Hypermobility can be thought of as extra laxity in the joints, aka the joints are more flexible than is typical. In the clinic, we measure joints in degrees, and usually joints like elbows and knees are supposed to straighten to make the arm one line and the leg one line, which would measure to be 180 degrees. Hypermobility is really easy to see in the elbows and the knees especially because the angle will be visibly past straight, or past 180 degrees.  It is definitely harder to see in the spine, the hips, shoulders, ankles, wrists, feet, and hands but they can be hypermobile too! A couple of extra degrees is completely fine and is within what we call normal. But, when 10 or more extra degrees can be seen and measured, we start to consider this within our treatment planning in the clinic.

You might be thinking, so what, my child’s knee can bend a little backward, why does this matter? That is a great question! We will use the knee as an example. It really matters if you see them standing and “hanging out” on a hyperextended knee (a knee that is over straight) for prolonged periods of time. There are plenty of kids and adults who have hypermobility throughout their whole bodies who have learned through athletics, or just through life, to control their mobility and stand with “neutral joints”. But, at baseline it is harder for those with hypermobility to control their joints. Because of this, they have to train their muscles and ligaments to sense when they are in the right place.

There are many systems that come into play to learn how to control hypermobile joints, but simply put, the muscles and ligaments need to learn how to sense when the joints are aligned versus when they are hyperextended. Then the muscles need to be trained to hold the joints in the “good place”, gaining control and strength through frequent practice. When this is practiced A LOT, it will become a skill that the child doesn’t need to think about, and will happen automatically.

We PT’s care about hypermobility because it can make it harder for children to sense what their bodies are doing as they move and harder to control their bodies. Part of our awareness of what our bodies are doing as we move comes from signals the joints send to our brain. Sometimes with hypermobile joints, these signals are decreased unless the joint is at its “end range” aka when it is fully extended. This causes children with hypermobility to lock out their joints while completing movements, which can lead to abnormal movement patterns in early life. Constantly moving with abnormal patterns on joints that are over extended can also cause joint injury in later life. 

The other big factor that can be tied to hypermobility we also look for and treat is decreased coordination. When there is less control over the joints, it is hard to put movements together. This is especially so for movements that require standing on one leg, pushing through the arms, and moving the limbs, head, and/or trunk in different ways at the same time.

If your child shows signs of joint hypermobility and you believe it is affecting their ability to move easily and with control, call and inquire about our free Discovery Visits, where we can screen your child to see if physical therapy would be an appropriate option for him or her. If you have any questions about this article, feel free to contact us at info@kidpt.com .

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today, we are going to keep it short and sweet! We know you are all probably having a blast sharing sweet messages with friends and family and eating chocolate, but you know what else is fun?! Valentine’s Day themed exercises, that’s what!! So become the best Cupid you can be today and share the love with these five sweet moves:

1. Big Hug Jumps- start with your feet next to each other, arms by your sides. Then jump your feet and arms out at the same time! Next, jump back in so that your feet are together and your arms are wrapped around you, aka you are giving yourself a BIG HUG! Repeat this move for 20 seconds!
2. Open valentines messages- Stand with arms and legs squished together while you squat. Then, open one leg and same side arm until your arms make two right angles and your knees make two right angles, as in the picture below. Now close the box by bringing your arms and legs together in front of you again. Do this with the same leg and arm 3 more times. Repeat to the other side.
3. Unwrap the chocolate – Start with your back on the ground, with your legs and arms curled into a little ball. Slowly open up your legs and arms, lowering your body slowly to the ground to “unwrap” all the chocolate you want to eat! Unwrap chocolates 10 times!
4. Give out flowers – Give all of your loved ones pretty flowers on Valentine’s day with a lunge and sway. To do this move, stand with your feet wide and lean onto your right leg, bending your right knee. Then keep your weight on your right leg and straighten your knee while raising your arms to the sky. Pretend you are holding one beautiful flower in your hands as they move to the sky! Repeat this to the left side, then do the move 7 more times to each side!
5. Cupid’s Bow – Last but not least, be the best Valentine’s Day Cupid you can be by stepping into a lunge with your right foot forward, hips facing sideways (Aka warrior II if you know Yoga – in the picture below). Put your hands, with two fists, next to each other with arms straight in front of your nose. Then pull your left arm back like you are trying to shoot an arrow from your Cupid’s Bow while bending your right knee. Repeat this move 5 more times on this side then 6 times with the left foot forward.  

Need a better visual for what these moves should look like? Go visit our KidPT TikTok @kidpt_nj , our instagram @kidpt , or our facebook page @kidptnj to see Dr. Ali’s demonstrations for each of these lovely moves! We hope you have a happy Valentine’s Day with lots of chocolate to make the heart smile!

If you know what Physical Therapists do, you know one of the big things we focus on are MUSCLES! I’m sure you have heard all about your glutes and your abdominal muscles, but there is one group of muscles you may not have heard that much about, because it gets a little neglected sometimes. These muscles are the ones that help you BREATHE! Yes, there is a whole group of muscles that help you breathe, and just like every other muscle in the body, they can be EXERCISED to improve strength, endurance, and control. Normally, you don’t have to think when you breathe, which is really awesome because if we did have to think, we would probably not have the brain power to do anything else. But when we do think about breathing, we can teach the muscles to work in new and more efficient ways. Once you do train these muscles to work better, they start working like that for automatic breathing too! We miss doing these types of exercises at the clinic because of COVID, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be done in a safe, COVID free home environment!

Now, you might be asking yourself, why does this matter? Well, if you notice your child becoming out of breath while trying to walk and talk at the same time, they might have difficulty keeping their breathing efficient while they are moving around. If your child frequently becomes quiet or holds their breath when trying difficult things, they may have trouble coordinating breathing with complex motor and cognitive tasks. If this sounds like your child, here are some exercises that may be helpful for training their muscles for breathing for greater efficiency:

1. Sipping through the imaginary straw (Breathing IN through pursed lips): That motion your lips make right before blowing a bubble or drinking through a straw, when you push them very tight together, that is what pursing your lips looks like! Breathing in through pursed lips (the imaginary straw) increases the resistance you have to breathe against, which means that your diaphragm, the large muscle at the bottom of your lungs whose main job is breathing, can work toward getting STRONGER!
2. Blowing BIG imaginary bubbles (Breathing OUT SLOWLY): This one has a similar idea, but instead of strength, it’s all about CONTROL! When your child breathes out SLOWLY, they have to control the speed at which their diaphragm is relaxing back to its normal resting shape. If you add counting to this as well, the task involves even more control and coordination because they then have to match the speed of their exhale to an external rhythm, which adds motor COORDINATION into the mix as well! If this is too hard, start with a small mouth, which will help decrease speed naturally due to increased resistance.
3. Singing: Singing is AMAZING for COORDINATION and CONTROL of breathing. Someone who is singing has to match the timing of inhales and exhales to maximize how many words they can sing before taking each breath, which involves using breath control to prevent the air from leaving too quickly. All of these features are wonderful, not to mention that singing is so fun it has the power to bring a smile to anyone’s face!
4. Diaphragmatic Breathing: Diaphragmatic breathing is always a favorite because it works on breathing control, as in some of the exercises listed above, but it also increases relaxation. For this one, have your child lie down on the ground with their hand over their tummy and make sure you can feel see belly move up and down with each breath. Tell them to fill their belly with air while they count for 5 seconds, hold that breath for 3 seconds, then exhale for another 5 seconds. Adding counting to your diaphragmatic breathing again adds an extra coordination component because it requires them to control the rate their breathing muscles contract and relax to an external rhythm. If the specific times listed seem too long, they can always be adjusted to fit your child’s current ability so that the exercise is appropriate for you. 

If you found this information interesting and believe these concepts may apply to your child, but would like a second opinion, come on over to KidPT for a consultation with one of our Physical Therapists! And remember, inhale, exhale, and you will go places!

Disclaimer: All information in this post is for educational purposes only. If looking for medical advice, seek a doctor or related healthcare provider.

Are you ready for the ultimate New Year’s Countdown? Get ready to wiggle, jump, spin, and roll into the new year with these 10 awesome moves! For easier following along, click the link to the video at the bottom of this post 

10. Ball Drop Jumps – To do these jumps, bring both knees into your chest while jumping into the air. Then land with both feet on the ground (compare to cannon ball jumps). Now you are looking like the sparkliest, shiniest new years ball ever!

9. (Virtually) Calling Friends and Family – Stand with your feet out wide, lean into one knee, and waive your hand or make a “telephone hand” and bring it up to your ear to call friends and family to wish them a Happy New Year! Repeat this 9 times total, leaning to opposite sides each time to calling 9 important people in your life! 

8. Rising Apple Cider Bubbles – For this sweet move, crouch down until you are in a small ball close to the ground, with your hands touching the ground. Slowly wiggle your fingers and rise up until youre all the way on your tippy toes with your wiggly fingers in the air! Now you know what if feels like to be the bubbles in your Sparking Apple Cider! Repeat this one 8 times!

7. Confetti Squiggle Jumps – Jump in the air and wiggle your arms every which way to pretend you are kooky confetti, floating in all directions as it flies through the air

6. Clock Jumps – Point one toe forward to 12 o’clock on an imaginary clock on the floor. Then jump with your toe pointed to 1 o’clock, then 2 o’clock, 3 o’clock, and so on until you have jumped with one foot around the ENTIRE clock! Repeat with the other foot.

5. Logs on the fire – Start a warm fire by lying down on the ground on your back and roll to your tummy. Then roll to your back! To make it extra hard, try to not let your arms and legs touch the ground! Repeat this 5 more times (3 times to each side), to imagine yourself as your favorite new years treat!

4. Firework Jumping Jacks – Crack, pop, and sizzle as you do 4 jumping jacks and show off all your new years colors!

3. Globe Spins – Did you know that every time we celebrate a new year, the Earth has completed one full trip around the Sun? And every year, it takes 365 days for the Earth to complete this trip. Each day, the earth spins around one time! SO, as we spend the last days of 2020, thinking about 2021, the Earth is finishing its final spins for the year! Do 3 spins like the Earth does every day!

2. New Years Hugs – You’ve almost made it to 2021, give yourself two BIG hugs to show some appreciation to yourself for all the hard work you have done this year before the new year!

1. New Year Hooray Jumps – Do one star jump, where your legs and arms all jump outward at the same time. When you land, bring them back together. Don’t forget to shout “Hooray!”
Want to show us your New Year’s Countdown? Send us clips of you jumping your way through these moves! Email us at admin@kidpt.com or message us on Instagram or Facebook @kidPT and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!