Serial Casting - Cerebral Palsy Message Board

Kaitlynsmom · 09-02-2009, 06:50 PM

Hi all -

Kaitlyn's physiatrist believes that a few weeks of serial casting will be helpful for her. Since the SDR, the spasticity is all but gone. However, she still tends to walk on her toes. Back in April, Kaitlyn broke her leg, and was in a full leg cast for 6 weeks. The silver lining to that was that since the cast came off, she has been able to get her heel down.

I think that I remember reading that Noah was casted. If so, how did he manage the weeks he was casted? Also, were the results worth the imposition of having casts?

I'd love to hear anyone's input on this!

Thanks!
Tara

nwmom · 09-03-2009, 10:56 AM

Hi Kaitlynsmom,
Great news about Kaitlyn getting her heels down! Hope she is all better now from her break.
Noah was casted once when he was two years old. He went for a week in casts and then she took them off to check for blisters. Then she re-cast him for the second consecutive week. I believe it was at the beginning of the 2nd week when the PT got him to take his first step toward me without holding on. We spent the next week sitting in two chairs that were a few steps apart and getting him to walk back and forth to us. My PT said that casts often helped kids feel more stable to walk without assistance. He actually loved the casts and cried when they took them off! She waited to cast him in the fall when it wasn't so hot. They did help him some with getting his heel down, but this was pre-SDR. Noah wore casts one other time for 2 weeks, but I think that was pre-SDR, too.
Maybe casting nowadays would help Noah get his heel down better. He can do it now if he thinks about it, but just has the habit of walking more on the balls of either one foot or the other.