On the contrary to what is commonly believed, paediatric or children’s physiotherapy is not physiotherapy in itself applied to a child, but it is a specialized way to perform very different therapeutic interventions from those usually performed in physiotherapeutic treatments.
This discipline is applied for the advice and care of those children who have a delay or disorder in body movement; it is also used for the treatment of diseases or alterations that can be healed by experts in the field or by its specialized team.
The main objective of children’s physiotherapy is to assist people in development to become mature and integrated into society, developing their personal and social skills, understanding also the fundamental role played by the family and the environment for the physical and mental progress of the child in question. However, the American Physiotherapy Association explains that the main objectives of pediatric physiotherapy are to help each child to achieve their maximum functional potential independently by promoting their participation in the home, school, community and all their environment.
Currently, it is sought that the interventions are carried out in the most appropriate and comfortable environment for the infant, being then very variable according to the objectives set in the treatment. When intervening the natural environment of the child is much more likely to obtain beneficial and rapid results in the applied treatment.
In order to carry out the work of a children’s physiotherapist correctly, tools such as empathy and communication with infants are necessary since it is necessary to help to facilitate the knowledge of the child, his parents and all those people who have a daily relationship with the infant, to be able to give greater attention to the special needs that he requires such as fun, games and even affection.
As we have mentioned previously, the direct environment of the infant plays a fundamental role in the intervention performed by a paediatric physiotherapy, since for any child, his parents, family and caregivers are the main responsible for his development and protection; generating a very important link and therefore it is necessary to promote this union also between the child and the pediatric physiotherapist.
It is important to mention that there are no general recipes for a treatment to be applied and that is why it is of vital importance that each treatment is personalized, motivating the infant to play a more active role in his daily dynamics, because that way the independence of the child will be achieved in the long term regarding his self-care.
ALFA