What is pediatric physiotherapy?

Physiotherapists specializing in pediatrics work to help children reach their full potential for functional independence through examination, evaluation, health and wellness promotion, and the application of a wide variety of interventions and supports.

The pediatric physiotherapist deals with the treatment of any condition suffered during childhood, which may be capable of altering motor development and, consequently, limiting the child’s potential to be independent in the future.

The pediatric physiotherapist collaborates with the family and with other specialists in their development and rehabilitation; promote children’s participation in daily activities and routines at home, school and in the community. In some cases, the child will be treated from newborn, during a specific period until the anomaly is resolved and, in others, the treatment could cover a lifetime.

What cases can be treated by a pediatric physiotherapist?

• STIMULATION AND SPECIALIZED EARLY INTERVENTION IN CHILDREN WITH HIGH NEUROLOGICAL RISK
  • Diseases acquired during pregnancy
  • Congenital alterations
  • Premature babies
  • Fetal suffering
  • Developmental disorders
• PATHOLOGIES OR INJURIES ACQUIRED DURING PSYCHOMOTOR DEVELOPMENT
  • fractures
  • sports injuries
  • scoliosis

• SPECIALIZED PHYSICAL AND OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY THROUGH FUNCTIONAL AND LEISURE SESSIONS
  • Down’s Syndrome
  • Child brain paralysis
  • Neural Migration Problems
  • Impaired muscle tone
• POSTURAL AND MOVEMENT ORGANIZATION
  • through fine motor skills, gross motor skills, cognitive activities and ‘psychomotor skills.
• INTEGRATION AND SENSORY ORGANIZATION
  • Attention deficit disorder, with or are hyperactivity
  • autism
• ORIENTATION / FAMILY AND SCHOOL ADVICE
  • Programs and therapeutic adjustments at home and in the classroom

Can the healthy child and his family benefit from the help of a physical therapist?

Physiotherapy can provide important preventive and educational work:

• Helping the mother when the baby is very young and even before she is born,
• Offer workshops on the proper handling of the baby
• Promote development through the game
• How to transport you, what postures to avoid (during feeding, sleep, play), all this to provide you with adequate sensory feedback and offer you learning opportunities in the most optimal conditions possible.

What are our tools for treatment?

• Good communication with the child and his relatives, to adjust the treatment to his needs and motivations
• Know how to extract the relevant from the valuation process, and establish consistent treatment objectives
• Apply the most appropriate therapeutic strategy to the child’s situation, considering its biopsychosocial globality
• Make sure that the family and the child, if they are older, have understood and agree with the work objectives and know how to achieve it through the activities we propose jointly with them. This will guarantee us greater adherence to treatment.
• Reassess the results based on the proposed objectives Physical means of treatment
• Motor therapy based on the game, according to the activities and age of the child.
• Thermotherapy: application of heat on the body through material bodies that have a high temperature
• Cryotherapy: application of cold on the body for a therapeutic purpose.
• Hydrotherapy: water use for therapeutic purposes
• Hydrotherapy: water use for therapeutic purposes
• Phototherapy: Injury treatment by applying light: ultraviolet or infrared

How can your child start a pediatric physiotherapy program?

The process of supporting children and families begins with:

• an interview to identify the child’s needs and
• Continue with an examination and evaluation of the child in the context of their daily routines and activities.

This evaluation may include:

• muscle and joint function,
• mobility, strength and endurance,
• posture and balance,
• motor, oral and food skills,
• sensory and neuromotor development,
• and use of support material.

Pediatric physiotherapy promotes independence, increases participation, facilitates motor development and function, improves the child’s strength and learning opportunities.