Wednesday, September 5, 2007

bug's therapy

we met with the physical therapist this morning. yvette is very nice, and bug took a liking to her.

after manipulating her joints a bit and getting her to turn, sit up, and roll over (it wasn't as much like dog training as it sounds), she told us that we can do a bunch of stuff at home, and it won't be long before bug's back on track.

according to yvette, the neck stiffness is not much of an issue itself, but it is a sign of disparity in the development of her trunk muscles. she definitely has a preference for using her left side. this shows up in the way she slumps, the way she rolls, the way she sits, and of course, the way she prefers to turn her head.

her assessment of the torticollis:
neck is mild
spine is mild plus

i don't know what 'mild plus' is, but she was very confident that bug's development can be corrected in short order through 'playtime with a purpose'.

we were given instruction sheets with information on ways to hold and move her to maximize her flexibility. the main key is variety; both kisu and i hold her mainly in our left arms, she's accustomed to that.

yvette herself is going to be working on more structural therapy. that is, she's going to try and reshape bug's head. by removing pressure. i don't know, it looked like yvette was putting additional pressure on bug's skull, but she said she was relieving pressure. ?? we'll see how that works. yvette did specify that she would prefer not to use a helmet. well, that makes 3 of us.