Arm and Shoulder Restrictions Part 2

Things to think about:

• How does the baby move his arms on his own? Watch. Get a patient active assessment.
• Do the parents notice that one arm stays down a lot? Get Mom's opinion on what she sees as a pattern.
• Does the baby resist, whine or fidget often when getting dressed? Mom will admit to noticing when the baby dislikes having their arm put in a sleeve.
• How does a restricted arm relate to neck restrictions and plagiocephaly? Using your osteopathic principles, you'll be able to figure that out easily.
• Wait for your moment to motion test. Baby has to stop using the arm to assess properly. Don't try to pull when baby is actively using muscle.
• Scapular motion is easy to assess by pushing down on the upper aspects of the scapular blades. Normally the side that the baby's head and neck rotation is defaulting to is the side with the arm and shoulder restriction.
• Glenohumeral motion is trickier to feel. You must stabilize the scapula and slowly try to test the arm motion across the chest. Watch for slight flinching in the body. You can see it in the video. The baby's body glitched when I motion tested his left GH joint. I suspected the restriction was there because I felt it and saw his behaviour. I switched to test the right one. It glided easily. Then I went back to his left one and started working.
• Working direct with very little force will usually allow the restricted arm to free itself. Again, when the baby tries to move, slowly allow it and resume when relaxation comes back into the area you are working on.