How physiotherapy can help your child

Physiotherapy department – oncology unit

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How Physiotherapy Can Help Your Child (207kB pdf)

Introduction

A physiotherapist may see your child during their treatment. This is because they might experience side effects from their illness or from their treatment which can sometimes affect their walking.

The physiotherapist may monitor your child and offer advice on activities / exercises to help.

Benefits of exercise

It is important that when children are treated for cancer that they still exercise when they feel well, and it is beneficial they do so!

Activity ideas

Keeping children active really helps during treatment. While your child is on treatment it is better for them to do regular short bursts of activity rather than a lot in one go. Below are some ideas for activities to do with your child;

If your child needs bed rest they can still be active by using their hands and feet to pop bubbles or pat a balloon
Encourage your child to walk or crawl even if it’s only a short distance
If they have a wheelchair they could walk pushing their chair for a short distance instead of sitting in it
If stairs are difficult, try going up and down them on their bottom
Heel walking and standing on heels can help to keep muscles in the foot and ankle strong (these often get weak)
Make exercise fun, younger children often enjoy games including crawling / rolling / obstacle courses, older children may enjoy exercises on the Wii Fit / Kinect
Children should join in with PE at school
Children can do non-contact sports even if they have a line in place