will physical therapy help? - Cerebral Palsy Message Board

mommy4 · 03-14-2004, 09:03 PM

hello everyone.......my 4yr old daughter was just diagnosed with cp....and i asked the dr.if physical therapy would benefit her...and he said that he could order it but he isn't because it wouldn't help her anyway. is this true......any comments or advise would be appreciated......

Strawberry1 · 03-14-2004, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommy4

hello everyone.......my 4yr old daughter was just diagnosed with cp....and i asked the dr.if physical therapy would benefit her...and he said that he could order it but he isn't because it wouldn't help her anyway. is this true......any comments or advise would be appreciated......

Hmm. I think PT is always useful, but on the other hand you have to think of the cost/benefit ratio.
IMHO, your dr's opinion seems a bit strange (but I'm no medical professional). Maybe he just wanted to emphasize that CP can never be cured.
Because your daughter was diagnosed at such a late age, her disability is probably very mild. So PT probably wouldn't be crucial for her. On the other hand, I've heard that nowadays very mild cases of CP can be made invisible by PT.
BTW, what kind of CP does your daughter have? At least if she has spastic CP, then I think PT would be good for her.

lastramy · 03-15-2004, 04:17 AM

Physical therapy, especially in a young growing child is very good for CP.
I am surprised that a doctor wouldn't think it necessary.
If anything it can help keep range of motion and it is very useful to prevent contractures for which surgery is then needed to fix the problem.

It is very very smart to get a good stretching regiment started now. Speaking from experience with CP myself and 38 years old. I wish I had started stretching much sooner. My CP is of a less severe nature and I have been through PT and have a stretching program that has shown benefit to me.

I hope this helps you.

Lastramy

CTS Sufferer · 03-15-2004, 03:38 PM

Hi mommy 4,

If I'd have listened to all our doctors my son would have never made any progress. All I can say is try PT, give it a chance, you never know as kids are amazing!!

Take care

mommy4 · 03-15-2004, 07:47 PM

thanks you guys for your comments and oppinions...yes my daughter was diagnosed with cp later than others...but her regular pediatrician said she probably had for quite awhile and they never gave it much thought....they were only concentrating on her epilepsy.......they said her unsteadiness and her very poor muscle tone had nothing to do with her medication she takes....that is when i started doing research on the net....and coming to this board to find out more info....and when she got sick last month i took her to her pediatrician and i showed him how she walked and everything....plus she drools constantly ect...and he called her neuro and made them see her asap......that is when they diagnosed her with cp....and they are doing other tests for other brain disorders which i am very nervous about.but they won't have them results for a couple of weeks....they never told me which type of cp she has they just told me she has it....thanks again and i will let you all know more when i find out anything......you guys are awesome and you are all helping me alot..