What is Physiotherapy?
Pediatric Physiotherapists help children develop their movement and strength so that they can participate to their full potential. This includes assessment and intervention to improve motor skills (e.g., tummy time, rolling, sitting, pulling to stand, walking, running and climbing), equipment prescription, activity & sport modification and management of orthopedic conditions.
What Physios can help with:
- Newborn/infant concerns (e.g., poor tummy time tolerance, flat head, preference to turn the head one way, foot deformities)
- Neurological conditions (e.g., Cerebral Palsy)
- Genetic conditions (e.g., Down Syndrome)
- Prematurity
- Muscle tone concerns (e.g., floppiness/stiffness)
- Concerns about gait (walking)
- Equipment prescription
- Poor coordination/clumsiness
- Post-surgical rehabilitation
- Sports injuries
Physio FAQs
We will assess your child to understand more about their movement. Based on the assessment findings, we will show you how to set up activities and exercises at home to help your child develop their movement skills to their full potential. We may also suggest a Paediatrician referral if we feel further investigation is warranted, or referral to another allied health professional.
We see babies from birth. A big part of our role is ‘neurodevelopmental surveillance’ – assessing whether babies are developing normal movement patterns and identifying babies who are at risk of a neurological condition such as Cerebral Palsy. From birth, we can show you how to position your baby to maximise opportunity for gross motor skill development.
No. When working with children, we mostly use play and age-appropriate activities to assess and treat movement dysfunction. We show you how to set up activities in your home to maximise opportunity for your child to develop their movement. In some conditions, manual soft tissue therapy is beneficial (e.g., massage) in addition to exercises, however this will be discussed with you first.
