Paediatric Physiotherapy Sydney

Hypermobility is a broad term – encompassing a spectrum of issues & severity.  It can range from a general increased joint flexibility through to connective tissue disorders.  

Many of our patients will be referred from Paediatric Specialists, but many are families who are despairing at the frequency their child is injured.  Parents & teachers may notice the presence of concomitant issues like:

• tiredness
• non-specific joint pain
• fatigue or pain with handwriting
• poor fine motor skills
• behavioural issues or difficulty concentrating at school
• difficulty sitting still in class
• gut problems

If you believe your child may fall on the spectrum of hypermobility – it is important to have your child assessed as there are investigations that may need to be completed to exclude problems such as cardiac (heart) involvement.

We are a multi-disciplinary team who work closely with Occupational Therapists & Paediatric Specialists to help you identify, understand & manage these issues.  We will help you navigate what you & your child may be experiencing.

If you are in any doubt, please contact Ashleigh:

– Phone: 9981 4099 (Sydney Academy of Sport, Narrabeen)

– Email: kidsincontrol@sportsphysioclinic.com.au

– Book online for an assessment

The initial assessment will be 60 minutes to allow time to discuss injury history, general health, the wellbeing of the child & undergo a simple musculoskeletal examination.

Children are not mini adults.

The nature of childhood injuries & the subsequent management plan will differ from that of an adult due to skeletal immaturity.  Some examples of structures that are vulnerable to injury are:  

– Unfused growth sites (Apophyses – tendon/ligament attachment site). Common examples are at the back of the heel (Sever’s disease) or below the knee (Osgood Schlatter’s disease) with periods of pain associated with activity.  

– Epiphyseal or growth plate (cartilaginous plate at the end of the long bone, the last area to ossify (harden) in the growing adolescent).  Up to 30% of all childhood fractures are in the growth plate, can be due to a fall, accident or repetitive stress.

– Tendon attachments – unlike the adult, the child’s tendon strength is often greater than it’s point of attachment, resulting in avulsion (pulling away) of the attachment site – or avulsion fracture.

– Bones – bony structures unaccustomed to spikes in load are susceptible to repetitive stress, resulting in stress reactions and stress fractures.  Fractures are also a common

– Joints – joint instability and trauma can result in joint dislocations.  > 70% of the young athletes (<20 yrs) who dislocate a shoulder are likely to suffer a recurrence.

Persistent pain and disability in a child should always be properly assessed.

The MABC2 is a standardised test used globally to identify, describe & guide treatment of motor impairments in children aged 3 -16 years of age.  

The assessment includes a group of sub-tests that assess fine motor (dexterity) and gross motor skills (balance, catching and throwing) allowing our physiotherapist to develop a total motor score for your child based on their performance and compare this to age appropriate scores.

By identifying a child’s strengths and deficits we are able to design a targeted, evidence-based intervention program, invite the child to join our paediatric rehabilitation group &/or hydrotherapy classes.  

Each child will be retested to determine the efficacy of the treatment being undertaken.

 Why would my child be referred for this testing?

– my child is unusually clumsy

– my child is a little behind their peers in motor development

– our specialist requires the assessment to help support a diagnosis

– my child needs a motor assessment for funding eligibility (schooling & NDIS)

– we want to establish a baseline of  my child’s motor function

– we want to assess the effectiveness of our treatment so far 

How long will it take?

• The test takes approximately 60 minutes.

For more information, please click here to watch a 2 minute video.