Physical Therapy (PT) Evaluation

Jac had his Physical Therapy (PT) evaluation this afternoon at the Mapleton Center in Boulder (The same place he is getting OT). His therapist was another therapist that we had worked with while he was in the hospital and another one we like (we liked all of them!)

She said that he is doing very well - expecially given his tough road. She actually seemed surprised by how well he is doing! She said that the main work that we need to do is to counteract Jac's overuse of the muscles involved in arching (extension) and work on the muscles used for crunching (flexion). Because of his reflux Jac (and most babies that have reflux) arches his body to get away from the pain of the reflux. After they have been doing this for months and months the muscles they use to do this get very strong and the muscles needed to crunch down are relatively weak because they don't use them as much.

She said he is doing very well with his head control and that it is very good to see he does not have any torticolis (a shortening of the muscles in his neck causing him to hold his head more to on side). Torticolis is also common in babies with reflux as they tend to turn their heads in one direction as they arch away from the pain.

She said that we should continue to work on what the OT has asked us to work on (tummy time, ball, rolling). It will take a little time to get into her schedule but the plan is that we would alternate weeks between PT and OT.

The visit was very uplifting. She said she is not worried about Jac at all. That we will make progress to help him get more comfortable and combat the effects of reflux and that she is confident he will start growing! Go Jac!

She also said that he is clearly ready to go - he just has to figure out how to move. She predicted that he will go from crawling to running with only a slight pause for walking! She also thinks that he is bored at home and that we will both be much better off once it is Spring and we are allowed (by the Ped.) to see other kids and play!

The Ped has asked us to wait until April to see other kids - until Spring - to reduce the chances of him getting sick. This is very sensible but it feels like we are under house arrest!

She also commented on how social he is, and how well he handled the more than hour worth of time we spent together - being handled the entire time. He did really well, he had bouts of reflux (arching, coughing, hiccuping) but he recovered from them well and was able to continue with the evaluation. She commented on how well he did with a stranger, but looked to me as soon as the reflux started to help him.