|
Our user asked: "I have recently taken my 6 year old daughter to see a physical therapist after our pediatrician recommended it for toeing in. I have not met with the therapist yet, but she did evaluate my daughter and mentioned bringing an OT in for a consult because my daughter had some retained reflexes. As I was researching this I became aware of a condition called hemiparesis. I watched some videos, my daughter walks like the children in the videos, except she does not have a very noticeable bend in her wrist or elbow, only her leg seems to match the gait. I want to know how is a diagnosis of hemiparesis made and is this something I should bring up. My concern is that hemeparesis can be cause by many things including brain lesions, her aunt had a brain tumor at a similar age and I don't want to miss any warning signs. thank you for your advice."
Ask a PT Response: "Hemiparesis is weakness on one side of the body. It is often assoicated with injury to the brain or spinal cord. If you suspect something, I would first talk to the PT that performed the evaluation and see if he or she has any concern. If there is concern, medical imaging of the brain or spine would mostly likely be the next step to determine if there are any issues. There could be alot of other issues that may contribute to weakness, ie muscle imbalances, hypo or hypermobile joints, etc. I would be hesitant to jump to conclusions given the lack of information you have so far. I wish the best for your daugther."
|