“My son's left leg is weaker than the right. Do you think I can start him on some physical therapy?”
My son is 5 years old and I have noticed that his left leg is weaker than his right. Do you think physical therapy may help him? What exercises should we do to help him build strength?
8 Answers
Physical therapy can potentially help. I would suggest making an appointment with a pediatric physical therapist so they can do an assessment and ask you questions about his development that could aid in an appropriate plan of care. Great observation. All the best!
If his right side is his dominant, normally will be stronger than the left side. However, if you noticed a lot of difference in strength between both sides, you need to take your son to a neurologist for further consultation and possibly some tests before physical therapy.
No in this case you need to do complete testing may be neurological/ orthopedic testing to find a reason for weakness and then if required or recommended follow with physical therapist
The question is, why is one leg stronger? Is this the dominant leg? It's supposed to be stronger than the non-dominant. So, I would suggest you take him to see the pediatrician and follow up with the physical therapist.
Yes contact a pediatric PT right away for scheduling appointment.
Absolutely!! See a pediatric physical therapist. They will have tons of "games" they can play in order to get him to strengthen it correctly. But the onus is on you as the parent to make sure he does his homework.
Could PT help him??? YES. But my question would be why is his leg weaker? I would consult his pediatrician before starting to look for a PT consult.
I would make sure there's nothing else going on and your child has been examined by his pediatrician. If nothing serious is going on (which I highly doubt), then physical therapy can help and just active play can be just as well.
