Physical Therapy

Physical therapists help children improve movement, strength, balance, gross motor skills, endurance and safety skills. By encouraging specific motor tasks and observing the child in play, the physical therapist assesses the child’s movement ability and creates a treatment plan focused on promoting developmental skills.

Our physical therapist makes an effort to help parents learn how to play with their children in a way that helps the child’s development as part of a home program, and also works with the interdisciplinary team when appropriate.

Physical therapy services for children may help improve:

• Range of Motion – how far a joint bends or straightens
• Strength - muscle strength against gravity
• Balance – ability to maintain balance (tilting and righting responses) and to keep oneself from falling (protectice responses)
• Reflexes – automatic responses seen particularly in infants (palmar grasp, positive support, asymmetrical tonic neck reflex [ATNR] and labyrinthine)
• Posture – alignment of the body in various positions
• Tone – natural resistance in a muscle (increased tone is stiffness and decreased tone is floppiness)

Physical therapy services for children may include:

• Stretching and strengthening activities and exercises to increase a child’s range and quality of movement
• Establishing or reshaping movement patterns to follow normal development
• Improving balance and equilibrium skills
• Improving postural control
• Gait training (walking)
• Evaluating the need for adaptive equipment and orthopedic devices
• Helping parents understand ways to play and interact with their children to stimulate good quality movement patterns in the home environment.

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