iCan Bike

Cook Children’s recently co-hosted a five-day camp, iCan Bike, with iCan Shine, an organization that offers a variety of programs to enrich and impact the lives of children with disabilities. Over a week, riders learn how to independently stabilize a bike with the help of volunteers as they gradually discover the skill and joy of riding a bike. The bike camps occur in the summer months, typically in June or July, and consist of 75 minute sessions per day with a maximum of eight riders per session. Parents, teachers and therapists describe the results as miraculous!

iCan Dance

iCan Dance is a program in Fort Worth, TX, that teaches people with disabilities to dance. The camp takes place over five days and encourages people to find joy through dancing. At the end of the week, the participants get to show off their new dance skills by performing in a big recital. The foundation of the iCan Dance program is patience, as it takes a patient understanding of each dancer to create an effective dancing program. The staff and volunteers at iCan Dance want to see people with disabilities believe in themselves and learn a new skill!

Due to current COVID-19 restrictions, only one parent or caregiver can attend appointments with patients. So each Tuesday, Aiden and his mother, Lori, attend appointments at Cook Children's where he receives chemotherapy. During his treatments, Aiden's father, Chuck, waits patiently outside of the building until Aiden is taken into a room with a window.

Once Aiden can see outside, Chuck hosts a one-man, music-free dance party for Aiden (and anyone else who happens to see him). The two are usually on the phone, talking to each other at the time. Aiden will call out dance moves for Chuck to do, and he even does a little dancing himself. Chuck says he does it to lift Aiden's spirits.

"The restrictions during the pandemic made me feel helpless. And the only way I knew to cope was to somehow be there during his treatments," said Chuck. "When he was able to come to the window, it just came natural to me to wave and carry on, which turned into me dancing!  I love knowing that it makes him giggle and smile, and let’s him know that his struggle is my struggle. I would never want him to think that he is going through this without his dad."

"I think it’s tough to break up a close knit family of four in these days, only allowing one parent to be present during Aiden’s clinic treatments and equally hard to not have his big brother Camden by his side too!" said Lori. "The population of kids present are all immunocompromised, so it makes sense, just a tough pill to swallow! I absolutely love listening to his giggles & watching him belly laugh at Chuck’s fancy dance moves. He can be having a terrible day, which transfers towards us some times too, and it’s instantly better once he sees his dad shake his booty. Aiden’s smile is contagious and can light up a room, even behind his mask."

The Yielding family is hosting a blood drive on Saturday, Oct. 3 in Fort Worth, Texas. Click here to sign up.

Girls are made differently than boys. They have different hormones, looser ligaments and a wider pelvis. They also have a menstrual cycle and this plays a larger role than some may realize. Females need to have regular menstrual cycles to keep their bones healthy and growing at a normal rate.

When girls go through intense training, barely any breaks in the year from sports and possible diet changes, this makes having a regular period difficult. Because of this, females are placed at risk for sport injuries due to weak bones, less energy and fatigue.

Are girl’s muscles and bones weaker than boys?

During an adolescent growth spurt there is an imbalance of bone growth and bone strength, making female bones weaker than boys. Adolescent females do not use the muscles in the back of their thighs when landing from a jump as often seen in males. This increases risk for serious knee injuries. Females use the large quad muscle in the front of their thighs to land from a jump. Females also have less control of their muscles during adolescence.

What are common facts and injuries of the female athlete in different sports?

• Dance: 90 percent of dancers will get injured in their career: stress fractures and foot injuries are common.
• Cheerleading: Cheerleading has become a highly competitive, sometimes dangerous sport. Cheerleading has the greatest number of catastrophic injuries including head injuries (concussions), skull fractures, neck injuries, heat illness, and electrolyte imbalance.
• Gymnastics: Injuries in this sport produce the highest number of injuries requiring surgery. Commonly wrist pain, stress fractures of the spine and ankle sprain.
• Volleyball: These players typically have better form and less injuries. Common injuries include jumper’s knee and ankle sprains.
• Soccer: Huge female athlete participation with ACL strains being the most common injury.

The most common injury is an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury in the knee:

• Females are four to five times more likely to have a non-contact ACL injury than males. This is sad because studies show that 65 percent of athletes (male and female) will no longer player soccer within seven years after an ACL injury.
• Adolescent female soccer players are at the greatest risk for negative long term effects, with more than 22 percent needing revision surgery or surgery on the other knee after an ACL injury.
• At least two-thirds of ACL tears occur when an athlete is cutting, pivoting, accelerating, or landing from a jump; tear occurs within the first 40 milliseconds after initial ground contact. This impacts the female athlete a great deal when you look at the sports many of them are competing in such as gymnastics and soccer.

Female athletes may be faced with more obstacles, but there are ways your female athlete can reduce the risk of injury, including:

• Do not allow knees to go inward during jumping, landing, cutting and pivoting.
• Land softly with knees slightly bent.
• Core/trunk control needs to be part of training.
• Increase awareness when adolescents have a growth spurt as they may be more at risk for injury.
• Monitor menstrual regularity.
• Maintain a balanced diet and stay hydrated.
• Train on dry/safe surfaces.

As a female athlete myself, I’m proud of the strides we’ve made toward equality on the playing field. But we also face new challenges as we compete at a higher level. Make sure to follow the above tips and stay safe.

SPORTS Symposium

Education is the key to keeping our young female athletes in their sport vs. being on the sideline with an injury. To learn more Cook Children’s has an annual SPORTS Symposium to educate those who work with our athletes: Coaches, athletic trainers, physical therapists and school nurses.

Please join us on July 21, 2016, to learn more about the female athlete in the morning and what is sending athletes to the ER in the afternoon.

Click here to register and attend the event. Click here to register for the Web cast.

Early Bird Special Ends June 30, 2016

The answer is complicated.

Yes, it's very important for toddlers ages 1-3 to interact with other kids their age and challenge their balance, strength and coordination. Sports are a great way to promote these skills and literature shows that athletes who play sports at a younger age are more likely to be active adults than their peers who don't participate in sports.

However, organized sports  may not be the best solution for children 3 and under, and aren't the only way to teach our children these skills. The list below describes activities for toddlers and some benefits of these activities for their development.

Swimming: Helps strengthen the arms and legs, as well as improve coordination since the child has to use both arms and both legs at the same time. Learning swimming at an early age helps promote good water safety habits later in life. You can practice swimming in a "parent and me" swimming class. 

Dance: Improves balance, coordination, strength and flexibility. You can practice in a class setting or by having a "dance party" or playing a game of "freeze dance" at home.

Biking: Between ages 2 and 3, kids should be able to begin riding a tricycle. For young kids, there are tricycles that offer a parent guide bar to help kids move and steer. You can practice biking in your neighborhood or on trails.

Soccer: Most teams start between ages 3-5; however, kicking a ball in the backyard with your toddler is a great way to help them learn to run, develop core strength and balance on one foot for a short period of time.

Basketball: Helps kids develop hand-eye coordination when dribbling and shooting and improve running and jumping skills, as well. You can play with an adjustable hoop in the driveway, or sing up for a community team (which will generally begin between ages 3-5).

T-Ball: Teaches running, balll skills and coordination skills. Using larger balls for young children will help them be successful with catching and throwing.

Yoga: Helps improve flexibility, which is very important since toddlers are growing quickly and develop tight musles quickly. Yoga can also improve strength (especially in the core muscles) and balance. Several toddler yoga videos can be found online, and classes are available throught out the DFW area.

Gymnastics: Another way to gain strength, balance and flexibility, gymnastics is a sport that children can begin learning as early as 18 months old. Many gyms have special toddler and preschool classes, as well as "parent and me" classes.

Yard games: The old staples of "tag" and "hide and seek" are great for teaching turn taking and problem solving, as well as practicing and running and climbing. Taking your child to a local playground also offers a wide variety of ways to practice climbing stairs, running, swinging, balance, etc. 

With all of these, safety is a primary concern. Toddlers are at high risk of injury when practicing new things. Contact your pediatrician if you feel like your child is having difficulty learning new skills and they may refer you for evaluation by a physical therapist to evaluate your child and help them learn these new skills.

About the author

Jodi Burgett PT, DPT, CPST, is the clinical coordinator of Neurodevelopmental Physical Therapy at Cook Children's. Physical therapy at Cook Children's focuses on large motor and functional skils to enhance development, restore function and prevent disability from pediatric conditions, illness or injury. Cook Children's has Rehabilition Services in locations in Fort Worth, Hurst and most recently in Mansfield.