Stretch until it hurts

Nolan saw his doctor at Mary Free Bed last week. I mentioned to him that Nolan had been complaining of foot pain again. Dr. Rush examined Nolan, then had him do some walking up and down the halls. He then told me that Nolan's calves down to his heels were tightening up and Nolan had lost some range of motion. He was compensating for that loss of motion with bad techniques, which was causing the pain. 

So...back into private physical therapy Nolan will go. The PT and OT he is getting at school isn't enough. In addition, Nolan has to do some daily stretching. He has to stand on a step with his heels hanging off the edge. He has to hold that position for 2 minutes so the backs of his legs can slowly stretch. 

Nolan doesn't like this stretch because it hurts. But he also acknowledges that it will help him walk better during the day, so he cooperates and even reminds me when it's time to stretch. I set the timer on my phone so he can watch the seconds tick down. 

You can see how hard he's concentrating in this picture.