If you have a little athlete who recently tore their meniscus while playing a sport or simply playing around, you know just how important it is to get them feeling back to their selves again. However, when it comes to dealing with little ones, it can be hard to convince them of the importance of doing things like physical therapy multiple times a week. If you are having difficulty getting your little one out of the car and into our clinic for their physical therapy session, try these tips and tricks listed below. Read on to learn more.

Explain, Explain, and Explain Some More
All of our experts at Great Lakes Orthopedics and Sports Medicine will do our best to explain to your child the importance of undergoing physical therapy— especially after surgery. However, sometimes children still resist wanting to come to physical therapy because they would rather be doing something else or they are scared. Try to reiterate to your child over and over again regarding the importance of physical therapy for their knee. As a helpful tool, grab their favorite toy or stuffed animal and try to explain to them that in order for them to get better they have to go to the doctor a few times a week. Through repetitive explanation, your child will hopefully start to ask questions and feel more comfortable about working with our experts.

Incentivize
Another thing that you can do to encourage your child to finish their physical therapy is to offer them some sort of incentive. For instance, if they complete two weeks of physical therapy, then they get to pick their favorite ice-cream out from the store. Or if they finish all of their physical therapy, maybe they can go to the toy store and pick out an affordable toy they’ve been wanting. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love an incentive?

Leave It to Us
Our experts at Great Lakes Orthopedics and Sports Medicine have been working in this field for years. And although you may want to stick around for your child’s entire physical therapy session, sometimes it’s best just to leave it up to us— we will make sure that your child is safe, happy, and gets the most out of your session. Plus, sometimes seeing mom or dad near by just makes them want to go home.

To learn more about physical therapy or how you can encourage your child to go to every session, contact our Great Lakes Orthopedics and Sports Medicine office today!