How Exactly Does PRP Therapy Work?
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy provides a powerful healing boost that applies to many conditions and injuries. Perhaps its most attractive feature is safety, since PRP is generated from your own blood.
What to Expect During Your Child's School Physical
In most cases, kids must have a physical examination certificate completed at the time of their first enrollment in an Alaskan school. It isn’t mandatory under state law to have annual school exams though it is usually recommended.
Some schools may require physical exams, particularly for students involved in athletics, and even the healthiest of children can benefit from an annual wellness visit to ensure they’re meeting physical and developmental milestones.
At South Central Family Practice Clinic in Soldotna, Alaska, we recommend combining a school physical and wellness visit ahead of the school year to monitor your child’s health as well as for meeting any administrative requirements involved with school attendance or sports participation.
Younger children may be uneasy about doctor visits. As a parent, you can prepare them for a school physical by knowing what to expect. You may even try role play with shy or wary children. We’ve prepared this month’s blog to help you out.
What to expect during your child’s school physical
If you and your child are already patients of our clinic, then the school physical should be a breeze. We already know much about your child’s medical history, including knowledge of past illnesses and their immunization schedule.
For new patients, we start the physical by gathering this information. Past health and conditions of members of your immediate family guide us in the care and observation of your child’s wellness. With existing patients, we usually only need to fill in the time since your last visit.
Health statistics
Next, we perform a series of measurements. The obvious markers are weight and height, and we also take vital signs, things like pulse, respiration rate, blood pressure, and body temperature.
Physical examination
Throughout a school physical, we’re observing your child’s body, things like their gait and posture. We test joints, reflexes, and muscle strength and listen to their heart and lungs through a stethoscope.
We’ll check their eyes and ears with special instruments, and we’ll assess some internal systems with our hands, such as feeling for swelling or tenderness. It’s called palpation, and it provides a surprising amount of information about your child’s health.
Vaccination schedule
Certain vaccinations are required by the state for school attendance. We’ll review your child’s vaccine schedule and update any necessary shots or boosters.
Q&A
Typically, we’ll finish your child’s physical by answering any questions about the physical itself, any health issues or conditions, or anything else that comes up relative to your child’s wellness.
After that, all that’s left is a successful school year! Start the process by contacting South Central Family Practice Clinic by phone or online to schedule your child’s appointment today.
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