PEDIATRIC RECOVERY DEPARTMENT

Department of pediatric medical recovery

Because orthopedic and neuro-motor disorders are common among children, Centrokinetic has 16 years of experience in the treatment of children with orthopedic and neurological conditions, with a specialized pediatric medical recovery department, which comes to complete the complex services offered.

The pediatric medical recovery department covers an area of 100 m2, has state-of-the-art equipment, and consists of a team of specialists. With over 7 years of csaience in physical therapy for children, babies, and adolescents, our therapists boast hundreds of successfully resolved medical cases.

"Early diagnosis, early treatment, excellent results!"- this is the motto we are guided by, inspired by the orthopedic doctor and Centrokinetic coordinator Dr. Andrei Ioan Bogdan, who is actively involved in the early diagnosis of pediatric and infant patients. Thus, the team of therapists has a complex and complete picture of the treatment schemes.

The team specialized in pediatric rehabilitation

Consisting of 2 Schroth therapists with over 5 years of experience in treating children with orthopedic and neurological disorders and a Vojta therapist with over 15 years of experience in pediatric rehabilitation (with over 300 children evaluated annually and over 50 cases with resolved neurological disorders), our team has excellent results in pediatric rehabilitation, whether we are talking about spinal or congenital conditions of the newborn, or about neurological disorders.

We have specialized in the last 7 years in the treatment of very young premature babies and newborns at risk (low Apgar score, intrauterine growth restrictions, in vitro fertilization, twin pregnancy), with precise evaluation and treatment techniques with remarkable results. both in the short term and in the medium and long term.

Also, through a unique overspecialization in Romania, namely the Prechtl Method for evaluating the general movements of the premature, newborn, and infant, we can evaluate and establish a complete treatment scheme for the newborn at risk.

Diseases treated within the department

Here we have a list of diseases that our team has treated in the pediatric physical therapy department:

• neuromotor delays in children due to various causes (prematurity, twin pregnancy, high-risk pregnancy)
• neuromuscular diseases
• genetic diseases
• cerebral palsy
• palsy of brachial plexus
• congenital myasthenia
• spinal amyotrophy
• Sturger Webber syndrome
• Prader Willie Syndrome
• Angelman syndrome
• Joubert syndrome
• Poland syndrome
• tuberous sclerosis
• spastic paraparesis
• spastic tetraparesis
• central coordination disorders
• dyskinesia, myelomeningocele, arthrogryposis
• Down syndrome
• chromosome deletion 18
• achondroplasia
• paresis post meningitis or encephalitis

Motor and neurological evaluation of the child and baby

The services offered by Centrokinetic specialists are addressed to children, from birth to 18 years old, and have 2 components: evaluation and treatment. The evaluation of the child is addressed both to the one at risk (child born prematurely, twin pregnancy, IVF, low APGAR score at birth), and to the one born at term.

Evaluation of the full-term child. In the case of a full-term baby, we monitor the musculoskeletal and neurological development from the first 4 days of life, analyzing each joint and segment of the body to determine any abnormality or deficit of posture. Any asymmetry in birth that lasts in the first months of life must be corrected, because the child will verticalize with them and they will worsen with age, causing posture disorders more difficult to correct. Through Prechtl's method of assessing the newborn's movements, we manage to have a complex and complete picture of the baby's first movement patterns.

Assessment of the child at risk involves a series of tests, from following the general movements of the child to posture and recovery reactions specific to each age - all associated with pre-existing pathology. The normal neuro-motor developmental stages of the child are our main goals, but each child is assessed and analyzed individually, and the therapy proposed for him is strictly related to what we discover in the first session. We are always a reliable partner for the parent because the neurological recovery of the child requires time and patience from both us and the family.

Postural evaluation and computerized gait analysis are done with the help of a high-performance device, which allows us to measure all body segments and determine asymmetries. The measurement begins by photographing the child from the front, left, right and back profile, and reveals the deficiencies of the frontal, sagittal and transverse plane. Postural evaluation complements the clinical evaluation in which a complete muscle and joint assessment are done. Following the measurements, we design an appropriate and personalized therapeutic program for each patient.



Center of gravity assessment. With the help of the podoscope, we evaluate the center of gravity, loading the weight on each foot and each of the 3 reference points of the foot (little toe, big toe, heel), this method is also useful in establishing the recovery program.

Computerized gait evaluation is performed to record the cadence, length, and speed of steps, the duration of a comparative gait cycle, between the left and right leg, the duration of the stationary phase, the duration of the oscillation phase, and the symmetry of propulsion in the unipodal phase. Posture and center of gravity assessment are performed using the GPS 400 device and computerized gait assessment with the G-Walk device and addresses children over 4 years with neurological or orthopedic disorders.

The superficial muscle evaluation by EMG is provided by the Chattanooga device and offers us the possibility to establish the differences of the muscles between the limbs. Also, in combination with electrostimulation, it adds value to physical therapy by obtaining rapid results, both in orthopedic pathology and in post-traumatic recovery after fractures, sprains, dislocations.

Physical therapy services for children and babies

The baby's gymnastics does not address some pathologies but involves a guide to the neuro-motor development through which the child is integrated from the first months of life in an active environment, which will help him to develop harmoniously in the long run.

Physical therapy sessions are dedicated to children with orthopedic disorders. Physical therapy treats various orthopedic conditions: valgus leg, flat foot, metatarsus adductus, varus leg, metatarsus varus, varus knee, valgus knee, flexed knee, recurvatum knee, femoral anteversion, coxa valga, coxa vara, femoral external torsion, pelvic deformities, hip dysplasia, spinal deformities (kyphosis, scoliosis, hyperlordosis), chest deformities, postural torticollis, plagiocephaly/scaphocephaly/ brachycephaly.

During these sessions, the physical therapist deals specifically with the child's pathology, so that the muscles involved are stimulated. Moreover, we teach the parent to work with the child at home, for a short recovery.

Physical therapy sessions are dedicated to children with neurological disorders. Depending on the initial assessment, we establish together with the parent the type of therapy according to the child, the duration of treatment and exercises, as well as the immediate expectations after therapy and long-term. The therapist-parent team is the basis of the child's recovery from a neurological point of view, that's why we offer permanent support to the family throughout this process.

Vojta therapy assumes reflex movement through which the elementary movement patterns are again, partially or totally accessible to the child with the neurological or locomotor disorder. For this, the Vojta therapist applies pressure in different positions and different determined areas. The stimulation lasts about 60 seconds per area, and during the therapy, a complete program of 3 exercises is performed twice on each side of the body, as a total stimulation of the child reaches about 20 minutes, during which time, it reaches 2 movement complexes - "reflex crawling" and "reflex rolling", complexes activated regardless of the patient's will.

Vojta therapy is addressed to children aged between 0 and 18 years, with postural disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and other neurological disorders.

The Bobath method involves inhibiting vicious postures due to pathology and printing new correct postures through various stages of normal neuro-motor development, such as rolling, crawling, walking on all fours, standing up.

Schroth therapy is a physical therapy method that seeks postural reeducation dedicated to children and adolescents with a minimum age of 12 years and is part of a series of physical therapy services for scoliosis/kyphosis.

Schroth therapy is the most effective method of treating scoliosis and includes an exercise program designed specifically to stop spinal deviation. The exercises are performed under the close supervision of the physical therapist, the purpose being to straighten the spine by its active elongation, to rotate the vertebrae by three-dimensional breathing, as well as to tone and stretch the muscles in the maximum correction position. A therapy session lasts about an hour, during which the therapist guides the patient both in performing the exercises and in learning them.



Post-traumatic physiotherapy is addressed to children and adolescents who have suffered orthopedic trauma such as fractures, sprains, or dislocations. Usually, physical therapy starts very quickly, because the muscles suffer major hypotrophy through immobilization and thus joint stiffness occurs. The therapist's action is strictly related to the affected area and, most of the time, we combine electrostimulation and physiotherapy sessions with physiotherapy sessions. In the acute phases, the first recommended is physiotherapy, to reduce inflammation and reduce pain, and then move on to light mobilizations of the joints until muscle recovery.

Physical therapy with the help of the Chattanooga device. Thus, we can apply electrostimulation sessions for muscle hypotonia in the valgus leg, valgus knee, recurvatum knee, or ultrasound sessions to reduce inflammation and local pain in post-traumatic cases.

Any procedure performed in our clinic begins with a consultation given by one of our specialists and is materialized in a diagnosis and a recovery program, modeled on the specifics of each patient and type of disease. Make an appointment and give your child the freedom of movement.