Therapy a waste of time?

[Zaidra]

I had the same feeling some time ago. The first therapist my daughter was seeing ended moving to Texas. I was mortified as to how my daughter would react to a new therapist. Well, Christy is sweet and she makes my daughter sessions fun for her. Zavian, my daughter, seems to enjoy working with Christy. Zavian is shrugging her shoulder now(something Christy has worked with her on) and she is excited about it. She smiles when she does it. I think therapy it not a waste of time and we all should applaude our therapist!! After all, they have to work with our kids and "PUT-UP" with our kids when they are feeling cranky and not wanting to cooperate.

[jennyinsandiego]

I totally understand! Our therapist agrees. He is great BTW. What do you do with a 16mo who can't follow directions? Even if she could follow directions, she can't move her arm but a little bit from the shoulder. I understand there are a lot of children who are farther along in their recovery, but it is so frustrating to see suggestions for finger rhymes and balloon activities when after two surgries her arm still just hangs there. We do keep going to therapy. We spend an hour doing ranges and trying to get her to stretch. All stuff she does at home. I'm not trying be negative about those suggestions, just frustrated because I know that there really isn't a game that gets an arm to move if it can't. I still have hope that I am going to post sometime that she brought her hand to her mouth and that keeps me going,
sorry to vent this is just a frustrating topic for me-
jenny

[admin]

I'm sorry you're going through this just now. I think others have chimed in with some good suggestions. My dd is older now, when she was 16 mos she didn't tolerate therapy well at all. She cried all during the ROM and stretching, whether I did it or either of her therapists did it. Some may say she was in pain and I shouldn't have pushed it. As her mother, I knew she was playing me because as soon as I or her therapist would stop she would grin and go play. What I was grateful for besides getting the therapy in though, was that both these therapists caught other issues early on that tend to be related to BPI, "W" sitting, trunk shortening, in-toeing, etc. So maybe some of the therapy could include more total body focus in addition to the ranging and stretching? We've had days where all we've done is trunk work...not arm work.

just some thoughts

[tina arvizu]

We moved to California right before my daughter's first surgery. She was nine months old. It took some looking but I did find a therapist that I trust. Gabrielle has been going there for almost three years now. She only goes once a week 90 minutes. I have alway felt that she was just my guide. I want to be sure that what we are doing at home will not hurt Gabrielle. Plus Gabrielle LOVES therapy! To her it is her special time with friends that want to play with just her! If you and your son are both bumming over therapy maybe it is time to change his routine. Find someone that is his friend and makes hime feel good inside and out not just another therapist. I think that makes all the difference.

[admin]

Thanks so much, Krista, and thanks, everybody! Your posts were wonderful and made me feel so much better. I just knew I had soul sisters out there!
I think some of the frustration I feel is just picking up on my son's frustration with the whole thing. I think his attitude has become: "How many dumb bubbles do I have to pop today?" He's so bored. Every time we go to therapy, he escapes several times from the room and tries to run to the car. In the meantime, I'm juggling two other small children besides Danny. I just don't have enough hands. And the hospital is so far away and such a hassle. Naps are skipped to make the appointment times, so the kids are cranky. You all know how that goes! It's a drag.
But I don't want to become the chronic complainer, either. I know I need to heed the advice about finding the right therapists and the right treatment. Maybe it is time for a therapist change. Thanks again for all your kind words. And good luck with all of your kiddos, too. I know we are all in similar circumstances.
Janet

[admin]

Krista, I meant to add that your description of your therapy experience with Ella sounds like a carbon copy of mine! That is so funny.
And yes, it makes total sense when you said putting her in formal therapy makes you feel better. I know exactly what you mean. Thanks so much for writing!

[Francine_Litz]

jennyinsandiego... I hear you and understand where you're coming from,
big hugs,
francine

[Kathleen M]

Sometimes we just need a break from all the touching and pushing and talk about our arms... The OBPI child has no personal space; we always seem to have someone in our personal space and that in and of its self can be very annoying. We need therapy as OBPI but we also gain from breaks in formal therapy. I think the entire family gains from brakes like that. Daily therapy is a must for a child and hopefully they will someday do it on their own but so is play time and free spirit time. It is important to develop our skills as people...There were many games I played that did not feel like therapy nor did I realize it was therapy or I probably would have fought it.


Just my two cents I have had a lifetime of therapy...
64 years of therapy is a long time.


I just completed three years of intensive therapy to regain my range of motion. I have a GREAT PT but cannot even stand the thought of having to return to formal therapy for a very long time... I just hated the time, energy and effort I had to put in to going and having my arm stretched etc... I do my ROM again and am very careful not to ignore or pretend that my arm does not need attention. But I do everything I can to keep out of therapy... breaks are good for the spirit.

Kath

[jep98056]

Guess I'll put my 2 cents in here too. I'm 64 years old with ROBPI. Physical therapy was the only treatment available to me as a young child and I had weekly PT at an orthopedic clinic and on the dining room table for almost 12 years. Stretching, strength, and swimming exercises were all part of therapy during that time. I had a surgery at age 13 that improved my ROM to what I have today.

I think that formal therapy supplemented by home therapy are an integral part of reaching the maximum possible recovery from this injury. Unfortunately it is obtained with small victories from persistent hard work and total involvement of the medical professionals, family, friends, and neighbors. I'd recommend not stopping formal or supplemental therapies until together with your physician and therapist, you've determined that maximum possible recovery has been achieved.

John P.

[admin]

Janet:
You're welcome. I had to respond b/c I knew exactly what you were feeling. If you ever want to email me to talk about things please feel free to do so.
Ldybug4134@aol.com
~Krista~