vojta therapy for CP

[sdkashif]

Have a look over more information resources on Vojta Therapy.

Vojta Therapy- History

Vojta Therapy- Methodology

Vojta Therapy: Clinic brings a therapy used in Europe to area

Vojta Therapy: Treatment History

Vojta International

Miracle Kids

[estherderu]

better late than never,

I have just read this thread about Vojta therapy.

In Holland more than 100 people became Vojta Therapists. The whole course was completed in 2 months ( language German ) and everybody who passed the theory and practical exam were allowed to call themselves Vojta therapists. The really good thing about the course was that we were trained in assessing normal and abnormal motor development.

The treatment was found to be "child unfriendly" by most of us to say the least.
Many colleagues and patients were very negative because all babies would cry during the "treatment sessions". Nearly everybody doing this course had already been trained in NDT, many in sensomotor therapy and a few were also manual therapists. We formed a Vojta group to study and help each other afterwards and we met regularly. Two of the assisting teachers were also members.

But at the same time ( beginning of the 1990´s... current ideas about therapies were changing....and we began to know about motor planning, brain plasticity and motor control.
The studies published by Esther Thelen and especially B.C.A.Touwen and Mijna Hadders-Algra both developmental neurologists made us aware of the new possibilities all this knowledge was giving us.
The resulting change in using ICIDH ( later ICF) ideas, the use of treatment goals, physiotherapy diagnosics and working according to best practice at the minimum became normal practice.

After a few years the whole Vojta group decided that going on was no longer functional. Most of us hardly ever used the Vojta techniques.
In my own experience every now and again a young patient would ask for Vojta therapy because it would " work better on them".
NB Not only Vojta, but also the NDT techniques were being questioned by us all at that time.

We are now in a situation that we use "functional " therapy using the knowledge of motor control, finding and using as much evidince as can be found.
The dutch paediatric physiotherapist these days heve been trained in: all the current "methods", theories and backgrounds of all types of disorders. After a 3 yr parttime education and exam we are able to enter the official PPT register.
To stay in this register keeping up your education is mandatory.

I have noticed that in some countries ( Germany and Spain that I know of personally ) the "old Vojta curriculum" are still being used.
I hope that the Vojta teachers, like the Euopean Bobath tutors (EBTA), will "change" their curriculum in the near future.

These are exiting times for us paediatric physiotherapists! I am glad I recieved that Vojta education even if I don´t use it anymore. I did learn a lot at that time.
I know that I still use some of the things I learnt at the time.
But times have changes, there are new things to learn out there all the time.

kind regards to every body.
I wish all my colleagues world wide lots of health and wisdom in our wonderful profession.
I hope this has shed some more light on the "vojta" method.

esther