Clubfoot (CTEV)   Normal L foot     L Clubfoot Introduction Clubfoot is a congenital deformity of the foot, and is also known as ‘Congenital Talipes EquinoVarus’ (CTEV). It is one of the most common congenital abnormalities to affect the foot. It is caused by an abnormal development of a baby’s bones, ligaments and muscles of his…

Hydrotherapy / Aquatic Therapy What is hydrotherapy / aquatic therapy? It is a form of treatment that uses the mechanical properties of water (ie: buoyancy, drag, thermal effects) and the effects of movement to create therapeutic effects.   Buoyancy There is a gradual off-loading of body weight proportional to depth. Buoyancy is used to assist…

Knock-knees and Bow-legs Bow-legs Children with bow-legs (genu varum) stand with their knees not touching, when their ankles are together. Children with knock-knees (genu valgum) stand with their ankles not touching, when their knees are together. Bow-legs in toddlers are normal. The bowing begins to improve at 18 months of age and continues to improve…

Say NO to W-sitting W-sitting is the position some children assume when they are sitting on the ground. They sit on their bottoms, with their legs bent and out to each side in a ‘W’ position.   • W-sitting widens the child’s base of support, so it is a very stable sitting position for many…

 Seizures / Epilepsy & EEG   How the brain works? Our brain is divided into four major lobes – frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital. Different parts of the brain process different cognitive functions.     Different Lobes of the Brain Frontal lobe – controls how we process, organise, analyse and act on information and controls…

In view of the Straits Times article about the woman who died from extensive post-op bleeding in her brain, who had ingested cordyceps the week before an operation to remove a benign brain tumour, but failed to inform her doctors, (http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/cordyceps-likely-led-to-post-op-bleeding) I have decided to write up on CAMs and the effects that they can…

Chest Physiotherapy for Children By Dr Janell Lee, DPT, NZRP, SRP, C/NDT (paeds), CIMI Specialist paediatric physiotherapist   Chest physiotherapy (CPT), or respiratory physiotherapy, with postural drainage is the standard treatment for mobilising airway secretions in many types of respiratory dysfunction / disorders. Your child might be referred for chest physiotherapy if he / she…

The Difference between Tone & Strength   I get a lot of parents telling me that they want to increase their child’s muscle tone, so I thought it would be a good idea to differentiate between muscle tone and muscle strength. Tone is the amount of ‘tension’ inside a muscle when the muscle is at…