“My daughter is recovering after a paralytic stroke from Guillian Barre syndrome. How should I go about her physical therapy?”
My daughter is 7 years old and suffered a paralytic stroke resulting from GBS or the Guillian Barre syndrome. She was in the hospital for close to six months but is now recovering and getting discharged soon. How should I go about with her physical therapy?
9 Answers
You want to go to a neuro based facility.
Check with your insurance for a pediatric physical therapist near you. Depending on your daughters mobility you may be able to have therapy in your home or you will go to an outpatient clinic. Make sure to get a script from the hospital physician or your daughters pediatrician for PT that says "eval and treat" . This allows PT the most flexibility to address the deficits specific to your daughter.
Hi, sorry to hear. I'm hoping that she is already in physical therapy. If she hasn't been yet, it is important that she gets evaluated by a PT soon and has a treatment plan prepared according to her current functional status. If she already has been on a plan, please have a therapist follow the same. Depending upon her functional status, she may be able to attend an outpatient therapy clinic which may be better in terms of outcomes. Depending on the state you are in now as well as the insurance your daughter has, you may or may not need a referral from her PCP or treat Dr. Best practice would be to talk to her Dr requesting a referral for PT and look for a good therapist near you. Hoping that she recovers well soon!
I'm sorry for your misfortune but am perplexed. A stroke is caused by a vascular lesion of the central nervous system - usually of the brain. Guillain Barre, on the other hand, is an inflammatory peripheral neuropathy thought to be caused by an autoimmune response to infection. So, the 2 pathologies are quite different. What they have in common is a natural course/history. Specifically, both tend to improve to some degree with time. Ultimate status tends to be dependent on the initial severity of the disease. A person who is comatose after a stroke or on a ventilator after Guillain Barre, therefore, would not tend to recover as much. Whichever diagnosis is most appropriate, physical therapy by an experienced and committed therapist is certainly appropriate- at the very least for a thorough examination. The treatment that follows is likely to involve corrective and compensatory interventions.
I am happy to hear she is recovering now. GBs is completely reversible. Start PT immediately and she will recover well and will even be stronger than before.
She will have to go for physical therapy, each case is different, but she will need a couple of months of physical therapy (progressive), including stretching, strengthening, and progressive gait training.
Each case is different, but she will need physical therapy for a couple of months. She is young, so her chances of getting better are great.
I would start with the hospital that she was in. See if they have an outpatient rehab department. If so, try and observe the type of care they give their patients. If you're satisfied that your 7 year old would feel good about going there, then start there. If not, call around to a few pediatric PT centers. If you get nowhere with them, look for rehab facilities that can promise to spend at least 30 minutes of 1-on-1 care with her.
Look for a pediatric Physical Therapist, who specializes in treating children.
