Does Your Child Need Physiotherapy?

“Does my child need physiotherapy?” This is an important question that not enough parents are asking. Why? Probably because most people don’t understand the key role physiotherapy can play in maximizing a child’s health.

Amazing Facts About Pediatric Physiotherapy

Pediatric physiotherapy is incredibly valuable — it reduces healthcare costs and enriches children’s lives, as well as the lives of their parents. These amazing facts about pediatric physiotherapy will help you understand its importance:

 

• A child with cystic fibrosis who receives physiotherapy services for a year will usually need 10 days less of IV antibiotics than one who does not receive these services. This saves about $104,000!

 

• Children who receive physiotherapy services post-operatively have an 18.3% reduced risk of pulmonary complications.

 

• Because it strengthens muscles and improves mobility, physiotherapy can give a disabled child a priceless sense of independence.

 

Note: These facts were taken from the article The Value of Physiotherapy.

What Type of Child Benefits from Physiotherapy?

While not every child will benefit from physiotherapy, specific ones will. For example, children who have undergone cardiac surgery, have chronic diseases like cystic fibrosis, or have disabilities often receive great results from physiotherapy. Also, it’s common for kids on the autism spectrum or who have a disability that is language-based to receive physiotherapy.

Physiotherapy Helps Children with Issues NOT Related to Mobility

When you imagine a physiotherapist at work, what do you see? The average person probably envisions a healthcare professional clad in scrubs who is working hard to help someone regain his or her mobility. Physiotherapists do this for kids as well as adults, but it’s not all they can do. They also have the ability to help children who have disabilities that don’t affect their mobility. Speech language pathologist Jules Csillag wrote,

“Many parents assume…that a (physiotherapist) only works with individuals who have issues with movement or mobility. They are often surprised to learn that a child with a language-based learning disability or behavioral learning disability, such as autism spectrum disorder, may also be recommended for physical therapy. And yet, given the structure of our brains — with the motor cortex and language centers in such proximity — it is likely that individuals with language- and behavioral-based learning disabilities will benefit from working with a PT as much as those with gross motor challenges.”

Does your child have a disability that is language-based? Does he or she have autism spectrum disorder? If so, be sure to ask his or her physician about a referral for physiotherapy.

A physiotherapist can treat children for issues not mentioned in this article. Find out more from your child’s physician or from a physiotherapist.

Has physiotherapy benefitted your child in the past? Please share your experiences with us in the section below.