Does your baby have difficulty turning his head to one side? You wonder because it does not move? Do you find his gait atypical? Our physiotherapists can help you! Our pediatric physiotherapists have in-depth knowledge of motor development, allowing them to identify signs and symptoms that could interfere with the optimal development of the child. They check the integrity of the articular, muscular, neurological, and proprioceptive systems of babies and children.
Physiotherapists at Creative Child Rehabilitation Centre specialize in the intervention of children with movement difficulties and weight-related issues and elite athletes. For example, a child in the physical therapy room for gross motor skills may need to walk on a balance beam and do endurance exercises to improve balance or crawl through a ballpark to build strength, endurance, and body awareness.
What conditions are treated in children’s physiotherapy?
- 1 – Congenital torticollis
- 2 – Plagiocephaly and brachycephaly (flat head, flattening of the baby’s skull)
- 3 – Motor development delay
- 4 – Atypical gait (walking on tiptoes, moving on the buttocks, walking with the feet inward or outward, etc.)
- 5 – Hypotonia (soft baby) or hypertonia (too stiff baby)
- 6 – Coordination disorder
- 7 – Balance disorders
- 8 – Neurological disorders (cerebral palsy, spina bifida, head trauma)
- 9 – Orthopedic disorders (sagging plantar arches, club feet, lower limb misalignment, hip dislocation)
- 10 – Polyarthritis or monoarthritis
- 11 – Genetic syndromes leading to developmental delay
- 12 – Post-operative or post-immobilization rehabilitation in children
Who are the clients who can benefit from physiotherapy?
Physiotherapy is effective for anyone who has difficulty with physical abilities. Child Journeys by Creative Child Rehabilitation Centre often help children with these conditions or particularities:
- 1 – Autism spectrum disorder
- 2 – Cerebral palsy
- 3 – Developmental coordination disorder
- 4 – Syndrome de Down
- 5 – Acquired brain injury
- 6 – Delayed development of skills such as sitting or walking
- 7 – Muscular dystrophy or other neuromuscular problem
- 8 – Torticollis and plagiocephaly
- 9 – Other genetic diseases
- 10 – Weight problem
- 11 – Elite athletes
- 12 – Physiotherapy helps the child to recover his full potential.
Assessment of physiotherapy for children
During the first meeting, our physiotherapist will begin with a subjective examination to get to know the child (history of pregnancy and childbirth, history of development, history of the injury when relevant). You will be asked questions concerning the different spheres of your child’s life, namely at the social level, awakening, language, food, and sleep.
Subsequently, our physiotherapist will observe the child in his motor activities (maintaining positions, balance, movements, quality of movement, etc.). She will assess posture, muscle tone, joint integrity, flexibility, and muscle strength while taking into account the age of the child.
The objective of the assessment is to understand the problem and identify the elements that may compromise motor development. To end the meeting, our physiotherapist will take the time to explain her observations to the parents and will determine with them the therapy objectives and the frequency of the meetings.
