8 Signs Your Baby or Child Needs Pediatric Physical Therapy

Do you know if your child is reaching their physical milestones? My name is Reilly, and I'm a physical therapist at Metro Therapy in Fridley, Minnesota. Today we are going to talk about eight signs that your baby or child may need physical therapy. There are children in every age group that may benefit, depending on what it is we’re seeing and what we're looking for at their age and developmental level.

Signs of Torticollis

When they're babies, you don't often think about your children getting physical therapy. But for the younger kids, we're looking at their head shape. Do they have tight neck muscles that are having them turn their head in one direction versus the other? Do they have a preference for one side of their head over the other? This could be a sign of torticollis.

Gross Motor Skill Delays

We're also looking at gross motor milestones. Is your baby sitting by seven or eight months? Are they walking at 12 to 18 months old, or are they delayed? There are a wide range of motor milestones, and we would rather intervene earlier than later.

Toe Walking

As your child gets older, are you noticing that they are walking specifically on their toes? We call these toe walkers. If they're older than 15 months and still walking on their toes, that may warrant a physical therapy evaluation.

Clumsiness and Balance Troubles

For a kid that's older (four, five and beyond), are they frequently tripping or falling? Are they having a hard time navigating over various surfaces like grass, or stepping over items or obstacles? This may also warrant a physical therapy evaluation.

Trouble with Endurance

You may start to notice your child, in the preschool age or the elementary age, having a hard time keeping up with their peers in terms of their endurance or their strength. Maybe they're not able to play on the playground like everyone else in their class. That could be another sign they may need physical therapy.

Poor Posture

If you're looking at their posture, are they slouching forward? Do they have a tendency to have a rounded back? Do they have that forward neck posture (that we call tech neck), which often happens when they're looking down? These could indicate a need for physical therapy.

Foot Position When Walking

In terms of their feet positioning, are they flatfooted? When we're looking at their feet, are they turning their toes in or out? That might be also something we want to look at because it could cause hip pain later down the line.

Hand-Eye Coordination

Another thing we're looking at for physical therapy is, are they able to catch, throw, kick a ball, or any of those types of sports as they get older? We want to make sure the kids are able to keep up with their peers and feel confident in their skills and abilities.

Call Metro Therapy for an Evaluation

If you think that your child has any of these signs or symptoms, or if you are concerned about anything with your child's physical ability, please don't hesitate to reach out to Metro Therapy to schedule an evaluation. You can reach us at (763) 450-9400.