Why Children Should Get a Biomechanical Assessment

Posture plays a huge role in health. And when it comes to health, prevention is key! That’s where a biomechanical assessment comes in: the younger you are when you get this exam, the more you can benefit, and the better you can protect yourself from complications caused by an imbalance—because that imbalance would be detected at an early stage, by professionals.

In this article, we’ll see how and why a biomechanical posture assessment can be a wise investment for the musculoskeletal health of your child.

What a biomechanical assessment can do

In medical clinics, it’s not uncommon to see people suffering symptoms and joint damage that are actually complications brought on by posture imbalances. Teens or young adults may have pain in their knees, hips, or other joints due to an undiagnosed flat foot, for example.

Sometimes the pain that comes from inconspicuous posture defects is severe enough to have a negative impact on someone’s life—even a child’s. As a result, a biomechanical assessment is a good idea for all children, particularly for those with a family history of posture disorders (scoliosis, knock-knee, etc.).

Here are some disorders that your child may effectively avoid n the future, simply by having a biomechanical assessment when they’re young:

• Postural scoliosis
• Chronic joint pain
• Certain forms of arthritis
• Joint deformities (in the knees, feet, and spine)
• Impaired balance

When should you bring your child in for an assessment?

As soon as a child is old enough to walk, they can benefit from a biomechanical assessment. Médicus clinics make a point of welcoming these littlest clients with a playful approach; our youngest clients are about 4 years old. We value your child’s experience at all times, and we always strive for an open, pleasant, and enjoyable collaboration.

While some parents request a biomechanical assessment for their child right away, before any problem might even appear, others come in to address specific issues, like:

• Abnormally rapid shoe-wear
• Crooked ankles, knees, or feet
• Deformation of the knees
• Growth pains in the legs
• Tendency to fall when walking or running
• Complaints of pain in knees, hips, feet, ankles

How your child can benefit from a biomechanical assessment

Ultimately, a biomechanical assessment can help your child avoid suffering from known long-term complications that are caused by certain posture imbalances. They’re easier to correct when a child is younger, because of children’s musculoskeletal flexibility—but also because if pain or musculoskeletal wear is caught early enough in children, there is still time to correct it.

During the examination, an orthotist-prosthetist is looking to highlight postural defects, in particular by observing possible imbalances between pressure points under the feet: those are key indicators in a biomechanical assessment.

By combining various factors that are noted during the examination (such as range of joint motion, and pressure distribution on the plantar surface) your professional can pinpoint the postural imbalances that your child may be experiencing.

Depending on the assessment’s results, the corrective options that may be suggested could include orthopedic solutions, daily exercises, or a specific prescribed treatment plan.