chapter 8
STRETCHING EXERCISE INSTRUCTION SHEETS
Some stretching exercises are done best using special techniques. Often they need
to be done at home for weeks or months. You will find instruction sheets for the most
frequently needed stretching exercises in Chapter 42, “Range-of-motion and Other
Exercises.” They include:
Stretching exercise for a
tight heel cord. See p. 383.
Stretching exercise for a
bent knee. See p. 384.
Stretching exercise for
a bent hip. See p. 385.
85
HOLDING A CONTRACTED JOINT IN A
STRETCHED POSITION FOR LONG PERIODS
Chapter 59 discusses the use of casts, braces, and other aids to stretch difficult
contractures. These include:
a series of plaster
casts and wedges
1
adjustable braces
elastic stretching devices
bamboo or plastic
that works as a
spring
of metal and plastic
2
of wood
3
inner tube
Advantages:
• Holds leg in exactly the position you
want it.
• Child (or parents) cannot easily
remove it.
• Especially useful for difficult
deformities that bend in different
directions.
Disadvantages:
• Cannot be easily removed to check
for sores, to bathe, and to exercise.
(Therefore, casts should usually not
be used on children with arthritis or
children without feeling in their legs.)
• Hot in warm weather.
• Expensive (plaster bandage).
• Adjustments require trip to clinic or
rehabilitation center.
Advantages:
• Can be adjusted by family at
home.
• Can be easily removed to
check for sores, for bathing,
and exercise.
Disadvantages:
• More difficult to make
and to fit well.
• Difficult to use on child
with various deformities
that go in different
directions.
• Child (or parents) may
remove and not use it.
Advantages:
• Same as for adjustable
braces, and also:
• Does not need frequent
adjustment because it keeps
pulling as joint stretches.
Disadvantages:
• Clumsy—gets in the way.
• Difficult to make so they
work well.
• Often not good with
spasticity.
disabled village children