Three Household Items to Promote Grasp Development by Kristen Henderson, M.S., OTR/L Kids Place West Pediatric Occupational Therapist As a child grows and progresses with new skills, their grasp is developing as well. Adequate grasp development is important for age appropriate pre-writing and handwriting skills, manipulation of everyday items, and proper fine motor coordination.…
When Can I Return to {Insert Sport/Activity}? By JD Fields, DPT AzOPT Glendale Clinic Manager Doctor of Physical Therapy Whether you are participating in a highly competitive sport league, or having fun with friends, activities are important to you and your overall health. However, injuries happen all the time that could limit your ability to…
Activities for Your Toddler that Assist Language Learning Parents can incorporate virtually anything into an activity that promotes language skill development. The key is working on a skill that your child isn’t quite able to do independently, but they can do with your help. You can work on both expressive language (using signs, sounds, or…
Core-ology For Beginners by Cassidy Cooney, PT, DPT AzOPT Goodyear Doctor of Physical Therapy Back pain is a huge pain in the butt, often times literally as well as figuratively. Most people are quick to research the cause of their back pain from a FUM/GUM (Facebook/Google University of Medicine) trained provider. There, you probably heard…
The First Year of Baby’s Sitting by Nicole Campbell, PT, DPT Kids Place West Pediatric Physical Therapist Babies have the tendency to do things on their own timeline, but frequently parents ask us what we look for when working with babies. Here is a general timeline for when your baby begins to practice sitting: Newborns…
What is the Importance of a Home Exercise Program? Now that you have completed your initial evaluation, your first step to feeling better, functioning better and living better is complete. Your physical therapist and you have developed a plan of care that will get you back to doing what you need and love to do…
Using Blood Flow Restriction to Maximize Physical Therapy Results By Rina Ishii, DPT AzOPT Goodyear Physical Therapist Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training is a method of physical training in which you restrict blood flow to a limb or limbs via a tourniquet while exercising or at rest. By restricting blood flow to a specific area,…
How To Know When My Child is in Pain by Chantal Scott PT, DPT Kids Place Central Pediatric Physical Therapist Assessing pain in children can be difficult, especially for babies who can’t tell you what’s wrong or for children who may be cognitively impaired or non-verbal. Even for typically developing adults, pain can be difficult…
What Causes Jaw Pain? by Jeffrey Landram, DPT AzOPT Buckeye Doctor of Physical Therapy If you were asked to name all the joints in the human body, odds are you might forget about the joint that allows the jaw to move! This joint is called the temporomandibular joint, or TMJ for short. Although it is…
How a Tongue Tie Can Affect Your Child by Kacie Bartlett, CCC-SLP Kids Place West Pediatric Speech, Language and Feeding Therapist According to the Affiliation of Tongue-Tie professionals (IATP), “tongue tie is an embryological remnant of tissue in the midline between the undersurface of the tongue and floor of the mouth that restricts normal tongue…
