3 Must-Try Balance Boosters! Did you know that one of the number one predictors of falls is having a fear of falling? It may seem surprising, but it’s true!  Many patients visit us feeling unsteady or imbalanced and afraid of falling. Some have even experience injuries due to falls, while others worry about the consequence of falling. There are a variety of ways to address balance issues to enhance stability and confidence on your feet. But first, it’s important to understand how your body works to maintain your balance. The 3 Components of our Body’s Balance System: Eyes  People a ..read more

Boosting Early Language Skills This May, we celebrate National Speech-Language-Hearing Month, raising awareness about communication disorders and the role of pediatric speech language pathologists in providing life-altering treatment. Did you know by the age of two, the average child can say between 200-300 words? If your little one has not reached this milestone, try these home strategies to boost early language development and encourage your child express themselves more confidently! Practice Gestures By 16 months, your child should master around 16 gestures. Gestures are a skill to have bef ..read more

The Hidden Benefits of Obstacle Courses  Crafting an obstacle course for children extends beyond mere entertainment; it serves as a dynamic tool for fostering various skills essential for their development. Explore this guide on the benefits of obstacle courses, along with the best methods on how to create one that maximizes learning and fun! Skills Addressed by Obstacle Courses: Speech and Language Obstacle courses are a great way to target tons of language! You can work on everything from spatial concepts to labeling/identifying. Below are fun ways to target your child’s speech and lang ..read more

Power is an important aspect of physical performance and is generally defined as performing work quickly, or generating force in a short period of time. Sometimes it is also referred to as “explosiveness”. However you want to describe it, power comes in handy when trying to do something quickly, like changing directions or jumping. This is important in cycling when climbing, jumping, saving a bad landing, and sprinting to the finish. As avid mountain bikers at AzOPT Prescott,  we wanted to put some power development exercises together that we feel could benefit the cycling community and m ..read more

Mastering Foam Rolling Whether at the gym, CrossFit, or even AzOPT, you have seen someone laying and rolling around on a cylindrical shaped piece of foam. Foam rolling has become an extremely popular and effective self-massage technique. To understand why, let’s discuss the basic structure of our muscles and tissues. Our muscles are surrounded by a dense sheet of connective tissue called fascia which support and allow our muscles to function and move independently. Chronic pain, stiffness, reduced joint range of motion, and impaired blood flow can be a result of these fascial layers “sticking ..read more

Hand Manipulation Skills in Child Development Children are often referred to pediatric occupational therapy for concerns related to fine motor skills. Generally thought of as the movement and use of hands and upper extremities, fine motor skills include reaching, grasping and manipulating objects with your hands. Fine motor skills also involve vision, specifically visual motor skills, often referred to as hand-eye coordination. One main element of fine motor skills refers to grasp patterns. An occupational therapist helps improve grasp with a variety of grasp patterns and pinches needed for pa ..read more

Surprising Benefits of Vitamin C and Collagen Supplements for Tendon and Ligament Pain.  Tendon and ligament pain are commonly seen in the physical therapy profession. Treatment of tendon and ligament injuries consists of manual therapy, exercise, and modalities for pain relief with good outcomes. However, nutrition is often neglected when encompassing the whole patient during their episode of care and should be used alongside manual therapy, exercise, and modalities.  Frequency of Tendon and Ligament Injuries  Notably, more than 50% of injuries in the NFL from 1998-2007 were re ..read more

How Can A Pediatric Occupational Therapist Help in Potty Training? Parents often ask our therapists if they can help children learn to use the toilet by themselves. Our therapists acknowledge that toilet training is a very important activity of daily living (ADL), but also know that countless factors contribute to toilet training success. Children are often most successful learning this skill in a familiar, consistent environment such as home, daycare, or school; a place where they spend a large amount of their day. Once children are successful with toileting in this familiar environment, you ..read more

R.I.C.E. – Rest | Ice | Compression | Elevation R.I.C.E. is a fundamental principle for the management of various injuries, particularly those related to soft tissues like muscles and joints. This approach is commonly employed to address acute injuries such as sprains, strains, and minor fractures. Understanding the benefits of each component provides valuable insight into why the R.I.C.E. method is widely recommended. REST Rest is a crucial component as it allows the body to initiate the healing process without further aggravating the injury. When an injury occurs, the affected area experien ..read more

The Negative Impact of Mouth Breathing by Michelle Slabach M.A. CCC-SLP, COM Is your child’s mouth open at rest? Does your child breathe through his/her mouth? Does your child drool? Hopefully, you said “no” to all of the above questions.  Humans are supposed to be nose breathers.  Breathing through our noses helps provide humidity to the air before it reaches our lungs.  It also regulates the temperature of the air.  This is especially important when it is cold outside.  Finally, a person breathing through his/her nose will get 20% more oxygen than breathing through h ..read more