United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Anna started with her E-stim today, she was so mad!! cried through most of it, I felt so bad for her.. some of you that has done E-stim, is that a normal response to it?? we have to do it three times a week, 15 minutes at a time.. I'm praying she gets use to it..
also she is starting to wing alittle, her OT wants to start taping her, he didnt do it today or last week because of her rash shes had for a month thats finally starting to go away.. anyway I thought I read on here something about taping wasnt good after they've had mod quad done, is that true?? and that winging in some cases is good?? any input is greatly appreciated...
marg & anna

I don't know what to tell you about the estim, we've only done TES so far. Why did she cry? Does it hurt her? I would check with her surgeon before starting any taping. Before Nicole's Capsulodesis surgery, Dr. Nath told us that Nicole would be winging after the surgery, but that we should NOT tape in this case. It might be okay in Anna's case, but I would be on the safe side and confirm that with the surgeon first. I have heard of taping being helpful and beneficial to children with BPIs, but of course, as with any treatment, there are risks. Hope this helps. -Tina

I can only speak from my own experience, but the e-stim should not hurt. She should definitely feel it, kind of a tickling sensation, just on the border of pain. Hard to describe, but definitely not painful. If it does, it is probably turned up too high and the therapist should adjust it. I don't know what kind of unit you are using but most of them are adjustable.

About the taping, I'd follow Tina's advice, and check back with the surgeon. We have all learned that results are not predictable and each child/adult responds differently. Each program must be individual.

Having said that, I had kinesio taping following my mod quad and it really helped my brain to relearn which muscles to use. We only taped for a couple of days at a time and not continuously. I usually had an allergic reaction if I left it on for more than a couple of days. And really that was all I needed. I found it was very helpful to break the patterns of compensation and to use those new muscles.

Nancy

When Blake started the estim, he didn't like it at first, but he adjusted. We have the focus nmes unit and we could only keep it on level 10-12. Try it on yourself, I did and couldn't believe he could stand it. It is kind of like a tickle hurting feeling. I thought more of hurting and felt guilty making him wear it. We told him that it was time to do his "tickles" and kept him busy (we were building tricep so we crawled a lot and acted like animals) we would begin by letting him watch a cartoon when it started and he would loosen up in a matter of minutes and want to do actual therapy.

We never tried the taping.

Crystal S.

My daughter (3 yrs. now) has done nighttime (TES) and daytime (NMES) e-stim for a year now. The nighttime presented no problems. The daytime has to be done carefully so as not to cause undue pain. If it's on too high (I can't get her over 12 without her screaming) she's in pain. The therapist should adjust the level accordingly. It's better to start low and slow and build up later, as she can tolerate it. We see a physician in Columbus, OH who does the e-stim with us once a week(I do it 2x daily at home) and she is completely compassionate in making sure it doesn't hurt Elizabeth. Of course, Elizabeth tolerates a lot more for her than with me!

I wonder if your therapist has ever tried the e-stim on herself...I did it on my two older kids to see their reaction (they hated it...couldn't wait to get it off) and myself. It makes no sense to hurt a young child. Of course, a lot depends on how you play and distract the child during e-stim. The less they're focused on the e-stim and more focused on the play, the better.

well anna did her e-stim again today, she sat on her daddy's lap in the floor watching Barney, drinking juice and eating a few skittles.. amazing what daddy, Barney, juice & candy can do for a almost two year old, she fussed but it wasnt bad.. we have the E-stim set at 2 which really isnt much, when she was finished we put it on each other as she watched, she thought that was neat..she became really interested in the machine, it really doesnt hurt, just feels werid..
plan to call TCH monday about the taping.. last year before her sugery we taped her and we did see a difference, I just don't want to mess up anything from the sugery with taping (probably cant do that, just want to make sure..)
Our next step with her is to send in a video to TCH, almost fearful of doing that in reading what everyone else is hearing back from them. (I know every child is different, but still..)my thoughts & prayers go out to all of you..
thanks for all your input, its greatly appreciated..
marg