About Pediatric Physical Therapy

The field of pediatrics makes up a large sector of specialized physical therapy nowadays. Pediatric physical therapy helps assist children with a lot of ailments and disorders including but not limited to developmental delays, congenital and non-congenital conditions. The goal of pediatric physical therapy is to help children in the rehabilitation of pediatric disease.

Identification

• Pediatric physical therapy works to detect health problems in children from an early stage. Pediatric physical therapy utilizes a large variety of modalities to treat pediatric disorders. Pediatric physical therapists are specialized for diagnosis, treatment and management of babies, children and adolescents. Disorders treated include neuromuscular, developmental, skeletal and acquired diseases and disorders.

Function

• Pediatric physical therapy treatments mainly focus on improvement of fine motor skills, working on coordination and balance, strength and endurance and also sensory and cognitive processing as well as integration. Many children who have spina bifida, torticollis, cerebral palsy and a variety of developmental disorders receive pediatric physical therapy.

Significance

• Childrens' families play a significant role in their development with pediatric physical therapy. Families of the children are supposed to assist in adapting toys for play, helping children use equipment effectively, expanding mobility options, teaching safety for both the home as well as community, and helping ease the transition that kids experience from their home lives into their school careers.

Considerations

• If a family of a child is considering placing the child into pediatric physical therapy, the child and family will have to then typically undergo an interview to identify the needs that the child has. The needs of the child are all examined within context of their daily activities and routines. Oral motor skills, feeding, joint function, muscle function, cardiopulmonary status, endurance, strength, neuromotor development and balance and posture are just some of the areas that might be analyzed.

Theories/Speculation

• Many pediatric physical therapists utilize evidence based practice (such as facts based on clinical expertise, research findings, etc) to provide the optimal practices for the children in pediatric physical therapy. Evidence based practice is often used for providing services such as motor learning, recreation and leisure, tone management, mobility, developmental activities, safety and prevention programs, prosthetics and orthotics, and much more.