Pediatric Physical Therapy Services
We treat a variety of acute and chronic injuries and conditions
If you are looking for physical therapy for your child, then you’ve come to the right place.
Our physical therapists treat children and adolescents of all ages and abilities. We are skilled at treating children with both acute and chronic injuries and disabilities, such as sports injuries, orthopedic impairments, autism, cerebral palsy, JRA, and developmental delays. Common issues that our therapists treat include weak and tight muscles, joint laxity, poor balance, and poor coordination.
Conditions Treated
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2.6 million children between the ages of 0-19 are treated in emergency departments each year for sports or recreation related injuries. Sports injuries range from sprains and strains to fractures and ligament tears. Concussions are also on the rise in youth sports.
Physical therapists at CFZ are familiar in treating a variety of orthopedic injuries and post-surgical patients. We work closely with patients and physicians to follow necessary treatment protocols. In addition to rehabilitation of the injured body part, physical therapists at CFZ are dedicated to educating patients and families on injury prevention to limit injury recurrence.
For more information on sports or recreational injuries and prevention checkout Preventing Musculoskeletal Sports Injuries in Youth: A Guide for Parents 
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders can display some gross motor deficits, but not all of these children exhibit gross motor limitations. In addition to gross motor difficulties, many children with ASD exhibit language delays, difficulties with social interaction, sensory processing difficulties and other fine motor concerns.
At CFZ, our physical therapists often work with children with ASD through a team approach with our occupational therapists and speech therapists to encompass the individual child’s needs as a whole.
For more information visit www.autismspeaks.org
Children with cerebral palsy exhibit abnormalities in muscle tone and strength which can lead to range of motion limitations, bony deformities, balance and coordination deficits. As a result, functional mobility skills (i.e. crawling, standing, walking, etc) are negatively impacted.
Our therapists work with these children to improve upon their specific limitations through individualized functional programs suited to fit each individual child’s needs. In addition to treatment programming, we work with families to perform adaptive equipment evaluations for wheelchairs, adaptive seating, standers, gait trainers and walking aides as well as orthotic assessments in order to achieve the maximum extent of mobility possible.
Children who exhibit developmental delays are considered to be behind their same age peers in achieving their gross motor milestones. Learn more about developmental milestones within our Family Resources section.
At CFZ, we work with children and families to determine not only what the delays are, but why the delays are present by completing a comprehensive gross motor evaluation. Treatment is geared towards improving the impairments that lead to difficulties in performing age appropriate motor skills.
Children who have been diagnosed with genetic disorders face a wide range of challenges and limitations.
Physical therapists at CFZ will work with patients and families perform a comprehensive evaluation to determine each individual child’s impairments and limitations. The individual needs of each child will be addressed through individualized therapy programs. Referrals to occupational therapy and/or speech therapy may also be beneficial to address potential concerns in those areas.
Children with JRA often exhibit joint pain and swelling as well as range of motion deficits in the affected joints.
Our team of physical therapists at CFZ works closely with patients, families and physicians to reduce pain and swelling in affected joints as well as improve joint range of motion through a variety of therapeutic techniques including but not limited to passive range of motion, soft tissue massage/mobilization and functional activities as tolerated by the patient. These children often respond well to aquatic therapy, which helps to decrease weight-bearing through painful joints while increasing the amount of movement within these joints.
This category includes any diagnosis that affects the brain’s ability to transmit neurological signals to the rest of the body. Children with neurological impairments may exhibit abnormalities in muscle tone and strength which can lead to range of motion limitations, bony deformities, balance and coordination deficits. As a result, functional mobility skills may be negatively impacted.
Our therapists work with these children to improve upon their specific limitations through individualized functional programs suited to fit each individual child’s needs. In addition to treatment programming, we work with families to perform adaptive equipment evaluations for wheelchairs, adaptive seating, standers, gait trainers and walking aides as well as orthotic assessments in order to achieve the maximum extent of mobility possible.
This category encompasses any diagnosis or disorder that affects one’s ability to move his/her arms, legs or trunk. This includes but is not limited to diagnoses of muscular dystrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, spina bifida and myopathies.
Physical therapists at CFZ will work with these patients and families to address movement impairments through strengthening, stretching, positioning, and energy conservation strategies. Our therapists will also work closely with families to obtain adaptive equipment and/or orthotic devices as needed for each individual child.
Scoliosis is a condition typically seen in ad
Our Schroth program for Scoliosis here at CFZ is a conservative, non-surgical treatment that works very closely with patients/families to create an individualized program specific to the child’s curve pattern. Our program focuses on specific postures/
Toe walking is a commonly seen diagnosis and is often accompanied by tightness of the gastrocnemius/soleus complex (calf muscles). Children who are toe walkers often begin toe walking from an early age and may go undetected for some time before concerns are raised by the parents. Causes of toe walking can be idiopathic (unknown), neurological impairments or sensory processing disorders.
Our team of physical therapists at CFZ will work with patients and families to determine the cause of toe walking in order to guide treatment appropriately. If the family expresses some sensory concerns, a referral to occupational therapy may be warranted to rule out sensory processing disorders. Physical therapy treatment will address muscle tightness, muscle weakness and body mechanics to promote improvements with gait patterns.
Torticollis is a condition primarily seen in infants and is characterized by tightness of the sternocleidomastoid muscle in the neck, resulting in abnormal positioning of the head. Babies with torticollis may also present with flattening of the head (plagiocephaly) due to poor head positioning.
Physical therapists at CFZ work closely with these families to develop therapeutic programs that incorporate stretching, positioning and gross motor skill development. Our therapists will also work with families and physicians to determine whether or not there is a need for a cranial orthosis to help with correction of plagiocephaly.
Our specific treatment programs are dependent upon your child’s individual needs, but interventions and strategies used to elicit positive results can include the following.
- Facilitation of developmental gross motor skills such as rolling, sitting, crawling, standing and walking
- Improvement of strength and core stability through functional activities
- Incorporating balance and coordination skills into play based activities
- Developing stretching programs to promote improvements in muscle length and joint range of motion
- Decreasing pain through the use of therapeutic modalities
- Acquisition of adaptive equipment and patient education as needed to suit each individual child’s needs
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Aquatic therapy to assist children in acquiring skills in the water that may be too difficult for an individual
child to achieve through land-based activities
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