Leckey Blog

The Role of the Pelvis in a Postural Management Plan

24-hour postural management is a planned programme that considers all relevant positions a child uses throughout the day and intervenes to improve or maintain body shape while promoting the child's functional development. A postural management plan tries to incorporate a neutral body position into the three core postural orientations of lying, standing and sitting posture. However, we know that the role of the pelvis is significant to creating these positions and deserves our full attention when we are attempting to incorporate positioning strategies into the child's activities, from bathing to floor play to upright movement.

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How to improve sitting posture – ideas to support a neutral pelvis

For many therapists, it is incredibly frustrating when, after providing a productive therapy session, we set up a child with non-typical development in "optimal" sitting posture only to find shortly after that the child looks nothing like how they were first positioned. The pelvis begins to tilt posteriorly, the child slides forward in their seat, the trunk starts to round out (causing thoracic kyphosis), the cervical spine is hyperextended, and the chin pokes forward. Eventually, the child's caregiver or teacher brings the child back to therapy and asks us, the therapists, to "fix" the seating system.

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What is Hippotherapy and How Can It Help Children With Special Needs?

Hippotherapy, derived from the Greek word ‘hippos’, meaning horse, is a form of physical therapy for children and adults that uses the motion of a walking horse to provide therapeutic movement to the rider. It is a treatment that is used to bring about change in children and adults, in areas including balance, strength, sitting posture or sensory deficits. But what should you know about this unique style of therapy?

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Why we should all be squatting for toileting function

The squat posture can stretch tight muscles, reduce straining, and assist natural physiological function. The resulting toilet training success will have a positive impact on activity, participation, and quality of life for both the child and the family.  Now there is a child-sized product to support this functional posture the only question that remains is when are us adults going to catch up?

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The walking frame dilemma – when’s the right time to prescribe?

As a paediatric physio, one of the most frequent questions which I get asked from parents is, “is my child going to walk?” Naturally, it’s up there as one of the most emotive topics.  The dream of seeing their child take their first steps is something that all parents hope to witness. It is also a highly emotive topic for us too.

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How do you solve a problem like… Tummy Time?

There are no words which generate greater guilt in new parents than when a health professional asks, ‘Have you been doing Tummy Time?!’  Despite knowing the benefits because infants protest so loudly parents often do just enough (speaking from experience here), to reduce their guilt until this awkward stage can be forgotten.

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