Weak Core? Athetosis? Try This Side Bend Exercise👨🏾‍🦱💙 | Athetoid Cerebral Palsy PT #13

👋🏽 Hi, I’m Amy Sturkey, a retired pediatric physical therapist with over 35 years of experience. I’m continuing this series with my co-instructor, Ne’Quan 👨🏾‍🦱💙 Ne’Quan has spastic athetoid cerebral palsy, and I was his physical therapist from age 5 through age 26. When we began filming this playlist, he was 27 — and at this point, we are simply dear friends. Although Ne’Quan is an adult, the motor challenges he experiences are the same challenges I address across the lifespan. The strategies used in this series apply to young children and adults alike — what changes is how the task is presented. With younger clients 👧🏽👦🏼, these skills are often built through play. With Ne’Quan, we work directly using verbal cues, repetition, task progression, and long-established trust. 🧠 What This Video Focuses On In this session, we work on lateral trunk flexion (side bends) in hook lying to strengthen the core and improve control through the middle of the body. Individuals with athetoid cerebral palsy often have fluctuating tone, making it difficult to maintain a stable center. Because of this, I frequently begin sessions with core activation activities before progressing to more difficult movement tasks. Ne’Quan lies on his back with his knees bent while reaching toward each heel one side at a time. As he side bends, he must keep his head lifted and control movement through his trunk while reaching with fluctuating hand control. To increase the challenge, I gradually move his feet farther away from his body. This increases the demand on the abdominal muscles and lateral trunk control. 🧠 Why This Matters Side bending activities like this help develop: • Core strength and endurance • Lateral trunk control • Midline stability • Head control during movement • Controlled reaching with fluctuating tone • Preparation for more advanced sitting and standing activities 💡 Therapy Tips A few strategies that help: • Start with the feet closer for easier success • Move the feet farther away to increase difficulty • Encourage slow, controlled movement • Keep the head lifted if possible • Focus on quality of movement over speed 📌 About Ne’Quan • Walks in daily life with someone nearby for safety 🚶🏾‍♂️ • Does not speak; communicates using gestures, signs, an alphabet board, and a switch-accessed communication device 💬📱 • Strong receptive language skills • Limited hand control affecting fine-motor and self-help tasks 🤲🏽 • Functionally most similar to GMFCS Level III ⏱️ Timestamps 00:00 Introduction & meet Ne’Quan 00:17 Why core work comes first 01:17 Introducing lateral flexion in hook lying 01:54 Easier version with feet closer 02:21 Increasing the challenge 03:00 Why reaching is difficult with fluctuating tone 03:15 Closing 🎥 Watch All of Ne’Quan’s Videos (Playlist)    • Physical Therapy with Athetosis   🌐 More Resources Website: https://www.pediatricPTexercises.com Facebook: Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises Email: [email protected] ⚠️ Disclaimer This video is for educational purposes only. It is not medical advice. It would be unethical for me to provide specific treatment recommendations without personally evaluating your child or client. 💬 Captions / Accessibility I’ve reviewed and corrected the captions for clarity. To turn on captions: click CC. To change caption language: Settings → Subtitles/CC → choose a language or Auto-translate 🌍 📚 Books by Amy Sturkey (Amazon) Children’s Books P is for Poop and Pee Accidents — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLSRJ483 A is for Anxiety — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LXQ3W6V A is for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QH9H5HR C is for Cerebral Palsy — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TSJCYP D is for Down Syndrome — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079P8HH49 A is for Autism — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071F4FFTB Professional Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercise Books Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises for the Hips — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156736 Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises for the Knees — https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156760 Pediatric Physical Therapy Exercises for the Ankles — https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TX2ZCFD