Drive Out Toe Walking with Whole Body Vibration + Play 👦🏾🚗 | Toe Walking PT #47

👋🏽 Hi, I’m Amy Sturkey, a retired pediatric physical therapist with over 35 years of experience. 🎯 Incline Whole Body Vibration for Toe Walking | Mykael #48 🦶🏾📐 In this video, I’m back with my co-instructor Mykael 👦🏾 — an 8-year-old child with persistent toe walking. His toe walking increases when he is anxious, tired, sick, or emotionally dysregulated. Toe walking also runs strongly in his family, with his father, grandfather, and uncles all toe walking as well. In a previous session, we used whole body vibration while Mykael stood with his feet flat. In this video, I make the activity significantly more difficult by placing a block of wood underneath the front of the vibration platform. This tilts the platform and increases the amount of ankle dorsiflexion stretch while he is also receiving vibration input. 🦶🏾📐 The goal is to encourage: 🔹 heel contact 🔹 ankle dorsiflexion 🔹 improved foot alignment 🔹 tolerance for prolonged standing 🔹 sensory input through the feet and legs To help keep Mykael engaged, we turn the activity into a game using a remote control car to knock down targets. 🚗🎯 Throughout the session, I closely monitor Mykael’s foot alignment and positioning while he tolerates both the vibration and the added stretch. 👀 As the incline increases, the stretch becomes more intense. In some cases, when adding incline underneath a vibration platform, it may help to decrease the vibration intensity slightly to improve tolerance. The vibration platform used in this video is a commercially available whole body vibration unit marketed for fitness and weight loss. The settings on this machine range from 1–99, though those numbers do not directly correspond to the vibration frequencies commonly referenced in research studies. I generally prefer to start at a low intensity and gradually increase based on the child’s tolerance and alignment. 🧠 Skills Addressed 🔹 sensory processing and body awareness 🔹 standing endurance 🔹 postural control 🔹 ankle mobility and stretching 🔹 maintaining heel contact during standing 🏡 Home Ideas If using whole body vibration at home: 🔹 begin with lower intensity 🔹 start with shorter durations 🔹 closely monitor foot alignment 🔹 consider adding motivating games or activities 🔹 gradually increase challenge as tolerated 🕒 Timestamps 0:00 – Intro 0:23 – Increased incline setup 0:38 – Combining vibration with stretch 0:52 – Monitoring foot alignment 1:03 – Remote control target game 1:20 – Increasing dorsiflexion challenge 1:38 – Discussion about incline and intensity 1:58 – Gradual progression approach 2:04 – Wrap-up ⚠️ Disclaimer This video is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It would be unethical for me to provide specific treatment recommendations for a child I have not personally evaluated. 📧 Contact amysturkey@gmail.com 🦶🏾 Toe Walking Video Series (Mykael) Watch the full playlist here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAkJbMrHyKjP470frDXaGDv2XrtEqPEUx 📚 Books by Amy Sturkey “A is for Autism” → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071F4FFTB “D is for Down Syndrome” → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079P8HH49 “C is for Cerebral Palsy” → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088TSJCYP “A is for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QH9H5HR “A is for Anxiety” → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LXQ3W6V “P is for Poop and Pee Accidents” → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLSRJ483 “Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Hips” → https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156736 “Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Knees” → https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998156760 “Pediatric Physical Therapy Strengthening Exercises for the Ankles” → https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08TX2ZCFD 🌍 Captions & Translations Subtitles are available and can be auto-translated for your language 🌍👧🏽👦🏻👩🏾‍🦱👨🏼‍🦱