Pediatric Physical Therapy Process

 Movement and mobility refer to how a child moves through all their daily activities and significantly impacts their participation throughout their day and life. With proper movement and mobility, a child can facilitate growth cognitively, socially and communicatively.   

Strength is important for all activities a child participates in throughout their day. Without proper strength, a child may have difficulty meeting developmental milestones (crawling, rolling over, going up/down stairs, et.), be easily fatigued, along with poor handwriting, posture, and more. A physical therapist can help a child gain the required strength for their daily needs.

Balance is a child’s ability to maintain an upright position or stay in control of their body, while coordination is the ability to move two or more body parts efficiently and smoothly. A child needs proper balance and coordination to move confidently and effectively throughout their day.  

Play is the primary job of children.  Play can take on many forms throughout childhood, including solitary play, parallel play, imaginative play, physical play, or play with peers. A physical therapist can help a child move their body effectively in a variety of play scenarios, including sports as they age.  

Daily care skills involve caring for one’s own needs to facilitate independent living across a range of environments, including home, school, and the community. Self-care skills include moving from one activity to another (getting out of bed, getting into the car, sitting for meals, etc.) dressing, bathing, grooming (i.e., tooth brushing, combing hair, nail trimming), meal preparation, and toileting. Other important self-cares include proper sleep routines and safety awareness. 

Physical therapists help children adapt to their environment and progress their motor skills with the use of specialized equipment. Depending on the needs of the child, the equipment may help the child be more mobile, sit properly, perform activities of daily living (bathing, transfers, etc.), balance and others.  

A child can have high (hypertonia) or low (hypotonia) muscle tone. Depending on if the tone is too high or too low, it will impact their movements differently. Tone abnormalities can be caused by a variety of conditions, disorders, syndromes or diseases. Physical therapists can help a child improve their tone through a variety of activities, then positively impacting their motor development.  

Orthotics are fitted to support a body part, while prosthetics are to replace a missing body part. Orthotics may be prescribed to correct or improve the shape, movement or function of a variety of body parts, depending on the need of the child. A physical therapist can help determine the appropriate orthotic or prosthetic a child needs and then help them effectively improve their function with the new or existing device.  

Pain management may be required for a child from an injury or a preexisting condition. A physical therapist can assist a child by reducing pain, improving functional mobility, increasing participation in activities, improving sleep, esteem and overall quality of life. Depending on the cause of pain, different techniques may be used including heat/cold applications, manual therapy and/or therapeutic exercises.