Question
My Boyfriend has arthrogryposis. And although he's doing excellent given his  situation. I feel there's more i can be doing to help. I know when he was younger they had him in physical therapy, but they stopped. He was also babied when he was going through school, so he never leanrt how to spell properly and you correct grammar, as well as basic math.
I feel that at his age now (19) he has  a hard time dealing wiht it because he wants to be doing whate everyone else is doing. My question for you is 1) Is there any type of at home exercises i can do with him to stregthen some of his muscles, as he is determined to do so, but i don't want him hurting himself. possibly with bending his arm, opening his hands...  and
2)Do you think a good way to help him learn all the basics he missed from elementary school is to use those computer programs for kids to learn to spell and use grammar-he is a computer fanatic.
Thank you for your help, i eagerly wait for your answers..if you don't have any of your own, can you please point mein the direction of where i can find them?
thank you
Celena Armstrong

Answer
Hi Celena and thanks for writing,

The best way to treat Arthrogryposis is EARLY therapy when they're kids - aggressive therapy at an older age can actually cause more harm than good.

Early vigorous physical therapy to stretch contractures is very important to improving joint motion and avoiding muscle atrophy. Patients with amyoplasia or distal arthrogryposis respond well to physical therapy with excellent functional outcome. However, physical therapy actually may be harmful in diastrophic dysplasia, because it may lead to joint ankylosis. Recurrence of deformities following stretching is common, and surgery often is indicated.

You'll want to have him see a Physio & Occupational Therapist so they can work out a safe regime for hiom to follow - then you can help him work on his planned therapy at home.

I think the children's school books are an excellent idea - most cities have children's book stores that have a good selection of both hard cover books and computer programs.

I hope this helps and I wish you both well,

Margot