ESTIM Therapy

Today Kaitlyn started a new and exciting therapy. It's called "ESTIM Therapy", or "Electrical Stimulation Therapy". You may remember that Kaitlyn had a nerve surgery that resulted in a significant decrease in muscle spasticity (tightness). This was a huge step in improving her chances of walking. However, Cerebral Palsy is a complicated condition that results in multiple factors working against the body's ability to move in a typical fashion.

Although much of the spasticity has been eliminated from her muscles, Kaitlyn still must try to overcome the fact that her brain does not send and receive typical messages that allow the muscles to move in a normal walking pattern. ESTIM is one way to override the brain's signals by directly targeting the muscles.

Electrical stimulation units use an electrical current to simulate the same electrical impulses that are activated during normal exercise. By passively activating the muscle, the body responds in much the same way as during normal exercise. By placing a pair of electrodes on the target muscle or muscle group, the unit can send electrical impulses through the skin to underlying nerves, stimulating the contraction and relaxation of the muscle in a rhythm similar to daily exercise. We're hoping that Electrical Stimulation will improve Kaitlyn's muscle strength and muscle tone, eventually resulting in an increased range of motion and better walking pattern.

As usual, Kaitlyn adapted to this new therapy like a champ. She didn't have any adverse reaction to the electrodes or electrical impulses. Since today was the first time trying it, Kaitlyn's therapist Judy kept the impulses on a low setting. She will slowly ramp up the current over the next few weeks to get the setting just right. Eventually, we will have a unit to use at home daily.

Here she is giving it a shot...