Paediatric Physiotherapy
A paediatric physiotherapist is an expert on working with children to identify conditions and provide diagnosis for movement disorders. Providing diagnosis and treatment for children is quite different to the process of treatment with adults. In some cases, children may have higher chance of recovery than adults and there are a range of different factors to consider for the treatment plan to be affective with respect to children.
Paediatric physiotherapy focuses on improving the child’s movement abilities. This is done by building motor skills or increasing muscle strength by working on weaker muscles. However, every patient has different needs, and the goals of treatments need to be set based on the patient’s circumstances.
Types of conditions that can benefit from paediatric physiotherapy
Paediatric physiotherapy can be beneficial for a range of different conditions. some of these conditions are listed below with explanation on how paediatric physiotherapy can help with managing or treating the condition.
Prematurity
Prematurity is a type of condition that relates to when a baby is born three weeks before the mother’s due date or before the 37 weeks of pregnancy. This can increase the risk of the child developing issues such as learning skills or not reaching the developmental milestones.
Paediatric physiotherapist is an expert in dealing with conditions such as prematurity. Providing a treatment plan for babies that require physical therapy is a complex task to do.
A paediatric physiotherapist has the skills required to provide treatment plans for babies with prematurity. This is done by increasing strength, providing education for parents, and working on developmental skills. For the treatment to be successful, paediatric physiotherapist will provide fun activities and games that aims at increasing strength of the child and improving overall health.
Paediatric Stroke
Paediatric stroke is a condition that affects young children and newborns. Despite being a rare condition, it is still one of the top 10 causes of death for children in the world. The symptoms to look for at the time of stroke include:
- Having difficulty walking and maintaining balance
- Headaches
- Feeling weakness or numbness in one side of the body
- Changes in the persons behaviour
Physiotherapy can be a great treatment for children that have experienced this condition and are undergoing their recovery process. Paediatric physiotherapists are experts at working with children and can provide the patient with a treatment plan that best suits the condition and needs of the child.
There are different goals that a paediatric physiotherapist aims to achieve with respect to patients going through recovery from paediatric stroke. The goals may include:
- Providing education for the parents to assist with management of the recovery process (parents are actively involved with rehabilitation plan)
- Exercises and treatments to improve the child walking function
- Strengthening muscles to improve balance and preventing falls
Each child needs a different type of plan and treatment. A paediatric physiotherapist considers the circumstances, weaknesses, and strengths of the patient to provide the treatment that best suits the condition and needs of the child.
Down syndrome
Physical therapy can play an important role in management of down syndrome. Children with this condition have different physical features such as short arms and legs, short neck, low or high muscle tone, reduced muscle strength and more. These physical features may lead to the child not being able to maintain balance while walking or reduce physical activity of the child which can lead to other issues such as heart disease or obesity.
Having a right plan of exercise and treatment in children with down syndrome is a complex task. Paediatric physiotherapists are experts at working with children with such conditions. the general goals in paediatric physiotherapy sessions include improving the child’s motor skills and balance to prevent the patient from falling and improving the child’s overall health.
For more information with respect to down syndrome and other benefits of physical therapy for adults and children, feel free to check out the tab ‘conditions with treat’ and click on ‘down syndrome’.
Autism
It may be difficult for patients with autism to learn new motor skills. In some cases, having low muscle tone and poor balance may cause some issues for the patient such as frequently falling and increase risk of injuries to foot and ankles.
Paediatric physiotherapy can be beneficial for the patient with autism. This service may aim to achieve the following goals:
- Strengthening of foot and muscles
- The assessment and improvements to the foot posture
- Assessment and advise on footwear
- Providing the patient with a home exercise program that can be supervised by parents
Each patient with autism has a different condition and needs and the treatment plans may differ from patient to patient.
Cerebral Palsy (CP)
Physical therapy can be quite beneficial for patients with CP. However, the treatments or activities used for managing the condition are different from children to adults. A paediatric physiotherapist is an expert on working with children and can provide range of different fun activities for the child that aims at management of his/her condition.
The general goals in physiotherapy sessions for the patients with CP include:
- Providing advise and support to improve posture
- Activities to improve muscle tone and strengthening the weaker muscles
- Providing support for the child to be able to participate in sport and leisure activities at school
Type of treatments provided includes:
- Treatments for pain management
- Treatment to strengthen muscles
- Serial casting for muscle contracture
- Stretching
- Shockwave therapy to reduce muscle spasm and tone
- Lite gait , gait and balance training
For more information with respect to CP and the services we provide for this condition, feel free to check out the tab ‘conditions we treat’, then click on ‘Cerebral Palsy’.
Paediatric physiotherapy as a Home-based Service
Sometimes it can be difficult for patients to travel to our clinic. If you have such difficulties, we can arrange a time to see you at your place of residence. Fore more information in relation to home-based services, feel free to checkout ‘services’ tab on our website.
If you have more questions in relation to this service, you can chat with us on our social media platforms or call us on (02) 9637 5708.
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