October is National Physical Therapy Month and an important time of the year to promote physical therapy as a profession. There are many areas physical therapists can specialize in: orthopedics, neurology, pediatrics, women’s health, sports, cardiovascular and pulmonary physical therapy, and geriatrics. So why did I choose to specialize in children’s physical therapy? These are […]
The Bayley Scales of Infant Development was revised in 1993 and is now known as The Bayley II. This assessment measures not just fine and gross motor skills (such as the PDMS-II), but also monitors mental and cognitive performance as well. The Bayley II is a comprehensive and reliable tool used to measure skills and […]
Part of my job as a pediatric physical therapist is to try to make exercises and the rehabilitation process fun for kids. Most of the physical performance measurements we use during therapy including jumping, running, and stair climbing as tools of assessment. But, I get just as excited when one of my […]
Many times, babies with torticollis will develop plagiocephaly, or misshapen head. Babies develop these flat spots on one or more parts of their heads because they often sleep in the same position for prolonged period of time. Quite a few parents I know like to keep their children in car seats because they […]
In May 2013, the New York Times reported on a research-based high-intensity workout for adults that lasts only 7-minutes! It boasts 12 exercises that only last 30 seconds each, with little to no equipment involved. It sounds too good to be true, but there is quite a bit of exercise science to […]
One question I get from my clients or friends who are having babies for the first time is this: what do physical therapists think about baby carriers such as the BabyBjorn, slings, or wraps? They also wonder if baby carriers really lead to hip problems. There are now more carrier choices than […]
For more than 30 years, children from 5 to 18 years old have been tested using the FitnessGram Healthy Fitness Zone standards. Parents often wonder: What are these standards and how do the calculations reflect children’s health and fitness? The most I remember from taking part in the FitnessGram back in the […]
Pediatric physical therapists and occupational therapists often work with young children on play skills to prepare them for school and sports. Between when a baby first learns to sit on his own and when he starts preschool, many gross motor skills are developing. The ability to catch, throw, and kick a ball […]
Pediatric physical therapists and physicians often rely on the help of orthotists and prosthetists to help with patients’ mobility needs. Sometimes, children come to physical therapists with gait and postural deviations (toe-walking, in-toeing, scoliosis, etc) and other conditions where exercises and muscle retraining simply are not enough. In those cases, we often […]
For many children who are idiopathic toe-walkers, physical therapists often take the conservative approach. We have many things in our arsenal to help children improve without undergoing costly and painful surgery. Outside of stretching and strengthening exercises, we might recommend ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) for day time and/or night time wear. Depending […]