Our Services
Our physiotherapists at Move and Grow Physiotherapy are movement experts for babies, children and adolescents.
We can help in many ways; if your child has pain, tiredness, trouble gaining new skills or keeping up with peers and we pride ourselves on making exercise fun.
Individual Appointments
One-on-one appointments will be available at your house, in the community for example at school or day care, or in our clinic. Appointments in your house may be most appropriate if your child has difficulty settling in unfamiliar environments or has difficulty transferring skills between environments. Home based appointments also allow our therapist to see what space and resources you have available allowing home programs to be more tailored. Our therapist will bring activities into your home to engage children as well as using your toys or resources. Some children can be very distracted at home, or are used to less demanding tasks at home and may be better suited to clinic based appointments. You are welcome to bring your children’s favourite toys along to clinic based appointments if you would like to discuss ways to use these during your home program.
Appointments will involve a brief functional assessment, relevant to your goals and to guide therapy. They will use a combination of traditional physiotherapy, play-based functional activities and Neuro Developmental Techniques. Our therapist will also be happy to liaise with other therapists to discuss what other aspects of development that can be worked into our sessions such as using the same communication strategies (picture symbols, APP based communication or sign language) and working fine motor activities into our sessions when practicing stationary motor activities.
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy, which can also be referred to as aquatic physiotherapy, is a form of exercise or treatment which take place in a heated pool.
The benefits of hydrotherapy include: muscular relaxation and reduced muscle spasm, reduced swelling due to hydrostatic pressure, removal of the demands of gravity and assistance to move due to buoyancy, increased muscle strength and endurance through the resistance which water provides. In addition, many people with disabilities find being in water liberating as they are able to move more and in some cases can be more independent in the water.
Hydrotherapy is traditionally done in heated pools as the warmth adds relaxation and pain reliving properties. There are a number of pools in Townsville available with different options (ramps, stairs or rails depending on need). If you do not want to use a heated pool for any reason we can negotiate using other community pools or your family swimming pool to make the therapy as practical and reproducible as possible, however we will miss some of the beneficial properties of warmth.
Hydrotherapy will usually be discussed once our therapist has met you and determined goals and therapy options. A program will be tailored to your abilities and goals, and can be taught to family and carers by our therapist or provided as a home program so that you can continue practicing these skills between appointments. Like any skill the more practice the quicker we are likely to see improvements and we will adjust the program to increase the challenge as skills develop and to keep activities new and interesting. Hydrotherapy programs for children will be play based using simple toys or activities that families can reproduce at home as children learn better when they are actively engaged in and motivated to continue an activity such as a game.
Group Appointments
Throughout the year we will have different group options. Group activities may be one off information sessions or a weekly group for a set period of time. These will be made up of clients with similar ages, skills or goals and be an opportunity for clients, parents and carers to come along and meet others, get information about interesting topics and network informally. Group sessions are a great way to get the most therapy within sometimes limited funding models and extend the opportunities to see your physiotherapist. If you are interested in group appointments, either in a set group or with other clients you know personally, please don’t hesitate to discuss this option with our therapist. Some groups will be open for expressions of interest and others may be developed through discussions we have during your sessions. During groups you will be expected to actively participate and support your child through the activities with a physiotherapist available to develop and refine your handling, and lead activities. Groups are focused more on developing the skills of parents to complete these activities at home and provide ongoing therapy for their children.
Toddler group
For children in the sitting and crawling stage to practice sitting balance, four point kneel, crawling and early standing. You will get information about balance reactions needed to sit and stand, the importance of crawling for later arm and fine motor development and how to help your kids through the next steps into standing and walking. Some children may be able to complete all activities during the group sessions and others may still be developing early skills and can continue these activities at their own pace at home after the group finishes.
Core strength group
This group is for children in the early years of school or about to enter prep. It will be focused on developing the core strength required for school activities such as sitting, standing still and playing in the playground. This can also help for children who struggle to sit at the dinner table for a whole meal or who tend to slump, lie down or W sit when playing on the floor. Activities will focus on balance, core strength and information for parents and to pass onto school regarding movement breaks and to help teachers understand and support your wiggly child.
Hydrotherapy group sessions
These groups will be customised for the clients who are interested in group work.
For young children they may involve being moved through the water by carers, safe water entry and protective skills, and singing songs or playing games. For older children we can focus on walking strength and stability in the safe environment of the water, playing ball games as a group or individually, and swimming activities such as kicking to develop strength. For adults we can work on groups focused around relaxing muscles, stretching and strengthening. For all hydrotherapy groups clients will need at least one carer in the water with them at a time. For larger children, adults or people prone to seizures, it may be necessary for two carers to accompany them in the pool, or group therapy may not be as appropriate. Safety in the pool is our top priority and for some clients who need more support you may be asked to have an individual session prior to inclusion in groups to ensure that the person can be supported safely within the group environment.
Outreach appointments
Our Equipment
Move and Grow Physiotherapy can assist with trial, prescription and use of a variety of equipment. This may include: Personal mobility equipment such as specialised strollers, wheelchairs or walking frames; Positional equipment including sleep positioning systems or standing frames; Daily living equipment including bathing aids; and Recreational Equipment such as modified bikes or specialised sporting equipment. Move and Grow Physiotherapy works closely with the TADQ Freedom Wheels project to custom modify push bikes for children and adults who wish to ride and we are able to arrange trial of these bikes in North Queensland. We also work closely with all of the equipment suppliers in the region and a number of suppliers in Brisbane to ensure that the equipment we prescribe is the best fit for each client.
