Submitted by Samantha Barg, PT, DPT
Are you worried about your child keeping up with peers? Is your child delayed with gross motor milestones? Has your child been tripping and falling more often? A Pediatric Physical Therapist can help! At NorthLakes Community Clinic, our Pediatric PTs can help kids improve their overall strength, range of motion, coordination, and balance, and achieve developmental milestones. Their goal is to help make everyday activities easier for your child. Typically, Pediatric PTs treat children from ages birth to 15 years old. They see a wide variety of diagnoses, including developmental delay, plagiocephaly/torticollis, toe walking, balance/coordination problems with excessive tripping and falling, autism spectrum disorder, genetic conditions, various neuromuscular disorders, and core weakness.
Did you know that children who have poor core strength often move around a lot, and have trouble sitting down to concentrate and learn? Core strength is very important to help kids achieve in school and the community. There are many signs of weak core strength in children, including frequent slumping in a chair, “W” sitting on the floor, holding their head up with their hands, poor tolerance while playing on their bellies, and leaning against furniture for support while standing. Core strength is the building block to all other milestones and is very important for your child to develop!
During the initial therapy visit, a Physical Therapist will assess your child’s overall development by checking motor milestones such as walking, running, going up and down stairs, transitions on and off of the floor, and higher-level skills such as skipping, jumping, and catching/throwing. Also, the Physical Therapist will screen for overall strength, balance, and motor planning. If there is concern about possible delay, the PT will work with you and the family to develop a treatment plan and goals for your child.
This assessment is done through a play-based model, which will continue during treatment sessions as well. The play-based model helps children engage and participate in strengthening activities, while also having fun! For example, instead of improving balance by asking the child to stand on one foot, the PT may create an obstacle course to avoid stepping on “hot lava,” challenging to child to step between various obstacles in the path without stepping off. The PT will also help your family develop a home exercise program during each session for you to continue working on exercises at home, to maintain gains made in each therapy session.
If you have concerns about your child’s gross motor development and think they may benefit from a Pediatric Physical Therapy referral, please reach out to your healthcare provider to discuss. If you have any questions, you may also contact NorthLakes Community Clinic at (715) 719-1010.
Samantha Barg is a Pediatric Physical Therapist at NorthLakes Community Clinic – Rice Lake. To learn more about the program or Samantha, visit nlccwi.org.
