Physical therapy for infants can take place in a variety of settings, including, but not limited to: the child’s home, daycare, clinic, or even through a virtual telehealth platform. The location of therapy services is dependent on many factors, such as the physical therapist’s availability, transportation, and equipment needs.
A licensed physical therapist will provide physical therapy evaluation and treatment for infants. Over the years, the importance of physical development in infancy has become more recognized. The minimum physical therapy education has grown to match this realization. The requirement has progressed from a bachelor’s degree to a master’s degree and now requires a doctorate degree.
Each of our physical and occupational therapists is required to be licensed in the state they practice. In addition, all participate in mandatory continuing education each year.
Goals are individualized for each patient as it relates to their diagnosis, body function and structure, activity and participation restrictions, environment, and other personal factors specific to the infant.
Physical therapy treatment goals may include achieving age-appropriate developmental milestones, strengthening a specific body region, promoting appropriate posture and alignment, acquiring specialized equipment, decreasing pain, and improving overall motor function.
An infant must be evaluated before any pediatric physical therapy exercises take place. A physical therapy evaluation typically begins with a conversation between the physical therapist and the parent/caregiver regarding the patient’s medical history. The medical history is important to further understand the needs of the infant.
Next, the physical therapist will perform a physical assessment of the patient that is individualized to each infant’s specific needs, often including strength testing, range of motion assessment, palpation of affected region(s), and an overall assessment of functional mobility.
This will give the physical therapist a detailed understanding of the infant’s motor and cognitive development.
Furthermore, observation occurs to assess gross motor skills, often utilizing one or more standardized tests, which may include the Alberta Infant Motor Scales Assessment or the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales Assessment.
Physical therapy treatment sessions are individualized to each patient but will typically include gentle stretching, massage, strengthening activities, exercises to improve head control and/or posture, exercise ball activities to work on core stability and work to achieve age-appropriate gross motor skills (such as sitting independently, rolling, crawling, and/or walking).
Each treatment session is geared specifically to the needs of each patient and may include one or several of the items listed. The physical therapist’s job is to address the set goals while incorporating toys, games, and other fun activities into the infant or child’s routine to make pediatric physical therapy exercises an exciting, motivating, and positive experience.
