Pediatric Physical Therapy - Pediatric Physical Therapy Podcast

1. Physical Therapy Management of Congenital Muscular Torticollis: A 2018 Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline from the American Physical Therapy Association Academy of Pediatric Physical Therapy

AUTHORS: Sandra L. Kaplan, Colleen Coulter and Barbara Sargent

(https://journals.lww.com/pedpt/Fulltext/2018/07000/Informing_the_Update_to_the_Physical_Therapy.2.aspx)

This update of the 2013 CMT clinical practice guideline informs clinicians and families as to whom to monitor, treat, and/or refer, and when and what to treat. It links 17 action statements with explicit levels of evidence and expert opinion to implementation recommendations. Pediatric Physical Therapy journal Editor-in-Chief Linda Fetters PhD PT FAPTA of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, reviews the guideline and pinpoints key clinical messages.


2. Effects of a gaming platform on balance training for children with cerebral palsy
(Pediatr Phys Ther 2018;00:1–6)

Hsieh, Hsieh-Chun, PhD, OTR, Department of Special Education, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu City, Taiwan talks about her study using a platform requiring multi-dimensional trunk movement that facilitated postural balance in children with cerebral palsy.


3.  Physical Therapist Coaching to Improve Physical Activity in Children with Brain Tumors: A Pilot Study  

(Pediatr Phys Ther 2018;0:1–8)

Jessica Ovans PT DPT, Physical Therapist, Department of Rehabilitation, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Minneapolis discusses the use of a fitness tracker intervention combined with tailored coaching by a physical therapist to increase physical activity and quality of life and decrease fatigue in children with brain tumors.


4.  Physical therapists’ use and alteration of standardized assessments of motor function in children.

(Pediatr Phys Ther 2018;0:1–8)

Deanne Fay, PT, DPT, PhD, Professor & Director of Curriculum, Physical Therapy Program, AT Still University, Mesa, Arizona reports on how physical therapists in the real world are assessing motor function in children with disability. This study presents survey responses of pediatric physical therapists’ use and alteration of standardized assessments of motor function in children aged 2-10 years. 


5.  Adapted Motivational Interviewing to Promote Exercise in Adolescents with Congenital Heart Disease: A Pilot Trial 

(Pediatr Phys Ther 2018;0:1–9)

Adam McKillop PhD, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, describes his study to assess a motivational interviewing intervention to improve moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in adolescents with congenital heart disease. Although their standard approach using telephone calls was achievable and accepted he expects electronic methods and social media to beckon in the future—especially with young patients.


6.  The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (Tdcs) on Motor Function, in Pediatric Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review 

(Pediatr Phys Ther 2018;00:1–11)

A bold approach to therapy for children with cerebral palsy that uses transcranial electrical stimulation has analyzed findings from nine published articles. First author Angela Hamilton, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia explains how determining the effects of transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) on motor function for children with cerebral palsy could help their brains develop.


7.  Stepping activity in children with congenital myotonic dystrophy

(Pediatr Phys Ther 2018;00:1–5)

Heather A. Hayes, DPT, PhD NCS, Utah Neurological Physical Therapy Residency Director and Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, University of Utah, Salt Lake City discusses her observational research on therapy for the rare condition congenital myotonic dystrophy (CDM) and explains how their investigation of physical activity levels in children who have CDM could determine whether clinical and functional characteristics correlate to physical activity and help find  keys to improving activity levels and quality of life.


8.  Whole-body vibration training designed to improve functional impairments after pediatric inpatient anticancer therapy: pilot study

(Pediatr Phys Ther 2018;00:1–9)

A new form of physical therapy called whole body vibration has been investigated as a way of helping children to recover good physical activity after treatment for cancer. Vanessa Oschwald (née Rustler) MA, Molecular & Cellular Sports Medicine Department, Sports and Exercise Science Department, Institute of Cardiovascular Research & Sports Medicine, German Sport University, Cologne, Germany talks about the way functional, motor, balance and strength impairments children after inpatient anticancer therapy were assessed after training on a platform that vibrates. Feasibility, adherence, program acceptance and fields of effectiveness were assessed.

In this Winter 2012 podcast for Pediatric Physical Therapy: orthotic use and prescription in children with cerebral palsy and Down syndrome, the prevalence of limb length discrepancy in prepubescent children developing typically, and more!

The Pediatric Physical Therapy Podcast
March, 2024 Edition:

AN INTERVIEW WITH:

Eilish M Byrne PT, DSc, PCS, CNT, Assistant Professor, Camino Hospital and Stanford Children's Hospital, California, Visiting Professor University of St Augustine, San Marcos, California.
In conversation with Peter Goodwin, Editor, The Pediatric Physical Therapy Podcast (March, 2024 Edition)

DESCRIPTION:
Dr. Byrne discusses the research her ream has published in Pediatric Physical Therapy, Volume 36, Number 2, 2024 on:
“Introducing the i-Rainbow- An evidence-based, parent-friendly care pathway designed for even the most critically ill infant in the Neonatal Intensive Care setting.”

AUTHORS:
Eilish M. Byrne, Katherine Hunt and Melissa Scala

SUMMARY:
This study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of a novel, evidence-based developmental care pathway to be used by healthcare providers and parents in the neonatal intensive care setting.

PURPOSE:
This study investigated the feasibility and effectiveness of a novel, evidence-based developmental care pathway to be used by healthcare providers and parents in the neonatal intensive care setting (NICU). The iRainbow is based on current evidence and responds to individual infant health status. It is not base on infant age.

METHODS:
After development and implementation of the iRainbow, pre-and post- implementation nurse and parent survey data were collected, and pre- and post-developmental care rates were compared.

RESULTS:
After iRainbow implementation, disagreement among providers on appropriate developmental care interventions significantly decreased, total minutes of daily developmental care and swaddled holding increased significantly, and parents reported that they would recommend the tool.

CONCLUSION: The iRainbow is a unique, parent-friendly, infant-based tool that guides sensory interventions in the NICU by staging infants based on cardiorespiratory status and physiologic maturity, not age. The iRainbow improved the delivery of developmental care activities in our unit and was well received by parents and nurses.

KEYWORDS:
iRainbow, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Neonatal Therapy, Developmental Care, Neonatal Sensory Interventions, Neonatal Care Path, Family Education

WHAT THIS EVIDENCE ADDS:
Current evidence: There are many studies and programs demonstrating the benefits of providing evidence-based developmental interventions for both neonates and caregivers.1-4
Gap in the evidence: There is less agreement regarding the safety and timing of developmental interventions7-9, and what does exist tends to rely on gestational age, while recommending performing activities per infant tolerance.5,6 However, this approach can be problematic because preterm infants progress at variable rates, and infant tolerance is not objectively defined.
How does this study fill this gap? This study provides objective clinical criteria to define neonate tolerance for intervention guided by the cardiorespiratory stability of the infant, and in later stages, behavior cues of the infant, not gestational age.
Implication of all the evidence: Optimal timing of and tolerance to evidence-based developmental interventions in the NICU is still being described. Relying solely on gestational ages may not be ideal for many infants. The iRainbow serves as a valuable tool to objectively identify an infant’s readiness to participate in a developmental care program.

In this Summer 2011 podcast for Pediatric Physical Therapy: Articles on suit wear and positioning in children with cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder in a school setting, and more!

Pediatric Physical Therapy July 2020, Volume 32, Issue 3;

INTERVIEWS IN THIS EDITION:

Agnes McConlogue Ferro, DPT, PCS, Clinical Associate Professor, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York State.

TITLE: A Structured Goal-Setting Process to Promote Functional and Measurable Outcomes in School-Based Physical Therapy: A Knowledge Translation Study

The aims of this knowledge translation study were to evaluate implementation of a goal setting method for school-based therapists.

Kimberly B Klug PT, DSc, Cooperative Educational Service Agency 1, Pewaukee, Wisconsin

Concurrent Validity of the School Outcomes Measure and the School Function Assessment in Elementary Students

Examine the concurrent validity of the School Outcomes Measure and the School Function Assessment in students’ kindergarten through sixth grade.

Elise L Townsend PT, DPT, PhD, PCS, Associate Professor, MGH Institute of Health Professions, School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston MA

TITLE: Stander Use in Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Results From a Large Natural History Database

The purpose of this study was to describe stander use in a natural history cohort of drug therapy naïve, children not walking and with SMA and identify factors associated with consistent stander use.

Megan Flores PT, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of St Augustine for Health Sciences, Austin, TX

TITLE: Psychometric Properties of Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control in Infants and Toddlers With Down Syndrome

This study investigated infants and toddlers with Down syndrome to determine: reliability of the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control (SATCo), concurrent validity of the SATCo with Gross Motor Function Measure, and whether age and SATCo score predict GMFM score.

Antonette Doty PT, PhD, PCS, Walsh University, North Canton, Ohio

TITLE: Evidence-Based Secondary Transition Predictors for Physical Therapists Working With High School Students

This study investigates how physical therapy services provided during secondary education impacts the post-school outcomes of youth with physical disabilities.

Doreen J. Bartlett, PT, PhD, Doreen J. Bartlett, PT, PhD Professor Emerita, School of Physical Therapy, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

TITLE: Advancing the Evidence Base of Pediatric Physical Therapy: “Sincerely, From the Heart”: The Ann Van Sant Global Scientific Writing Lectureship

Egmar Longo PT PhD, Department of Health of Children, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte UFRN/FACISA, Santa Cruz, Brazil

TITLE: I Want to Play: Children With Cerebral Palsy Talk About Their Experiences on Barriers and Facilitators to Participation in Leisure Activities

To explore how children with cerebral palsy experience participation in leisure activities and to describe the environmental barriers and facilitators.