Physical Therapy

Pediatric physical therapists specialize in the evaluation and treatment of developmental, neurological, and genetic conditions through the span of a child's life. Physical therapists aim to address deficits in gross motor function, while encouraging learning through play. Using a variety of treatment methods, pediatric physical therapists address balance, strength, motor planning, and coordination through patient-specific interventions, helping children to achieve their maximum level of function with growth and development.

Our pediatric physical therapists can assist with helping your child achieve their gross motor skills to their fullest potential. Gross motor skills involve large muscle groups in the trunk, arms, and legs to complete whole-body movements. This includes activities such as rolling, sitting, and crawling as well as climbing, jumping, stair climbing, and so much more! By developing and improving flexibility, strength, balance and coordination, our physical therapists guide your child to reach their developmental milestones.

In order to improve your child's ability to walk, our pediatric physical therapists will use a number of different adaptive and assistive devices based on your child's specific needs. These may include gait trainers, walkers, canes, body weight supported treadmill training, and use of the Mass system, a ceiling track system with a harness that will fully support your child as they confidently try new and adventurous balance and walking tasks. While utilizing these devices, your child's therapist will provide manual assistance as needed to optimize your child's ability to ambulate, as well as lead your child through exercises that aim to increase muscle strength and balance, which will then assist with performance during gait.

Pediatric physical therapists can assist your child in improving their independence by helping them develop their ability to move around in their environment—both at home and in the community! Our PTs help children perform functional transfers such as sit to stand transfers, floor transitions, car transfers, and transitioning from their wheelchair to their walker or gait trainer. Physical therapists are skilled to provide safe techniques to help your child and family perform transfers without risk of injury or falls.

Balance and coordination are very important to your child's ability to play and participate with family and peers. There are a number of systems within the body that control balance and coordination. These include the ability to feel and understand where the body is in space, muscle strength, the sense of equilibrium, vision, cognition, and the efficiency with which the brain sends messages throughout the body to initiate movement. Our pediatric physical therapists will determine which of these systems need help, and assist your child in making improvements in these areas. Some specific ways that the physical therapist may help include: sustaining balance on different types of surfaces and in different positions, breaking down difficult tasks like skipping into simpler parts, and providing your child with novel challenges that facilitate communication between both sides of their brain! Your child may benefit from balance and coordination therapy if:

• They fall often
• Mistakenly run into objects while moving around
• Are unable to complete age-appropriate tasks such as jumping jacks or throwing and catching (these tasks will vary based on your child's specific age)
• Are unable to maintain balance in differing sensory situations such as while standing on foam or with eyes closed.

PT's can collaborate with orthotist for best selection of orthotic to best support your child to meet developmental milestones. In addition, PT's are trained to assist with orthotic management, ie knowing when orthotics are too small or not fitting properly. PT's can also assist with equipment recommendations to help your child be successful in their environment.

Braces and splints are custom made for each child. Due to growth, children usually require a new set of braces about once per year. There is often much life left in the braces once kids outgrow them. In areas of the world that lack access to healthcare, second-hand braces may be the child's only option. Stephanie and Alex from Reid's pediatric therapy team have worked with clinics in Honduras and Haiti and saw firsthand the benefits of donated equipment such as braces and mobility devices. Reid Health has made arrangements for collected items to be donated to areas of need throughout the world. Used braces and splints can be dropped off at the Outpatient Rehab building at 2021 Chester Blvd for donation.

Use of suspension system to help unload body weight during walking for kids who are not yet walking independently. Body weight support provides a safe environment for balance/fall protection when walking over ground or over treadmill in preparation for independent walking.

The therapists at Reid have received training through Restorative Therapies and are excited to treat our patients using the Xcite system, which assists with proper motor sequencing during completion of functional movement tasks and the RT300 iFES "bike" for arm, leg, and core activation while benefitting muscle tone. Restorative Therapies is an Industry leader for functional electrical stimulation, and these products are considered the standard of care in neurological rehabilitation.

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) works by using "safe, low-current electrical pulses to activate paralyzed or deconditioned muscles for functional movement". While using the FES equipment our therapists have the ability to stimulate up to 40+ muscle groups while engaging the patient in a functional task. Both of these systems provide real-time biofeedback and specific progressive resistive exercise (PRE) to recondition weak or neurologically impaired muscles

FES has been cleared by the FDA to:

• Reduce muscle atrophy
• Reduce muscle spasms
• Improve local circulation
• Maintain or increase range of motion
• Facilitate muscle re-education

Physical therapy in aquatic environment is used to help increase flexibility and ROM of muscles and joints, resistance provided by the water increases muscle strength, and the buoyancy of the water supports body weight making functional mobility easier compared to on land. In addition, the warmth of the water creates a very calming and relaxing environment for kids who have high resting muscle tone and/or spasticity.

Is a uniquely designed elastic tape that can be worn for hours to days for continued therapeutic benefit. Taping can help promote postural alignment, enhance muscle activity, reduce pain, and swelling in conjunction with therapy.