Kids and Broken Bones. Their Muscles Need Help Too! 😵
When kids have had a cast …
Every time we left (the Bridging® Institute) we had relief for everything–fears, balance, etc., and the best night of sleep! Milestones would happen shortly after the session.”
Erica S. (mom)
From struggles to success
Today, Erica’s son is a thriving 12-year-old — excelling in basketball, doing well in school, and enjoying great friendships. The kind of future every parent hopes for.
But four years ago, things looked very different.
Basketball — his dream sport — wasn’t going well. Running was difficult, school felt harder than it should, and his anxiety was frustrating. As parents, these are the worries that keep us up at night. Oh, and he wasn’t sleeping well either.
And, one more thing — he went down the stairs awkwardly.
Determined to find answers, his mom took a big-picture approach and, on the advice of friends, sought help from the Bridging® Institute.
Two Key Movement Disruptors
For those of you who have completed our intake form, you know we ask some unusual questions. That’s because the real clues to movement struggles often hide in past experiences.
In this case, we uncovered two major factors affecting his movement:
- Birth Trauma – Unusual birth circumstances, resulting in a C-section. These disrupted his core muscle development which impacted posture, breathing, and movement. Resetting these core muscle relationships was the first priority. Once his breathing improved, his sleep and behavior stabilized.
- A Broken Leg at Age 3 – A full-leg cast left lasting effects on his ability to move efficiently, impacting both going down the stairs and his basketball skills.
Even after the cast was removed, his body didn’t automatically return to normal. The combination of early life movement disruptions made him more sensitive to growth spurts, sports falls, and head injuries.
A cast does more than just hold a bone in place. It affects the entire body’s movement patterns and causes muscles to shutdown. These muscle impacts don’t automatically resolve just because he’s a child!
How Bridging® Helped
Bridging® gently resets and reconnects muscle coordination, helping kids, like Erica’s son, move with ease again.
- Basketball skills improved – Running became easier and more natural.
- Better sleep and behavior – Once breathing mechanics were restored.
- No more struggles on the stairs – Improved muscle coordination brought back fluid movement.
Today, he still comes for occasional Bridging® sessions — just a couple times a year — to stay balanced through growth spurts and sports.
Why Does a Cast Create Unexpected Long-Term Issues?
An Engineering Root-Cause Perspective (Because I’m an engineer!)
A cast does more than just hold a bone in place. It affects the entire body’s movement patterns and causes muscles to shutdown. These are some common issues that surface when the cast comes off:
Immobilized Joints – When a joint like the ankle or wrist is locked in place from the cast, the complex muscle connections that developed in early childhood don’t automatically reset. Bridging® helps restore these connections.
Compensations in Muscle Coordination – Even a cast for two weeks creates asymmetry in movement. These imbalances don’t go away on their own and often resurface as a child grows.
Layered Movement Disruptions – If a child has had other early-life challenges (birth trauma, surgeries, severe respiratory illnesses), a cast only adds another layer of inefficiency to their movement.
How Bridging® with kids is different than other options
Hear how Erica, his mom, describes their family’s experience with Bridging®: (Watch the video for the entire interview.)
“It’s like (Bridging® is) putting the puzzle (of the body) back together!”
Q: How often do you come for Bridging®? Is it every week?
Mom: NO! At first, we came every 4-6 weeks for several sessions. Now, it’s just when something feels off — like a growth spurt or something from basketball –maybe 1-2 times a year.
Q: Did you have homework to do at home? (Homework, such as home exercises.)
Mom: No!
Q: Would you have done homework (with three kids at home?)
Mom: Absolutely not!
Bottom line: Families see improvements with each Bridging® session, don’t have to come often, don’t have to do additional work at home, and the kids like to come!