Watching your child grow up is an incredible and fulfilling experience. Whether it’s crawling, sitting up on their own, or walking, it is all a joy to witness. However, when your little one doesn’t reach their milestones or are a bit behind their peers, it can be concerning. Helping children hit motor milestones is a specialty of Pediatric Physiotherapy. Strengthening the foundational muscles, especially the core, and turning it into fun exercises and activities is a job for Pediatric Physiotherapists. What are motor milestones? Motor milestones are key skills that infants and children typically develop and hit as they grow. They are general markers in strength, coordination, and balance of a child. A motor milestone is generally around a similar age in all children, making them a good tracker of overall health and development. Usually, they are split into 2 categories: Gross motor skills: Larger skills such as sitting, crawling,…

The new school year has started and our children are excitedly starting up their intramurals, school sports team, gym classes and more. Whether your child is jumping into soccer, cross-country, basketball, or something else, we have to take caution when transitioning from spending summer on the couch to intensive practice. Autumn always marks an increase in young athletes in the clinic with conditions like muscle strains, Osgoode Schlatter’s, shin splints, or others. Taking your child to a specialist in Pediatric Physiotherapy can help keep them healthy and pain free prior to an injury. Otherwise, a Physiotherapist can help them recover…

Leaning over a desk doing homework or studying puts a lot of pressure on the muscles and joints at the back of the neck. Maybe you’ve noticed that your child spends a lot of time hunched over their homework or leaning forwards at their computer. You may have noticed them rubbing their neck or complaining about soreness. This is a very common phenomenon in both adults and children, and has been becoming known more and more as “tech neck”. This refers to the slouched and forward head posture many people take when looking at their laptops, phones, or reading something…

As our children head back to school, the backpack becomes a source of many complaints. Filled to the brim with textbooks, water bottles, laptops, and lunches, backpacks can put a lot of stress on the neck, shoulders and back. As Physiotherapists, it is a common issue we see causing postural fatigue and spinal strain. Thankfully, it can easily be alleviated through treatment and some modifications. Here’s what you and your child should know about backpacks and how to resolve their pain. Can backpacks affect their posture? An example of forward head posture. While our children are still growing and their…

If you’ve ever felt a sharp, catching pain at the base of your thumb or along the side of your wrist when gripping your water bottle, holding a newborn, or lifting weights, you might be dealing with De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis, or some call it DQ for short. This wrist condition is exceptionally common among athletes, manual laborers, new parents, and anyone who uses their hands repetitively. Let’s look at what’s happening inside your wrist, how to test for it, and how physical therapy can help you get back to normal. What is DeQuervain’s? A quick anatomy lesson first. De Quervain’s…