human growth and development in physical therapy

1. LIFESPAN AND
DEVELOPMENT IN
PHYSICAL THERAPY
Karli Robbins

2. What is physical therapy?
◦ Physical therapists are movement experts who improve quality of life
through prescribed exercise, hands-on care, and patient education.
◦ Physical therapists diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from
newborns to people at the end of life. Many patients have injuries,
disabilities, or other health conditions that need treatment. But PTs also
care for people who simply want to become healthier and to prevent
future problems.
◦ Physical therapists examine each person and then develops a treatment
plan to improve their ability to move, reduce or manage pain, restore
function, and prevent disability.

3. Lifespan and Development and Physical
Therapy
◦ Lifespan and development is the development and growth process one goes through
in life. Learning about one’s self, one’s interests, dealing with other people, and the
world around them. It explains what we as people go through mentally and physically
as we grow.
◦ There are themes in the lifespan and development journey that cross over into the
same journey it takes to become and practice as a physical therapist.
◦ Every stage of lifespan and development have ties within physical therapy, for this
project I will be examining the Prenatal and Infancy Theories in Physical Therapy:
Motor Development, The Principles of Heredity, Trust Versus Mistrust and Mutuality with the
Caregiver.

4. Motor Development
◦ Motor development “refers to all the changes in a child’s ability to
control and direct movement, including movement of the eyes and
head, as well as movement of fingers, arms, legs, and torso”. Almost
every aspect of observable behavior involves movement, from
something as tiny as a smile to kicking a ball. Motor development
begins during the prenatal period. Once these movements are
developed more coordinated movements can develop after birth.

5. Motor Development in Physical Therapy
◦ Sometimes motor neurons needed for muscle control don’t develop properly. In the
case of dyspraxia, a disorder in which one has problems with movement, coordination,
judgement and other cognitive skills. Dyspraxia in early childhood delays things such
as sitting, crawling, walking, speaking and standing. There is no curable treatment for
dyspraxia, but with treatment and an early diagnosis the better their prognosis will be.
One form of treatment for dyspraxia is going and seeing and physical therapist.
◦ The physical therapist will focus on how a child manages everyday activities such as
getting dressed, going up and down stairs, and holding things like a pencil. The
physical therapist will then work with them on the activities they find most difficult
and find new ways to do these tasks that will make it easier on them

6. The Principles of Heredity
◦ Heredity is also known as biological inheritance, it’s the passing down
of physical and mental characteristics genetically. Some genetic
diseases are heredity and passed down from parent to child or skip
generations and get passed parent to grandchild. Some genetic
diseases aren’t hereditary like down syndrome, Typically each induvial
inherits have cells that contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, half of which
are inherited from each parent. Down syndrome occurs when an
individual has an extra copy of chromosome 21 (Facts about Down
Syndrome).

7. Down Syndrome and Physical Therapy
◦ Down syndrome (DS) is the most frequent chromosomal cause of developmental delays. “As the
life expectancy of people with DS increases, changes in body function and structure secondary
to aging have the potential to lead to activity limitations and participation restrictions for this
population” (Barnhart & Connolly, 2007). So as individuals with DS begin to age, the likelihood
of being more susceptible to age-related physical and neurological or psychiatric conditions
than the general population increases ((Day, Strauss, Shavelle, & Reynolds, 2007). Like dyspraxia,
there is no cure for down syndrome, that’s why it’s important to get diagnosed right away and
start treatment as early on in childhood as possible. A physical therapist will work with the
individual and the individual’s family to come up with a personalized plan to reduce the physical
effects down syndrome can have on the body. A physical therapist can work on improving
strength, developmental skills, improving balance and coordination, and improving physical
fitness.

8. Trust Versus Mistrust and Mutuality with
the Caregiver
◦ In infancy trust versus mistrust, focuses on the nature of an infant’s
sense of connection to the world. With trust an infant feels as if
something or someone is safe and reliable, with mistrust an infant feels
as if something is un-safe and unreliable. That’s why when it comes to
trust and mistrust it is important for an infant to develop a mutuality
with the caregiver. This is basically met with the caregiver consistently
meeting the needs of the infant over time. The caregiver learns to
appreciate the variety of needs the infant has, and the infant begins to
expect that needs will always be met (Hinsdale, 2015)

9. Mutuality and Physical Therapy
◦ When first arriving to a physical therapist’s office there can be a bit of
hesitation especially if an individual has had prior experiences that didn’t end
so well. Re-injuring a muscle or bone that was supposed to be properly healed
or just being uncomfortable with the physical therapist and never really
trusting them. If an individual wants to get back to 100% performance then
there has to be full trust between a patient and a physical therapist. Entrusting
that the patient will get back to where they need to be. The therapists needs
to trust that the patients will follow orders at home, so that progress can be
maintained. Without trust and building a relationship, its very unlikely a
patient will properly heal.

10. Beyond These Theories
◦ Beyond these theories I think it’s important for anyone going into any field helping people,
especially the healthcare field, to understand the way humans develop and the factors that
might contribute to who they are or why they interact with you the way they do. Taking the time
to understand people allows one to be more empathetic and be not only a better healthcare
provider but a better human. Especially when it comes to Physical Therapy, it’s on the therapist
to help someone get better. Physical therapy isn’t just a physical game but a mental game as
well. As mentioned before, trust is huge when it comes to working with a patient and helping
them achieve their goals.

11. Refrences
◦ Barnhart, R. C., & Connolly, B. (2007). Aging and Down Syndrome: Implications for Physical Therapy. Physical Therapy, 87(10), 1399-
1406. doi:10.2522/ptj.20060334
◦ Day, S. M., Strauss, D. J., Shavelle, R. M., & Reynolds, R. J. (2007). Mortality and causes of death in persons with Down syndrome in
California. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 47(3), 171-176. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.2005.tb01111.x
◦ Facts about Down Syndrome. (2019, December 05). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/downsyndrome.html
◦ Hinsdale, M. J. (2015). Nurturing Trust and Mutuality. Mutuality, Mystery, and Mentorship in Higher Education, 63-77.
doi:10.1007/978-94-6209-995-1_6
◦ Miller, M., Chukoskie, L., Zinni, M., Townsend, J., & Trauner, D. (2014). Dyspraxia, motor function and visual–motor integration in
autism. Behavioural Brain Research, 269, 95-102. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2014.04.011
◦ Möller, T. (2013). Huntington Disease, Parkinson Disease, and Other Neurodegenerative Diseases. Oxford Medicine Online.
doi:10.1093/med/9780199794591.003.0065
◦ O’Dea, Á E., Coote, S., & Robinson, K. (2020). Occupational therapy practice with children with developmental coordination disorder:
An online qualitative vignette survey. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 030802262094410. doi:10.1177/0308022620944100
◦ Quinn, L., Trubey, R., Gobat, N., Dawes, H., Edwards, R. T., Jones, C., . . . Busse, M. (2016). Development and Delivery of a Physical
Activity Intervention for People With Huntington Disease. Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy, 40(2), 71-80.
doi:10.1097/npt.0000000000000119