How Can A Pediatric Occupational Therapist Help in Potty Training? Parents often ask our therapists if they can help children learn to use the toilet by themselves. Our therapists acknowledge that toilet training is a very important activity of daily living (ADL), but also know that countless factors contribute to toilet training success. Children are…
R.I.C.E. – Rest | Ice | Compression | Elevation R.I.C.E. is a fundamental principle for the management of various injuries, particularly those related to soft tissues like muscles and joints. This approach is commonly employed to address acute injuries such as sprains, strains, and minor fractures. Understanding the benefits of each component provides valuable insight…
The Negative Impact of Mouth Breathing by Michelle Slabach M.A. CCC-SLP, COM™ Is your child’s mouth open at rest? Does your child breathe through his/her mouth? Does your child drool? Hopefully, you said “no” to all of the above questions. Humans are supposed to be nose breathers. Breathing through our noses helps provide humidity to…
What is Pain? And How Does Physical Therapy Help with Pain Relief? What causes pain? Why am I experiencing pain? Why does some pain persist longer? If you ever asked yourself one or more of these questions, this blog hopes to provide some answers. First, let’s define pain. What is Pain? Pain is an early…
Raising Active Kids: Encouraging Physical Activity at Home and Beyond Look around your house and find your kids. What are they doing right now? Are they watching TV, playing on an iPad, playing with toys, or are they running around? Clinical guidelines for general activity from the CDC state that children should get 60 mins…
How Physical Therapy Treats Plantar Fasciitis Have you ever woken up in the morning with increased foot pain with your first few steps? After walking for a few feet does the pain improve? Pain when pulling or lifting toes/ankle towards your shin? Do you have tenderness and pain with pressure on your heel? If so,…
Using Sensory Strategies to Help with Self Regulation Do you feel like your child is more active than other kids? Does he or she have difficulty sitting down at meal time or to complete homework? Does your child seem to move about their day slowly or have trouble keeping their energy level up throughout the…
6 Stretches and Exercises to Improve Low Back Pain by Brooke Smith, PT, DPT AzOPT Goodyear Clinic Director Low back pain is often complex. There is no simple way to diagnose each individual’s root cause for the back pain. Even two people with pain in the exact same location may have different causes for the…
Signs Your Child May Need Speech Therapy As a child develops, we often find differences in how they are progressing their speech and language development. It is extremely important to remember that every child develops differently and at their own pace. In the first 3 years of a child’s life, we see the largest growth…
Each year, to no surprise, the most popular New Year’s resolution is to improve one’s health and get in better shape. How do you succeed with this resolution? What are the keys to getting started, and more importantly, maintaining that focus throughout the year to stay in shape? Here are 5 tips to help you…
