Physical Therapy for Kids: What You Need to Know
You may think of physical therapy as the rehabilitative services rendered to someone recovering from an injury or surgery, and there are certainly occasions where children may need this type of service. More often though pediatric physical therapy involves habilitative treatments designed to help children with disabilities acquire, maintain, or even build on the skills they need for daily functioning.
Why a pediatric specialist?
Pediatric physical therapists are uniquely trained to understand the development and needs of children. Their understanding of the structural differences of a child’s bones, muscles, and joints positions them to better apply physical therapy techniques to solve physiological issues.
Pediatric physical therapists are educated in the range of motion of joints in children, developmentally appropriate reflexes, the tone of children’s muscles, the proper alignment of a child’s posture, balance, and strength.
Furthermore, their awareness of developmental milestones and the complications of delays helps them implement therapies appropriate to developmental issues. And because of their developmental understanding of children they can incorporate age-appropriate play into therapy to encourage the child’s engagement.
These child-focused therapists operate in specialized pediatric physical therapy clinics equipped specifically for the needs of children and designed to make children comfortable and more likely to engage with therapy.
What do pediatric physical therapists treat?
Pediatric specialists treat a range of issues, including developmental delays, genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome, physical challenges or differences, and nervous system and brain disorders. Some specific conditions that benefit from pediatric physical therapy are:
- Torticollis: This disorder where a child tilts the head or can only turn it one direction is imminently treatable with therapy (for detailed information on torticollis visit https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/torticollis.html);
- Muscular imbalances or weakness;
- Autism (to learn more about using therapies with autism visit https://autismsociety.org/resources/intervention-and-therapies/);
- Speech and language delays
- Assessments and fitting of prosthetics, wheelchairs, and other adaptive equipment;
- Visual and auditory deficits;
- Gross and fine motor deficits;
- Sensory integration challenges.
When to see a pediatric physical therapist?
Even when a child has not been diagnosed with a disorder treatable by therapy, there may be signs that a condition exists and needs to be evaluated by a physician who can refer the child to therapy. Warning signs may include: an inability to perform tasks that their peers can; developmental delays; frequent falls or stumbles; walking with an unusual gait or on the tiptoes; showing a strong preference for using only one side of their body; or turning the head in only one direction.
What to expect?
If you’ve been referred to a pediatric physical therapist, your process will usually begin with an interview to discuss the child’s needs and the family’s concerns. An examination of the child in the context of daily routine and play will follow and may include developmental, neuromotor, and sensory tests. Finally, a therapy regimen will be established that will include ongoing evaluation, discussions with parents, and coordination with medical evaluations.
Most of these types of specialists operate out of dedicated pediatric physical therapy clinics, much like ours in Folsom. Finding a rehabilitation therapist that is trained to work with children is crucial for the most efficient results.