Tone can have a bunch of different meanings. Tone of voice, the tone of music. But for Weslie, when we talk about tone...we are talking about her muscle tone.
We took her to her first PT evaluation yesterday...and while the therapist indicated that Weslie was MUCH farther along than she thought Wes would be...she does have some muscle tone issues. Apparently this is common with kids with CP. Their muscles actually fire more often than the "average" muscle...making their muscles tighter than normal.
In Weslie's case, the therapist was able to show us how the tone of her muscles in her foot made it hitch when it was flexed. It was like, when Weslie's foot is flexed, there is a pause in the range of motion...then it continues on through the movement. This could be one of the reasons that our girl falls so much. When she goes to put her foot down (to absorb a shock), Weslie's foot doesn't necessarily "absorb" completely (well at least not in a fluid movement).
And according to the therapist, there's not much that can be done for that. There's not a way to NOT make her muscles fire as often.
So for now, our focus will be on fitting Wes with some orthotic shoes that will help with the rotation of her ankles and with the length discrepancy between her legs. She will also work on balancing on her right leg and strengthening it so that she is alittle more balanced in her movements.
As for our tone - we are just trying to be as positive as possible. Orthotic shoes we can deal with...a small shoe lift is nothing.
Seeing our baby girl smiling, active, and living to her fullest...it makes our "tone" nothing but happy.
We took her to her first PT evaluation yesterday...and while the therapist indicated that Weslie was MUCH farther along than she thought Wes would be...she does have some muscle tone issues. Apparently this is common with kids with CP. Their muscles actually fire more often than the "average" muscle...making their muscles tighter than normal.
In Weslie's case, the therapist was able to show us how the tone of her muscles in her foot made it hitch when it was flexed. It was like, when Weslie's foot is flexed, there is a pause in the range of motion...then it continues on through the movement. This could be one of the reasons that our girl falls so much. When she goes to put her foot down (to absorb a shock), Weslie's foot doesn't necessarily "absorb" completely (well at least not in a fluid movement).
And according to the therapist, there's not much that can be done for that. There's not a way to NOT make her muscles fire as often.
So for now, our focus will be on fitting Wes with some orthotic shoes that will help with the rotation of her ankles and with the length discrepancy between her legs. She will also work on balancing on her right leg and strengthening it so that she is alittle more balanced in her movements.
As for our tone - we are just trying to be as positive as possible. Orthotic shoes we can deal with...a small shoe lift is nothing.
Seeing our baby girl smiling, active, and living to her fullest...it makes our "tone" nothing but happy.
1 comment:
Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job; keep the goodwork up and I am sure she will meet all goal and obsticles you put in front of her! Have you ever tried horse therapy? I have heard good things about it.
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