368 chapter 42
DIFFERENT KINDS OF EXERCISES AND WHEN TO USE THEM
1. Range-of-motion exercises (ROM)
Ram is 2 years old. Two
weeks ago he became sick
with polio and both legs
became paralyzed.
Ram needs range-of-motion
exercises to keep the
full motion of his joints,
so they will not develop
contractures (see p. 370).
At least 2 times a
day, his mother slowly
bends, straightens,
and moves all the
joints as far as they
normally go.
All these are exercises
for his knee. For
other ROM exercises
he needs, see
p. 378
to 381.
2. Stretching exercises
Lola, who is now 4, had polio
at age 2. She did not have
any exercises to keep the
range of motion in her
joints, and now she has
severe contractures
especially of the
knees.
Lola’s mother does stretching exercises several
times a day, to straighten the joints a little
more each day. Stretching exercises are like
ROM exercises, but the
joint is held with firm,
steady pressure in a
position that slowly
stretches it.
3. Strengthening exercises with motion
DANGER
Chon was 6 years old when
he got his clothes and
body wet with a poison his
father used to kill weeds.
A week later his legs
became so weak he could
not stand. Now, 2 months
have passed, and Chon is
a little stronger. But he
still falls when he tries
to stand.
To help strengthen the
weak muscles in his thighs,
Chon can raise and lower
his leg like this—first
without added weight and
later with a sandbag
on his ankle. As his leg
gets stronger the weight
can be increased.
4. Strengthening exercises without motion
Clara, who is 9 years old, has a very painful knee.
It hurts her to move it and her thigh muscles have
become so weak she cannot stand on the leg. She
cannot do exercises like Chon does because it hurts
her knee too much.
But Clara can do exercises to strengthen her leg
without moving her knee. She holds it straight and
tightens the muscles in her thigh.
For more information on ‘exercises without motion’, see p. 140.
Disabled village Children