Why do kids need physiotherapy?
“It is more than ‘just’ Therapy for my child – I feel like there is an unspoken trust formed with the therapist that keeps them going back week after week. The approach encapsulates all aspects of my child’s needs”
- Most of us understand what a Physiotherapist does when it comes to an adult, especially when it is injury related. The job of the physiotherapist is to assess and treat the injury and the movement patterns associated to get them better.
- Kids are not just small adults - they are growing and developing every day. Their bodies are different in make-up too. There are many reasons why a child might need to see a Paediatric Physiotherapist but ultimately it comes down to movement (just like adults), but for children and their bodies.
- Paediatric Physiotherapists are movement specialists for babies, children and young adults . We assist in many aspects of child physical and neurological development, using play based interventions to get the best outcomes. This means as ‘kid physios’ we have strong hands on skills and use huge doses of fun, creativity and playfulness to develop individualised programs to benefit each child. We work with families, carers, other health professionals, teachers and educators to optimise treatment.
Our goals and outcomes are:
- To diagnose and treat an acute or chronic injury, in order to return to activities of daily living.
- To assess and facilitate better movement patterns.
- To assist with developmental or physical disabilities.
- To develop the fundamental skills required for all types of physical activity, in order to improve their coordination, balance, flexibility, agility and joint specific conditioning.
- The aim of all our programs is to ensure that we enable every child to move and participate in everyday activities, in and outside of school. This in turn helps strengthen a child's general health and wellbeing.
- So, why might you seek an assessment and management for your child:
- General Gross Motor Development problems (such as delayed or dysfunctional) such as sitting, crawling, standing, walking, running, jumping.
- Hypermobility with low tone
- Clumsiness, poor balance and coordination
- Walking issues - Toe walking, pigeon toed walking or knock knee.
- Gait assessment in older children.
- Children with disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, autism, brain injury, muscular dystrophies, or other congenital syndromes or conditions).
- Postural problems in children (eg limps, length discrepancies, bow legs, pronating feet, knock knees, pigeon toes, tight hamstrings, toe walkers)
- Musculoskeletal/sports injuries and return to sport.
- Post surgery and fracture rehabilitation (eg ACL or tendon release).
- Growing pains
- Congenital orthopaedic problems (eg positional talipes)
- Torticollis
- Developmental delays
Outcomes of a typical program may include (within each individual's gross motor milestones):
- Gross motor milestones
- Fine motor control
- Improved recruitment of specific muscles
- Balance
- Coordination
- Flexibility
- Core Strength
- Hand-Eye Coordination
- Agility
- Listen and follow instructions
- Crossing the Midline
- Spacial awareness
- Discipline
- Ball skills
- Team play
- Mental skills training including speed, accuracy, memory.
- Strength and conditioning