Dealing with Muscular Weakness? Help Your Child Get Strong with Pediatric Therapy

Have you noticed your child struggles to move certain body parts? Maybe your baby doesn’t lift her head or your eight-year-old can’t keep up on the playground. Muscular weakness may be the culprit. Fortunately, Skills on the Hill in Washington, DC and Arlington, VA is here to help!

As adults, we often associate muscular weakness with not hitting the gym as much as we should. In children, however, muscular weakness prevents kids from hitting developmental milestones and performing essential functions, like rolling over (in infants) or walking (in older kids).

Causes of muscular weakness vary. In some cases, it might be a condition like benign congenital hypotonia, which kids can usually outgrow. In other cases, it can indicate a serious underlying medical condition like muscular dystrophy or Down’s syndrome.

Our team of pediatric therapists can help you understand your child’s specific case. We can determine whether or not there’s an underlying cause of your child’s muscular weakness and then provide an appropriate treatment plan. Schedule your appointment today!

First Steps: Recognizing the Signs of Muscular Weakness

How can you tell if your child has muscular weakness? There are several signs and symptoms, depending on your child’s age. Here are some of the most significant:

• Not meeting physical developmental milestones such as crawling, standing, or walking. Muscular weakness impacts your child’s gross motor skills, so keeping track of those milestones is essential!
• Trouble feeding, sucking, or speaking, as muscle weakness can affect the muscles in the mouth and throat.
• A floppy, “ragdoll” appearance–for example, your child has trouble holding up their head or flops in your arms when you pick them up.
• Disinterest in playing or other physical activities. You might also notice they need help picking up objects.

Step Two: Identifying the Cause

If you notice that your child has signs of muscular weakness, don’t panic–but do schedule an appointment at Skills on the Hill. It’s crucial that you have your child assessed to determine the cause of their symptoms, as that will ensure your child receives the proper treatment for their needs.

When you visit us, our pediatric therapists will conduct a thorough assessment to help us learn more about your child and their symptoms. We strive to make this feel as little like a doctor’s visit as possible, and we focus on observational tests: watching your child play, draw, and do other activities. We’ll also take a complete health history from you.

There are many reasons why a child might develop muscular weakness. If it stems from something like benign congenital hypotonia, which causes decreased muscle tone (and can therefore cause reduced strength), regular pediatric therapy can help your child catch up with their peers.

However, muscular weakness can also indicate more serious issues. In this case, our pediatric therapists will serve as part of your child’s overall care team, giving them the tools to manage their condition’s symptoms. Some of these more serious conditions include the following:

• Down’s syndrome: A chromosome disorder causing both developmental and intellectual delays
• Muscular dystrophy: A group of genetic diseases that weaken the muscles
• Cerebral palsy: A group of disorders that impact balance and mobility
• Marfan syndrome: A genetic condition that weakens the connective tissue in the body

This is by no means an exhaustive list, however! Our team can tell you more.

Step Three: A Customized Treatment Plan

Once we understand your child’s exact needs, our team can create a personalized treatment plan aimed at helping them thrive! 

Just as muscular weakness indicates different concerns in children than in adults, addressing it is also different from what an adult would do. We believe it’s important that pediatric therapy be fun for kids, so treatment will not involve running them through any kind of fitness boot camp.

Instead, our treatments will focus on play as a means of building strength. We’ll let your child choose toys or activities that are fun for them, then offer gentle guidance in the proper way to hold toys or perform different movements. We might set up a fun obstacle course for your child to complete or play some music to get them dancing.

In addition to play-based therapy, we might incorporate targeted stretches or other exercises to improve your child’s strength–but we’ll always strive to make those exercises as fun as possible!

Schedule Your Initial Consultation Today

The best way to learn about how we can help your child manage or overcome muscular weakness is to schedule an appointment at Skills on the Hill. Our team can evaluate your child and provide personalized suggestions for treatment.

Call us today to get started!

Sources:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28489146/

https://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.19120355