Pediatric physical therapy spans from infancy, adolescent, and up to young adults. Our Physical therapists are trained to work with
children and their families to assure each child is hitting their age-appropriate developmental milestones and structural growth.
The goal is that every child is reaching their maximum potential to function independently and to promote active participation in
home, school, and community environments.
The overall goal of pediatric therapy is to help your child be more independent as they age so that they can live a normal life. Sometimes your child’s therapy will only involve play, like jumping, climbing, or dancing. Other treatments may focus on specific tasks like getting dressed, eating on their own, or holding a crayon or pencil correctly for writing.
Parents are always provided with helpful information and guidelines to work on with your child at home. Your role in your child’s therapy is just as important (if not more) than the role of your child’s physical therapist! Caring for the smallest patients takes the mightiest team!
In Health,
Jill Marlan, PT, OMPT, MSPT, CSCS
CEO/ Founder
As proud as you are of your child’s bravery on the playground or playing field, a part of you still frets over the potential for injury. It’s only natural to be concerned about sprains, strains, accident injuries, and overuse injuries in active kids.
The good news is that neither you nor your child is completely helpless against these lurking threats. Consider these smart preventative strategies for preventing play and sports injuries – and then ask Peak Performance Physical Therapy to help you implement them.
Diet and nutrition can go a long way
Young athletes need to eat a balanced diet consisting of healthy, natural foods instead of highly processed junk food and sugary soda.
Proper hydration, including a balance of water and electrolytes, is also critical for sports. Our physical therapist can offer valuable advice on the subject.
Educating your child on common play and sport injuries
Kids who resolve to “play through the pain” or who fail to recognize common injury symptoms put themselves at risk for even greater physical damage.
It’s critical that your child knows how to identify a probable sprain, strain, fracture or other injury in time to stop playing immediately and seek help.
Teach your child that staying in the game to prove “toughness” could lead to being benched (either literally or figuratively) with painful, serious, possibly even long-term complications.
Incorporating the proper warm-up and cool-down methods
Kids always seem to be in a hurry to leap into activities — and just as eager to leap away from those activities when they’re done with them. But as any physical therapist can tell you, engaging in athletics without warming up first can promote soft tissue injuries.
A bit of jogging or some gentle stretches might be all that’s needed to prevent these problems. But it’s equally important for your child to perform some cool-down stretches after the activity, which helps the tissues recover from their workout.
Encouraging safe play
Even physically fit kids can run into trouble if they ignore best practices for safe play. If your child plays a sport that requires any kind of protective gear, invest in that gear, make sure it fits properly, and see to it that your child knows how to wear that gear safely.
Even casual playground time can prove dangerous if your child is defeated by dangling shoelaces or other common dangers. Educate your child on the need to check such details before playing.
Playing with the proper sports technique is another important consideration. For example, the wrong bat, racket, or golf club technique can quickly lead to shoulder strains, elbow tendonitis, back pain, and other problems that might send your child to a physical therapy clinic.
If your child needs more schooling than the school coach can offer, see about engaging a private coach to instill the proper technique.
Preparing your child with physical therapy sessions
A strong, agile body is a must for preventing sports or play injuries. If your child has an obvious muscle weakness or other functional limitation, physical therapy can help minimize that obstacle to improve athletic safety and performance.
Our physical therapy team can evaluate your child’s balance, coordination, stance, gait, muscle strength, and range of motion for any issues that might need improvement. Specific physical therapy exercises can then be prescribed to straighten those issues out before your child takes the field.
NOW OPEN!
Through an advanced integrated approach to minimize or eliminate your pain, Peak Performance Physical Therapy works to restore:
We know the difficulties that come with minimal function and mobility, so we aim to get our patients back to the things they enjoy. Our priority is our patients, and we believe that anything is possible when you have your health.
Sarah Denham, D.O.
Dr. Sarah Denham is a Board Certified Family Medicine physician, specializing in integrative and holistic care. She graduated with a double bachelor degree in science from Michigan State University in 2006. She continued her education at MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine, graduating with her medical school degree in 2011. After completing her residency, she has chosen to stay in the Greater Lansing area to provide care to those patients in search of a holistic integrative medicine physician.
Dr. Denham focuses on the cause of a problem rather than a quick fix. With her own experience of severe illness and recovery using alternative medicine, Dr. Denham is able to relate to struggles and triumphs of being a patient. She loves to work with patients on improving their quality of life by working toward healthier habits and disease prevention. By using less medications and focusing on the true cause of illnesses, she can aid those that strive for a healthier life. Her exemplary knowledge of supplements, women’s health, alternative medicine, and use of osteopathic manipulation is beneficial to patients of all diverse backgrounds and lifestyles.
In her spare time, Dr. Denham loves to garden, cook, watch movies, listen to music, and travel. She is a great fit to the Greater Lansing area with the eco-friendly, whole-body approach that she gives to medicine.
Julia Drake – Physical Therapist
Dewitt Clinic
Julia grew up in the DeWitt area and graduated from DeWitt High School where she was on the swim team. She went to undergrad at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, OH where she continued to compete on the swim team. After graduating, she went to the University of Michigan: Flint for her physical therapy degree.
Julia moved up to Suttons Bay after physical therapy school where she lived and worked for 2 years before returning to the Lansing area. She then moved back to DeWitt in 2016. She married her husband, Brandon, in 2020 and they welcomed their first daughter in March 2022. Julia enjoys going for walks, reading, all things nail polish, spending as much time with her daughter as she can, and playing video games with her husband.
Julia is passionate about helping people in her community reach their goals and achieve the best outcomes they can. She has taken coursework on vestibular rehab, post-concussion rehab, training with helping patients with work injuries, as well as other orthopedic injuries/surgeries. Julia is an avid learner and always looking to learn new things.
We know how awesome Julia is. Now we want to hear from you. Please take a moment and share your experience with Julia.
Elizabeth Rowel – Authorization Specialist
All Clinics
My name is Elizabeth Rowell. I am the Authorization Specialist at Peak Performance Physical Therapy. I work between your provider and the insurance to prove medical necessity and make sure you get as much care as necessary. I am originally from Fowlerville but landed back in Lansing after living in North Carolina for about 5 years. I have a 10-year-old daughter (Mia), a wonderful husband (Jason), and a much-loved cat (Kobe). In my free time I enjoy reading, trying new recipes, and playing the Sims.
Office Posture
Having healthy posture habits prevent common neck, shoulder, and back problems and also improves your mood and energy throughout the day.
General Tips
- Keep your muscles loose by taking standing or walking breaks every 30-45 minutes.
- When possible, give your eyes a rest by looking away from your computer every 20 minutes and focusing on a distant object.
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