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Florida BPI Therapists
Kathy Shufflebarger, PT
Are you a physical or occupational therapist, and does your center offer physical and/or occupational therapy for children and adults with brachial plexus injuries? I am a physical therapist. Our Lakeland and Brandon clinics have a total of 17 PTs and OTs treating children with a wide range of diagnoses including BPI. Indicate the number of years of experience in treating brachial plexus injured (bpi) patients. I personally have worked in pediatrics for twenty years. The experience among our staff varies. Identify what bpi patients you have experiece in treating (obstetrical brachial plexus, trauma, adult and/or pediatric. Our clinic caseload has been with pediatric obstetrical plexus injuries. How many bpi patients have you treated? I have never kept an actual count. I would say that within our clinic right now we probably treat about 6-8. I currently have 2 -- a newborn and a two-year old. We consult at our level 2 NICU and have been called to assess and begin parent instruction prior to hospital discharge. Do you follow your patients post surgically? Yes with therapy followup as ordered. Do you or your staff have a working relationship with physician(s) who are brachial plexus injury specialists?. Children are typically followed by a neurologist and orthopedist. Others are additionally seen at the Shriners Hospital in Tampa. Some children have traveled to Texas for surgery. What therapy techniques, methods and interventions do you use, including, but not limited to, aquatic therapy, hippotherapy, kinesiotaping and splinting. We have a summer aquatic therapy program. We have in the past but are not currently providing hippotherapy. The majority of our staff are certified kinesiotaping practitioners. I personally have found the taping to be a wonderful adjunct to my therapy interventions for BPI. We have done splinting for the elbow and hand. We provide a strong base of parent involvement with the treatment. Are you familiar with NMES/TES stimulation or other types of stimulation? If yes, what type(s) of stimulation do you use?. I have used electrical stimulation and vibratory input. I have no always been as active in pursuing this modality for the pediatric patients. I would certainly like any current bibliography or clinical input on this. List any specialized education or training and/or seminars or clinics you have attended in treating bpi individuals. I have attended Karen Karmell Ross training on torticollis, Basic and Pediatric Kinesiotaping courses. I have attended many therapeutic exercise and sensory courses over the years. Have you authored or co-authored any articles regarding brachial plexus injuries or participated in any research studies? No. Indicate any other facts that you feel would help families and individuals understand your practice Our commitment is to provide the best care for the child and their families. We believe in the family being active in the child's therapy. We work to adapt each child's therapy to his or her family and their activities. |
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