Did you know that physical therapists work with children? What about newborns? Believe it or not PTs can assist typically developing children with milestone achievements targeting mobility, development, alleviating pain, preventing disability, and promoting overall health. Some of the common diagnoses managed by PTs in typically developing children include the following;

  • Toe-walking, an abnormality of walking in which the child walks on the balls of their feet without ever letting their heels touch the floor.
  • Torticollis, also known as wry neck, a condition most commonly associated with an asymmetrical head or neck position due to shortened or tight muscles in the neck.
  • Container Baby Syndrome – a collection of movement, behavior, and other problems caused by a baby or infant spending too much time in a container – any commonly-used piece of baby equipment that resembles a container such as a car seat, stroller, walker, etc.
  • Head-shape Flatness (Plagiocephaly, Brachycephaly, and Scaphocephy) – skull deformations caused by an infant lying in a single position for too long.

In addition to assisting with typical development, PTs can work with individuals with childhood onset conditions throughout their lifespan handling illnesses, injuries, or limitations in mobility and daily function. Physical therapists are trained to handle a variety of pediatric onset diagnoses including but not limited to Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Developmental Delay, Down Syndrome, Osgood-Schlatter Disease, and Scoliosis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a great website and app about typical developmental milestone ages. You can check it out here, https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html