David G Smith an american singer and song writer, is supporting Parkinson Awareness Month with a song called Doesn’t Take Much Light. We have played the song a few time over at the Birkdale Centre and quite like it, the words themselves are very meaningful. David G Smith wrote the song based on a true story: This song is a true story about Ernest J Lutes who was a scoutmaster to my co-writer, Dean Madonia. Ernest J got to hear this song shortly before passing away from complications due to Parkinson’s Disease. For more about the story please listen to...
Helping Toe Walkers at Birkdale Pediatric and Neuro Clinic Do we simply do passive stretching to calf muscles when children walk on their toes? In our experience passive stretching does not work and there has been many papers written on the topic to support this. After many years we realised that children who are toe walkers often have difficulty in postural alignment of head and neck and trunk and pelvis. They stand with their weight forward on their toes and lose their balance if they have to look down. They also have poor co-contraction of hamstring and quadriceps muscles and...
How would my child benefit from neuro physio? Down Syndrome in Children is a genetic disorder but represent itself with low tone and often hypermobility as well as ocular motor disorder and visual acuity and speech and language processing. This means that there is delay in the following: head control in ocular motor skills in hand and eye co-coordination in motor organisation in hand function in sensory and motor integration in trunk and pelvis control in walking The physiotherapists at Birkdale Neuro Rehabilitation Centre use aircushions to achieve ocular motor skills as well as had and trunk control. On the...
Earlier this year Fernando experienced a sudden onset of paralysis of his right facial muscles. With no pre warning he discovered he had difficulty with holding water in his mouth when trying to have a drink and when he looked in the mirror he realised he was unable to smile, frown or wink his right eye. Subsequently eating and drinking became extremely difficult to manage and Fernando was forced to wear an eye patch to protect his right eye which he was unable to close or open either voluntarily or involuntarily. Fernando was diagnosed with Bells Palsy which is an...
