Pediatric and Geriatric Physiotherapy
What you must understand
For paediatrics, know developmental milestones (head control, rolling, sitting, crawling, walking), primitive reflex integration, and conditions such as cerebral palsy, developmental coordination disorder, and torticollis. Understand family-centred care and play-based intervention. For geriatrics, know the physiology of ageing (sarcopenia, reduced balance reserve, bone density loss), falls risk assessment, frailty, polypharmacy effects, and the importance of strength and balance training. Understand cognitive screening and delirium recognition.
Traps in questions
- Using adult exercise parameters uncritically for children; play and family involvement matter.
- Treating a primitive reflex as abnormal beyond its expected integration age.
- Missing delirium (acute onset, fluctuating attention) in an older patient and labelling it as dementia.
- Ignoring home hazards and medication review in falls prevention.
Rule of thumb
For paediatrics, ask what the child needs to do at home and school, then build play-based goals with caregivers. For geriatrics, if a question mentions a new fall, always include multifactorial assessment: strength, balance, vision, medications, environment, and cognition.
Worked example
An 82-year-old with two falls in three months and a new sedative prescription. Best answer: multifactorial falls assessment with medication review and progressive balance and strength training, not a walking aid alone.