children:

Aged 5 years: 5 wet the bed at least twice a week
Aged 7 years: 2 wet the bed at least twice a week
Aged 12 years: 1 wets the bed at least twice a week
Aged 15 years: 1 child in every two classes wets the bed at least twice a week.

HEALTHY BLADDER TIPS:
1. Maintain adequate fluid intake
2. Practice prompted voiding
3. Practice bladder retraining
4. Limit intake of colas, root beer and other dark soft drinks
5. Limit caffeine intake
6. Avoid constipation
7. Exercise on a regular basis
8. Drink fluids throughout the day and limit fluids at night (2 hours before bed)
9. Keep a bladder diary

pediatric physical therapy

Is Physical Therapy Right for Your Child?

pediatric physical therapy

PEDIATRIC PHYSICAL THERAPY
is recommended for infants, children, and teens who have a musculoskeletal injury or who have movement problems from an illness, disability or disease. Physical therapy after an injury is required to decrease pain, improve range of motion and strength thus returning the youngster to pre injury status. We will also teach the child and parent strategies to prevent future injury.

What Can Therapy Do?
PHYSICAL THERAPY IS TYPICALLY RECOMMENDED WHEN A CHILD HAS LIMITATIONS IN MOBILITY AND DIFFICULTY WITH ADL’S (Activities of Daily Living).

What To Expect
In the pediatric population, physical therapists use purposeful play in the evaluation and treatment of each child. Following the child’s lead we create a fun and empowering treatment session. The primary role of physical and occupational therapists is to help children, play grow and achieve their developmental milestones. Skills are learned and mastered through the context of therapeutic play in hopes of enhancing performance of functional and purposeful activities. Developmental skills are emphasized allowing for progress toward age appropriate activities and movement patterns. This therapeutic approach addresses the needs of the child’s physical, social and emotional needs.

APPROACHES / TOOLS
• Strengthening, Endurance & Coordination
• Developmental Screenings / Evaluations
• Sports Rehab
• Orthopedic Rehabilitation
• Manual Therapy

The following is a list of diagnosis, conditions, or disease entities that may benefit from pediatric physical therapy:

• Acute Trauma affecting muscles, joints, or bone or limiting mobility and function
• Birth Defects such as Spina Bifida
• Developmental Coordination Disorders
• Cancer Related Fatigue
• Cerebral Palsy
• Developmental delays
• Down Syndrome
• Genetic disorders limiting mobility and function
• Diseases affecting the heart or lungs
• Head Injury
• In or Out toeing when walking
• Orthopedic disabilities or injuries
• Limp when walking
• Limb deficiency or Amputation
• Muscle diseases
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Muscle tone issues – spasticity or hypotonicity
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Sports injuries
• ACL knee injury pre or post op
• Shoulder Pain
• Ankle sprain / pain
• Toe Walking
• Back Pain / Scoliosis
• Torticollis
• Brachial Plexus injury
• Cerebral Palsy
• Elbow or hand pain
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
• Juvenile Arthritis
• Juvenile Diabetes
• Headaches / Neck pain
• Hip Pain
• Urinary Incontinence (from a specialist)
• Knee Pain
• Patellar dislocation
• Patella Tendonitis / Jumpers knee
• Obesity
• Osgood-Schlatters
• Sever’s Disease
• Shoulder dislocation

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What Role Does Family Play?

Family participation is encouraged for successful implementation and carry over into the home environment. Comprehensive individualized home programs are created further empowering the family and child.

Torticollis

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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.