Juvenile Dermatomyositis

Juvenile Dermatomyositis

by | Nov 17, 2020 | Rheumatology

What is juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM)?

  • juvenile = this condition happens in children
  • dermato = skin
  • myositis = muscle

Symptoms of JDM include muscle inflammation (myositis) that results in weakness, and skin (dermato) rash. Other symptoms may include:

  • Getting tired easily.
  • Trouble walking, playing, brushing your hair or going up and down stairs.
  • Problems eating and drinking.

There are several different steps to confirm diagnosis. Below is what you can expect if your child potentially has JDM: 

Lab

  • Your child will need blood work. This will help the doctor know what is going on inside the body.
  • Once in the lab, your child will sit in a chair and a large rubber band or strap will be wrapped around their arm (also known as a tourniquet).
  • Then the lab technician will place a needle in their arm.
  • It will be very quick, and once finished, a colorful bandage wrap will put around the arm.

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

  • An MRI is also needed to take pictures so that the doctor can see inside your child’s body.
  • The patient will need to go inside a big tube that is shaped like a donut.
  • The machine makes loud banging noises when taking pictures, but we offer the child the option of watching a movie or listening to music while in the MRI.
  • The most important thing is that the patient stays still during the test.

Muscle Biopsy

  • To help the doctor see what is going on inside your child’s body in a different way, a muscle biopsy is done.
  • A biopsy helps our team see a small part of the body. They will remove a small piece of tissue while your child is asleep.
  • After the biopsy, your child will wake up and have a small spot that may be sore. Our team will teach you how to take care of it and keep it clean.

Swallow Study

  • Your doctor has decided that they need see how your child eats and drinks.
  • A feeding expert will take pictures while your child eats and drinks to see how the throat muscles work.
  • During the study, the patient will eat and drink lots of different things. The food and drinks may look different, but they will taste like they always do.

Treatment Options

Steroids

  • While on steroids, you may notice changes to your child’s body. Examples include:
    • Hungrier than usual.
    • Your child may notice a funny taste in their mouth.
    • Change in their mood.
    • Their body may also change. Such as their face becoming puffy or changes to the skin.

IV (Intravenous) Start

  • This means that your child will go to a special room where a nurse will put a small straw in their arm or hand.
  • The medicine will then go through the straw directly into their body.
  • This way of giving medicines helps our team get your child healthy much faster than with other medicines.
  • If the child is coming back for another day of medicine, they may go home with the straw or IV in place. It will be wrapped in a colorful bandage wrap.

What else is can I do to stay healthy?

  • Wear sunscreen every day.
  • Take the prescribed medicines given by the doctor.
  • Eat healthy foods.

Learn more about the Rheumatology department. 

Soaring to New Heights: Growth Spurt in Dancers

Soaring to New Heights: Growth Spurt in Dancers

by | Nov 13, 2020 | Sports Medicine

In general, females undergo growth spurts earlier in life than males. This means that most girls experience significant growth at a younger age than boys. Julia Buckelew, P.T., D.P.T., says, “According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), peak height velocity occurs at an average age of 11.5 years old in girls and 13.5 years old in boys.” Some dancers can experience a delay in puberty which may cause the growth spurt to occur at a later age. Hormonal and weight changes that occur during growth spurts affect dancers in a unique way. Challenges include changes in:

  • Flexibility and strength.
  • Physique.
  • Balance and proprioception (the awareness of the body in space).
  • Body mass and center of gravity.

Sports medicine physician and former dancer Jane S. Chung, M.D., advises dancers to be aware that these changes that occur in this peri-adolescent period of growth, may predispose them to be prone to injuries. She says, “Techniques and certain routines which they were able to perform prior, can sometimes become more difficult for them to perform as a result of these changes that affect their body.” This can sometimes be frustrating for the young dancer, but Chung encourages dancers to be kind and embrace these changes, instead of fighting against them. Work with your dance teachers to help adjust and adapt to the new growing body.

Chung sees peri-adolescent and adolescent dancers in her clinic with these conditions and many others:

  • Bone, muscle, ligament and tendon injuries.
  • Stress fractures and other over-use related injuries.
  • Conditions specific to the female athlete such as the female athlete triad.

“Dancers should try to be patient with themselves during times of growth,” says Buckelew. She teaches dancers to recognize these changes and perceived setbacks as temporary. As a physical therapist and one of our dance medicine specialists, she sees many dancers who become discouraged with their movement quality and performance. “If we can help them understand and anticipate the changes associated with their growth spurt, they are likely to come through this phase with new respect and confidence in their bodies.” She recommends focusing on improving movement quality and technique during this time.

Three tips for dancers to rock their growth spurts:

  • Know it’s coming and won’t last forever.
  • Pay attention to your body.
  • Ask for help or modifications.

Chung and Buckelew have a passion for caring for dancers. They share their expertise to the community to help dancers and others prevent injuries and develop skills that help them perform at their best.

If your dancer has concerns or activity-related pain, request an appointment in our Sports Medicine clinic.

Keeping Up With the Count – This content is provided by a multidisciplinary team of staff that are passionate about keeping young dancers safe and healthy.

Helping Truth Achieve Her Goals

Helping Truth Achieve Her Goals

by | Oct 21, 2020 | Sports Medicine

“Truth has pretty much grown up on the soccer field,” says her mother, Agatha. Truth watched her father coach soccer, and both of her older sisters play, so she developed an undeniable love of the game early. She also developed an amazing talent. Truth has played for Solar Soccer Club in Dallas since she was 5 years old. She has participated in training camps with the USA National team, and when she was in seventh grade, she committed to play collegiate soccer for Southern Methodist University (SMU).

In January, Truth was playing in a scrimmage. Positioned to score, her leg collided with a defender attempting to block her shot. Truth felt a “pop”, fell to the ground, and had to be carried off the field. Fortunately, Truth’s mother knew exactly where to take her daughter for treatment. 

Her mother was a pediatric nurse at Scottish Rite for Children for five years before going to graduate school to become a family nurse practitioner. As part of her clinical training, Agatha worked with Assistant Chief of Staff and pediatric orthopedic surgeon Philip L. Wilson, M.D., and certified nurse practitioner Chuck Wyatt, M.S., CPNP, RNFA. Since Agatha experienced the expertise and caring clinical approach of Scottish Rite during her time there as a nurse practitioner student, she immediately called Wyatt at the Scottish Rite for Children Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center after Truth’s injury.

Truth-soccer-3.jpg

After a physical examination, X-rays and confirmation with an MRI, Wyatt explained to Truth and her parents that she had torn the lateral meniscus and damaged her articular cartilage in her knee. One week later, Wilson performed surgery to repair the meniscus and address the bone and cartilage defect in the joint. This type of meniscal repair and joint surface treatment required Truth to wear a special brace and use crutches for two months.

Wyatt says, “Rehabilitation is an extremely important component of an athlete’s course of recovery and safe return to sports.” Unfortunately, not long after Truth’s surgery, the coronavirus pandemic forced facilities to stop seeing patients in person. Wyatt and the Sports Medicine team were able to continue Truth’s care and monitor her range of motion and recovery virtually with telemedicine visits.

When it was safe, she transitioned from her home exercise program to in-person physical therapy. Truth was motivated and engaged when her physical therapy began because she knew her physical therapists wanted to get her back on the field as much as she did.

Today, Truth is back on the soccer field with the Solar Soccer Club, playing the game she has loved since she was little. She has been training hard since she was cleared three months ago to achieve her goal of getting back into “soccer shape.” “Scottish Rite for Children works effectively and purposefully to heal our young, growing athletes,” says Agatha. “We are all delighted that Truth had a healthy, speedy recovery full of people in her corner who cared about her and helped make this challenging process a very pleasant experience.”

Wilson says, “Truth’s injury would have made some kids second guess their future in sports, but her drive and commitment to her sport and her physical therapy program are second to none. Our team is inspired and motivated by athletes like her, and we can’t wait to see her succeed at SMU and beyond.”

We enjoy hearing about our current and former patients’ success stories. Tell us about your MVP. 

The Human Side of Health Care

The Human Side of Health Care

by | Oct 19, 2020 | General News, Press Coverage

Over the past few months, members from our team have been invited as guests on The Human Side of Health Care – a weekly radio program hosted by the DFW Hospital Council that broadcasts on KRLD 1080 AM. 

Below are the topics discussed.

The Human Side of Health Care
Former Administrative Director of the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia & Learning Disorders – Gladys Kolenovsky
This segment provides details about Scottish Rite for Children’s Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia & Learning Disorders – the history of the program, defining dyslexia and sharing the impact Scottish Rite’s team has had on children diagnosed with this condition over the years. 
Listen to the full episode.

The Human Side of Health Care
Director of Therapeutic Recreation – Dana Dempsey 
This segment gives an overview of Scottish Rite for Children’s Therapeutic Recreation department – how this team impacts our patient population by helping children with a disability or chronic medical condition to learn the skills they need to be involved in leisure activities and recreation. 
Listen to the full episode.

The Human Side of Health Care
Director of Patient Experience – Ashleigh Kinney 
In this segment, Scottish Rite for Children’s Director of Patient Experience Ashleigh Kinney, explains the importance of unconditional positive regard and how it is implemented throughout the organization.
Listen to the full episode.