What Signs Indicate Your Child Might Benefit from Pediatric Physiotherapy?
physiotherapy
What Signs Indicate Your Child Might Benefit from Pediatric Physiotherapy?
Pediatric physiotherapy specifically focuses on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of children from birth through adolescence. The goal of pediatric physiotherapy in Sherwood Park is to promote optimal development, improve mobility, enhance functional abilities, and facilitate participation in daily activities for children with various conditions or disabilities.
What Signs Indicate Your Child Might Benefit from Pediatric Physiotherapy?
Developmental Delays:
Suppose your child is not achieving standard developmental milestones for their age, like sitting up, crawling, walking, or reaching other motor milestones. Pediatric physiotherapy employs various techniques to address developmental delays in children. These techniques are tailored to each child’s specific needs and may include:
Neurodevelopmental Therapy (NDT): Also known as Bobath therapy, NDT focuses on facilitating normal movement patterns and motor development in children with neurological conditions or developmental delays. Therapists use handling techniques and guided movements to encourage the child’s motor learning.
Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT): CIMT involves restraining the unaffected limb while encouraging the use and strengthening of the affected limb, promoting motor function and coordination in children with hemiplegia or unilateral motor impairment.
Muscle Weakness or Poor Muscle Tone:
Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF): PNF techniques involve stretching and contracting muscles in specific patterns to improve strength, flexibility, and motor control. Therapists use manual resistance and proprioceptive feedback to enhance muscle activation and coordination.
Dynamic Movement Orthoses (DMOs): DMOs are wearable devices designed to provide support and alignment to specific body parts, improving muscle function and postural control. They can be customized to address individual needs and promote more efficient movement patterns.
Coordination Difficulties:
Children who struggle with coordinating their movements or exhibit clumsiness can significantly benefit from physiotherapy interventions. These interventions are specifically designed to enhance coordination, balance, and motor skills.<be>
Balance Exercises:
- Single-leg balance: Standing on one leg while maintaining balance for progressively longer durations.
- Balance board or wobble board exercises: Standing or performing activities on a balance board to improve proprioception and balance control.
Eye-Hand Coordination Exercises:
- Throwing and catching: Practicing throwing and catching balls or beanbags of different sizes and weights.
- Target games: Aiming and throwing objects at targets, such as hoops or targets with different sizes and shapes.
Neurological Disorders:
Children with neurological disorders like cerebral palsy, spina bifida, or developmental coordination disorder may benefit from physiotherapy to address movement challenges, muscle stiffness, or imbalance. Some of the techniques used are:
Sensory Integration Therapy: Sensory integration therapy aims to address sensory processing difficulties commonly seen in children with neurological disorders. Therapists use sensory-rich environments and activities to help children regulate their sensory responses, improve attention and focus, and enhance overall participation in therapy.
Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES): FES involves applying electrical stimulation to specific muscles or muscle groups to facilitate muscle contractions and improve movement patterns. It can be used to address muscle weakness, spasticity, and coordination difficulties in children with neurological disorders.
Respiratory Conditions:
Breathing Exercises:
- Diaphragmatic breathing: Practicing deep breathing techniques to improve diaphragmatic muscle strength and promote relaxation.
- Rib cage expansion: Inhaling deeply to expand the rib cage and improve thoracic mobility.
Sports Performance Enhancement:
Strength and Conditioning Programs: This focuses on developing muscular strength, power, endurance, and agility specific to the demands of the sport. Exercises may include resistance training, plyometrics, agility drills, and core stabilization exercises.
Speed and Agility Training: Speed and agility training aims to improve acceleration, deceleration, change of direction, and quickness on the field or court. Our registered pediatric physiotherapists design drills and exercises that mimic sport-specific movements and challenges to enhance speed, agility, and coordination.
Rehabilitation After Surgery:
Empowering Children Through Pediatric Physiotherapy:
Pediatric physiotherapy in Sherwood Park plays a crucial role in supporting the physical development, mobility, and well-being of children from birth through adolescence. Emerald Hills Physiotherapy in Sherwood Park empowers children to overcome physical challenges, maximize their independence, and participate fully in activities they enjoy. By addressing the unique needs of each child and tailoring interventions to promote optimal development, infant physiotherapy contributes to the holistic care and well-being of children, laying the foundation for a healthier and more active future.
Discover how pediatric physiotherapy can support your child’s development and well-being. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with our registered physiotherapist and take the first step towards a brighter, more active future!
