shortened tendons

[Guest guest]

Kathy-

Great explanation. I don't know if my PT friends could have done such a good

job.

Laurie

> When my daughter had her heel cord lengthening surgery we got a

> great lesson in bone and muscle growth from her doc. He told us

> that the bones do all the actual growing - in length that is.

> Muscles grow fatter (wider - don't all us adults know that!) and

> then stretch longer to fit the growing bones.

[Guest guest]

>

> I was wondering if the shortened tendons may be a secondary problem

> associated with an abnormal gait rather than a primary symptom of a

When my daughter had her heel cord lengthening surgery we got a

great lesson in bone and muscle growth from her doc. He told us

that the bones do all the actual growing - in length that is.

Muscles grow fatter (wider - don't all us adults know that!) and

then stretch longer to fit the growing bones.

This causes a couple of things: the leg cramps kids get at night

can be truly " growing pains " because most (if not all) of the

bone growth is at night. The muscles hurt from stretching as

anyone who has ever started an exercise program too quickly can

tell you!

The other thing is that kids who don't walk (and jump and skip)

don't tend to stretch those muscles, but rather point their toes

down as it's much easier to do than pulling against the short

muscles to lengthen them. Kids who use wheelchairs may get

tighter and tighter until their muscles don't fit at all, and

slip sideways causing scissor gait, and pointed toes and hips.

After her heel cord lengthening, my daughter began walking at age

5, and we hold both her hands and " jump " her up and down to keep

those heel cords stretching. So far (she's 9) no further surgery

has been necessary since we're keeping her stretched enough. She

does get a mincing kind of walk from time to time that makes us

realize it's time for some extra jumping, though.

Just my observations.

Kathy

[Guest guest]

Hello

Thank you Kathy for the explanation. It was very appropriate for Jill's

dragging feet problems. As her ataxia has worsened she has lost her mobility

and therefore is not stretching the tendons as they need to be stretched.

Our PT says low muscle tone is also a factor that contributes to the

problem. Jill is now in a wheelchair most of the day because of her ataxia

so the braces really help to keep the tendons as long as possible.

.