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What is encephalitis
Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain tissue. It can cause a variety of symptoms which may affect your child’s arm and leg strength and ability to walk. Physiotherapy can help to increase muscle strength and mobility to improve your child’s quality of life after encephalitis.
Causes of encephalitis
Encephalitis is caused by an infection from bacteria or a virus.
Above: Balance and co-ordination exercises assisted by a, experienced paediatric physiotherapistSymptoms of encephalitis
Children with encephalitis may be sleepy, irritable, nauseas and confused. They may have a high temperature, have seizures, a stiff neck and difficulty speaking, hearing and walking. Often they are reluctant to look at bright lights. Children with encephalitis require a holistic multi-disciplinary approach to rehabilitation. Your child would significantly benefit from assessment and treatment by a specialist physiotherapist at Physio.co.uk.
Diagnosis of encephalitis
Your child can be diagnosed with encephalitis via a scan of their brain called a computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. It may also be necessary to test a sample of fluid from your child’s spinal cord. This is obtained via a lumbar puncture.
Above: Guiding rehabilitation exercises through play activitiesTreatment of encephalitis
Most children with encephalitis will be cared for in hospital. They will be given medication to reverse the cause of the symptoms and fluids to rehydrate the child.
If encephalitis is serious it can affect your child’s brain and this may cause muscle weakness, a reduced ability to move around, poor balance and reduced co-ordination. Your child’s behaviour may change and it may be difficult for them to participate at school due to an inability to learn new tasks and remember them correctly. They may have trouble speaking and swallowing and changes to vision and hearing. Due to the wide variety of symptoms caused by encephalitis, it is vital that your child receives holistic therapy from a multi-disciplinary team. At Physio.co.uk, our specialist physiotherapists provide thorough assessment and treatment for children with encephalitis.
Physiotherapy for your child after encephalitis
Following encephalitis, your child would benefit from a thorough physiotherapy assessment with a specialist from Physio.co.uk. A detailed assessment can be carried out in your home environment or one of our clinic locations. Your physiotherapist will assess your child’s muscle strength, tone, sensation, balance, co-ordination and mobility. The findings of the assessment will be discussed and a goal setting session facilitated. It is important to set a series of short and long term goals with your child in order to focus treatment sessions. Depending on your child’s problems and goals, a treatment plan for a child recovering from encephalitis may include:
- Strengthening exercises for all limbs and trunk
- Passive and active stretches to maintain muscle length and joint range of motion
- Core stability exercises
- Dynamic balance activities
- Complex cognitive tasks to challenge attention and information processing skills
- Integration back to school
- Use of a routine to improve sleeping pattern and engagement in treatment
Your physiotherapist will assess your child’s ability to sit, stand, walk, run and climb the stairs after encephalitis. If your child has difficulty with any of these activities, our experienced physiotherapist will provide the necessary equipment and mobility aids to help. These may include walking frames, crutches, orthotics or extra rails in the home environment. Our colleagues at Manchester Occupational Therapy are available to provide advice regarding major adaptations to the home such as stair-lifts or through floor lifts.
Physiotherapy offers significant physical and cognitive benefits to your child recovering from encephalitis. These include:
- Increased muscle strength
- Increased mobility
- Increased core stability and balance in a variety of positions
- Increased focus and attention to task
- Increased confidence
- Improved behaviour and sleeping pattern
- Improved social skills
Why choose Physio.co.uk for your child after encephalitis
At Physio.co.uk, our specialist physiotherapists have valuable experience in the assessment and treatment of children with encephalitis. We understand it is a worrying time for children and parents and are here to help your child return to previous level of ability and gain an overall improvement in quality of life.
- No waiting lists
- Treatment at home or in the clinic
- Dedicated motivated physiotherapists
- Liaison with other health professionals involved in your child’s care
- Provision of individually tailored exercise program
- Provision of mobility aids and equipment
- Access to specialist gymnasium
- Access to hydrotherapy
- Access to occupational therapy
- Access to speech and language therapy
