Sammanfattning
Background: Many children and adolescents are exposed to traumatic events. Such events can have a major impact on their lives and can cause them to develop somatic disease, emotional, cognitive and behavioral difficulties.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide enhanced knowledge of what bodily expressions physiotherapists should be extra aware of when meeting children and adolescents.
Design: The study is a pilot study with a qualitative approach.
Material: The data material consists of written transcripts from interviews with three professionals with extensive experience from work with children and adolescents who have experienced traumatic events.
Method: The data collection method was individual semi-structured qualitative interviews, analyzed by Malterud’s systematic text condensation.
Findings: The main findings highlight how children who have experienced traumatic events show a wide range of bodily expressions, through tension patterns, respiration, pain and reduced contact with their own body.
Conclusion: Children who have experienced traumatic events show a wide range of bodily expressions. Physiotherapists’ challenge is to see the bodily expressions of each child as an expression of the context in which the child lives, thereby contributing knowledge that can reveal whether a child lives under conditions that are perceived as overwhelming and enduring.