Olivia's Story

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Alistar Smiling During Treatment

Meet Olivia

“Once Olivia's arm was put in a cast she quickly adapted and within the first few days of the therapy we saw Olivia's awareness and use of her left side improve!” - Andrea, Olivia’s Mum
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The Challenge

Olivia struggled with movement and control in her thumb, arm and shoulder making her movements laboured and slow. Struggling with ‘pincer grip’ between finger and thumb made it difficult to orientate her hand around small objects and toys. She generally showed a strong preference to her right hand side and over the next 3 weeks, we worked together to make a difference for Olivia.

“It goes without saying that Olivia has benefited from the CIMT and we would recommend the team at CIMT to any family looking to undergo this therapy."

The Goals

  • To improve her grasp and release of toys of varying sizes
  • To increase her range of movement throughout her arm and hand
  • To increase her shoulder strength and control
  • To achieve finger isolation in order to be able to achieve pincer grip

Our Approach

01

Fine motor skills exercises

Olivia plays with mixing bowl during therapy.
Olivia sat with her therapist.

02

Grasping and releasing

03

Finger dexterity exercises

Oliva playing with her toys during CIMT treatment.
Olivia practises pushing a trolley with some assistance.

04

Shoulder strengthening

The Science-y Bit

We worked hard with Olivia to improve the mobility, strength and functionality of her affected limb through the constraint of her non affected limb; encouraging the use of her left hand side

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This stimulates the formation of new pathways for movement, which “rewires” the brain, creating new neurological pathways, incrementally improving hand, wrist and shoulder use and functionality. The static posture of the non-affected side in the cast, further assisted to reduce tone in Olivia’s left arm and hand, consequently promoting functional use.

Karen Leslie portrait headshot

Karen Leslie - Neurological Physiotherapist

The Achievements

  • Olivia improved her manual dexterity meaning she could turn a page in a book
  • Olivia improved her grip strength so she could now open and close cupboard doors
  • Olivia improved her awareness of her left side meaning she would use both hands unprompted!

The Parents Feedback

“We would recommend the team at CIMT to any family looking to undergo this therapy as they are very professional, knowledgeable and understanding of your child's abilities and goals.” - Andrea, Olivia’s Mum

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"We would recommend the team at CIMT to any family looking to undergo this therapy" - Andrea, Olivia’s Mum

The Therapists Feedback

“Working closely with Olivia over the past 3 weeks was a real pleasure and day by day, bit by bit the improvements really started to show. I wish her all the best in the future and hope she keeps on smiling!” - Karen, Therapist

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"Day by day, bit by bit the improvements really started to show." - Karen, Therapist
Karen Leslie portrait headshot

Karen Leslie - Neurological Physiotherapist

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Call us on 0330 223 0077 or email to speak to
one of our specialist CIMT therapists.

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