Doctor said my 6mo needs PT

[cathy1532]

@springwillow My lo had physical therapy when she was barley a month old. At her 2 week appointment they asked if she prefers a side to nurse at. Her left shoulder/neck was a little tight and we got it resolved with minimal intervention. I did get lucky and got an appointment quick cause someone canceled otherwise I would have had to wait a month or longer

 

[a3yan]

@springwillow It may be early but what’s the harm? If it’s referred can you get it covered by insurance or health care ?(depending where you live). I would take PT if it was offered to my kid because I think its a great experience. My son was offered a speech pathologist from birth because of his tie. I love going and learning ways I can help him

 

[leannehiles]

@springwillow I'm not a doctor, but this is Reddit so I'll share my experience.

PT for a baby usually isn't heavy intervention. The physio we're working with for our daughter has been lovely, and the exercises just feel like extra games for mat time. There's only so hard you could 'train' a 6 month old anyway, so it's all pretty low impact. For mine it's good to jump on a low impact therapy early.

Maybe it'll help, maybe the problem would have corrected itself anyway, I don't see much harm in giving it a go anyway.

We did have our daughter in a Pavlik harness for a few months, and as we were a borderline hip dysplasia case I question whether putting her through that was worthwhile. I don't question the PT though, since there's really no downside to it.

 

[kayla220]

@springwillow My comment might get lost in the weeds but our pediatrician said the same thing when our son was 6 months. At that point he was sitting up okay with support but his trunk stability needed work. She said we could PT if we wanted but she wouldn’t require it if he was able to sit up unassisted by 9 months. She recommended holding him by his hips from the back while he’s sitting to give him support in that area so he can work on strengthening his back and core muscles and I found it really helpful! He’s now eight months and does great sitting alone.

 

[wellsb]

@springwillow My LO qualified for PT through early intervention when she was 6 weeks old due to torticollis and having a head preference. At first, I was depressed that my daughter needed early intervention and cried. She’s 5 months old now and gets weekly visits. Her face lights up when she sees her physical therapist and it’s been a huge help for us!

Her physical therapist helps us with sleep and eating questions. If she doesn’t know the answers, she’ll bounce things off of her colleagues and get back to us the following week. I’m beyond thankful she qualified now!

 

[romans_5]

@springwillow Personally I take a more aggressive approach to development and would be happy to go to PT with my child to help them meet milestones, but that’s just me

 

[savedmother]

@springwillow I can’t speak to the necessity of therapy or not based on the post But …… I will say if you are in the US and it’s doctor recommended early intervention is free and usually in home so that’s a huge benefit. Also if your child gets early intervention devices and you find down the road they do need other support it can sometimes be easier to access - ex. Specific day care lists etc.

If there aren’t any harms / risks to getting the service and your doctor is recommending it - may be something to explore. Intervening early with babies can make a world of difference.