Healthcare Review

Michael Walton, OTC, OT-SC, occupational technologist at St. Joseph Hospital, developed a unique program designed to speed recovery in children who have suffered fractures requiring spica casts to heal. The first program of its kind in the nation and the only one in the northeast, the Hip Spica Program at St. Joseph Hospital helps speed recovery time.
A spica cast is a hard covering over the waist, hips, and legs that prevents movement of the hips. It is used to treat femur fractures and hip displasia, and are worn continuously without removal for six to 10 weeks. When the cast is removed, patients often experience a considerable decrease in range of motion and lack strength of the trunk and legs. In children, removal of a spica cast comes with trauma and anxiety about the rehabilitation process and returning to normal activities.
Looking for a way to decrease the trauma of spica cast removal and streamline the recovery process, Walton saw a program about pool therapy for children for autism and realized he had found what he was looking for.
Physical therapists have used water as a treatment medium for many years. Water treatment, or hydrotherapy, decreases stress on the joints and increases the ease of the extremity movement and increases lower extremity range of motion. Hydrotherapy also reduces the pain associated with movement and also decreases swelling. Additionally, the temperature of the water can either facilitate responsivenees or promote relaxation of the muscle groups, depending on the needs of the patient.
The success can be seen in the youngest of patients. Children like two-year old Camden, who fractured his left femur after falling over a soccer ball. After six weeks in a spica cast that covered his left leg to his toes and his right leg from his hip to his knee, Camden