We are also one of the specialized pediatric physiotherapists in Chennai. Parenthood is bliss and giving birth to a child is more than a phenomenon or experience. It is an eternal bliss. A mother goes through a multitude of emotions and unbearable heights of pain, during the process of childbirth. But doesn’t recognize any pinch or pain, when she sees her newborn child, hale and healthy. The responsibility does not end there for the parents and it is the dream of every parent to see their newborn go through a trouble-free childhood and evolve into a successful being. But not to worry, if any of these positive thoughts are affected by any life-altering conditions for the kid like congenital limb abnormalities, autism spectrum disorders, or genetic muscle disease, among others.
Our expertise in pediatric rehabilitation includes Cerebral palsy rehabilitation, Down’s syndrome rehabilitation, and pediatric speech therapy. Children’s rehabilitation requires great care and caution with an empathetic mind. Our pediatric psychologist in Chennai understands this and is devoted to bringing back the childhood every child deserves.
These are some of the pediatric conditions that would benefit from our services
- Cerebral palsy – A non-progressive brain disorder that predominantly affects arm and leg movement, but can also affect speaking, swallowing, and thinking skills.
- Spina bifida – A developmental disorder causing a defect in the vertebral column and if severe, can damage the spinal cord.
- Diseases of the bones and joints of the arms, legs, and spine such as clubfoot, scoliosis, kyphosis, bowlegs, knock knees, and hip dysplasia causing pain and deformities of the affected joints.
- Genetic and chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome, Turner syndrome, Klinefelter’s syndrome, Edward’s, and Patau’s syndrome – often cause intellectual disability along with other characteristic body features and it could be caused due by various factors such as infections during pregnancy, certain medication or drug usage during pregnancy.
- Pediatric limb deficiencies – congenital limb deficiencies such as trans-radial (forearm) or transhumeral (arm) limb deficiencies, trans fibular (leg), transtibial (leg), or transfemoral (thigh) are the most common and occur due to a variety of reasons such as certain medications and maternal diabetes during pregnancy.
- Peripheral neuromuscular disorders – These are conditions that affect either your muscles or nerves or the junction between muscles and nerves. Some of the most common conditions include Duchene muscular dystrophy, Becker’s muscular dystrophy, Hereditary motor sensory neuropathy, Spinal muscular atrophy, and Friedrich’s ataxia. These conditions are very peculiar to pediatric patients. Symptoms that are seen are progressive weakness in the arms and
- Other conditions that are not mentioned here are burns, brain injury, spinal cord injury, cancers, and rheumatic diseases which are discussed in detail in their respective sections and the same concept applies to pediatric patients as well.
- Children with Speech and Language Delays associated with other conditions such as Autism spectrum Disorder, Mental Retardation, seizures, Apraxia, etc
This is not an all-inclusive list and any injury or illness that affects your child’s ability to walk, perform activities of daily living, swallow, speak, or perform intellectual functions will benefit from our services.
Our comprehensive, interdisciplinary team approach (i.e. care being provided by various disciplines in a coordinated fashion) with Physician (Physiatrist), Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist, Speech and Language Therapist, Neuropsychologist, Nutritionist and a Rehabilitation Nurse can help reduce your symptoms directly related to the injury, as well as prevent and treat medical complications that are common after brain injury. Not all patients will require all services and usually, a combination of these services is required for an individual patient. You will be evaluated at the initial visit to determine what services you require and a tailored treatment plan will be initiated.
Patients will be evaluated by the Physician first to determine the nature and severity of the medical condition, then come up with a treatment plan that best suits them. Depending on the patient’s symptoms and medical complications (listed above), the treatment plan will include recommending therapy services, prescribing medications and performing injections as needed. The injections performed are tendon injections, joint injections for joint or muscle pain as well as Botulinum toxin (commonly referred to as Botox injections) and nerve block injections to help relieve muscle and tendon tightness. The physician can also prescribe orthosis to improve functions such as walking and performing day-to-day activities as well as reduce discomfort due to muscle tightness. The physician will also prescribe the appropriate prosthesis for patients with limb deficiencies.
The Physiotherapist trains patients on various physical exercises to improve weakness in the arms and legs, improve walking and balance and reduce muscle tightness. They also use physical modalities to reduce pain and inflammation, muscle and tendon tightness and prevent muscle atrophy. They can fit you with an orthosis to reduce muscle tightness as well as improve walking and arm function. They train patients with limb deficiencies to use prosthesis.
The Occupational Therapist helps their patients with severe physical and/or cognitive impairment to be independent by training them on various physical activities of daily living such as moving in the bed, transferring from one place to another, eating, dressing, bathing and toileting. Cognitive exercises to compensate for cognitive deficits as it relates to performing their activities of daily living independently are also focussed on during therapy. Visual training exercises for individuals with visual impairment due to neurological problem is provided. The final phase of treatment involves patient training for successful community integration (education, employment etc).
The Speech Language Pathologist (commonly referred to as Speech and Language Therapist), will evaluate a patient’s speech, communication and swallowing skills and train them on retraining and compensatory exercises to improve the same. They also focus on cognitive compensatory strategies to help them perform these activities independently.
The Neuropsychologist evaluates patients with depression and anxiety that is commonly seen after any major life-changing illness or injury and guides them through the process of rehabilitation and life through motivation and counseling. They also perform in-depth cognitive assessment to identify the nature of it and formulate a plan for cognitive re-training exercises and compensatory strategies.
The Rehabilitation nurse trains patients with central nervous system injury to manage their bowel and bladder functions. The nurse also performs and teaches wound care management for patients with pressure ulcers.
Expectations of Recovery
Depending on the nature, severity and chronicity of the injury/illness, your recovery may differ. Pediatric conditions that are discussed in this section are due to congenital, genetic or chromosomal abnormality. In regards to prognosis, they are often non-changing or worsening either physically or cognitively. In such cases, the goal is to keep them as functionally independent as possible, in regards to walking, activities of daily living, and if possible integrate them into the community (i.e. return to school, college, etc.) despite their physical and/or cognitive limitations as well as reduce symptoms such as decrease pain, improve muscle or joint stiffness, prevent contractures, and increase overall muscle strength.
Pediatric conditions that are acquired such as trauma, infection, etc. often have better prognosis and they show physical and/or cognitive improvement in addition to functional improvement.