United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi everyone! I'm new to ubpn.org and am wondering if daily physio hurts? Does/did your babies cry everytime physio/ROM exercises are/were performed? Also, anyone got tips on how to distract the baby while doing the exercises? Thanks..!!!

My 7-week-old daughter has Erb's Palsy in her right arm. For the past 6 weeks, I have been doing ROM exercises with her 3 times a day, plus infant massage once a day. She also goes to PT/OT twice a week. The OT does the same exercises that I do, and the PT does some extra stretches. She has shown some improvement.

She isn't in pain when we do her exercises. The only problem is that she doesn't like to be undressed. If she gets upset, we stop and give her a cuddle before we try again.

If you can have someone else with you while you work with your child, they could serve as a distraction. I've also used toys to get Emma's attention. If I put a toy where she can see it, it seems to help. For us, it has been a matter of her getting used to the exercises. She does better than she used to.

Good luck!
Sarah

Hi and welcome to the message board....

Each child is different so there is really no 'norm' when it comes to how children will react. Some kids do have pain - other don't. My daughter did...but after her primary surgery, it mostly went away (until new issues popped up).

We always used music or baby videos for distraction. I would choose one CD a week and choreograph it to the music for roms - it was fun for her and me! We were actually thinking about making a music video for Blue Brothers Week.....maia at 3 months was wearing these huge sunglasses....anyway...nice memories! So I think I'd tell you that the music worked the best for us.

Do you know about the awarenss section on here? There are some great therapy pages....

http://ubpn.org/awareness

and also this direct link...
http://ubpn.org/awareness/A2001Rnewparentguide.html

good luck and keep us updated!
-francine

I can't tell for sure yet but I think that the ROM exercises hurt my daughter too. She's 3 weeks old.

I have no suggestions as I am just struggling with this too. I've noticed that when Avery's physio goes really slowly she seems to do better. Avery also has to be really warm as she gets really mad as soon as she's at all chilly! I have a heater that I run in the bathroom while we do exercises. I get too hot but Avery seems to feel better!

Welcome, see you around!
Bonnie