Pediatric Physical Therapy

What is pediatric physical therapy?

Pediatric physical therapy includes activities, exercises, and stretches designed for kids and teens with diseases, injuries, or developmental abnormalities. The treatment offers many musculoskeletal benefits and restores children’s ability to complete typical everyday tasks.

What are the benefits of pediatric physical therapy?

The advantages of choosing pediatric physical therapy at PT Works include:

• Improved strength
• More flexibility
• Better balance
• Improved musculoskeletal function
• Enhanced fine motor skills
• Improved gross motor skills
• Better hand-eye coordination
• Easier mobility
• Self-confidence
• Better quality of life

If your child struggles with a disability, developmental delay, disease, or injury, pediatric physical therapy can help them achieve their goals.

What is pediatric physical therapy used for?

PT Works provides exceptional pediatric physical therapy for children and teenagers struggling with the following:

Torticollis

Torticollis is a deviation of the head and neck to one side. It can be present at birth or appear in babies after birth due to muscular, skeletal, inflammatory, or neurological problems.

Developmental delays

Children with developmental delays sit up, crawl, walk, or talk at a slower rate than other kids of the same age. The causes of the delays aren’t always known, but they might appear because of genetics or injuries.

Sensory integration issues

Sensory integration disorders affect the way the brain processes information received from the five senses. It can affect balance, head and body positioning, and muscle coordination.

Cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is a motor disability that causes weakness and poor coordination. It affects a child’s ability to move and maintain good posture and balance.

Sports injuries

Children commonly get injured playing sports. These sports injuries include strains, sprains, fractures, head injuries, tendon damage, and ligament injuries.

Scoliosis

Scoliosis is an abnormal curvature of the spine that causes pain, restricts mobility, and worsens over time when not treated.

What are the symptoms of pediatric musculoskeletal problems?

The symptoms of gross motor delays and other musculoskeletal problems in children and teenagers include:

• Weakness
• Poor coordination
• Balance problems
• Delayed development
• Pain
• Visible tissue deformities
• Swelling
• Stiffness
• Bruising
• Difficult mobility

To determine the cause of your child’s symptoms, the PT Works team discusses the child’s symptoms, medical history, lifestyle, and more. They complete a physical evaluation and could order blood tests, imaging procedures, nerve or balance testing, or other tests.

What happens during pediatric physical therapy sessions?

During therapy sessions, a well-trained PT Works therapist helps your child complete balance, strength, coordination, neurological, and flexibility exercises. They ensure that each session is safe, fun, productive, and effective.

They work with your child to improve movement patterns, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, strength, gait (the way they walk), range of motion, coordination, and more.

They tailor each treatment to children’s needs and show you which activities they can complete at home between in-office sessions to maximize the results.

Call PT Works to schedule a pediatric physical therapy evaluation or book an appointment online today.