Kids physiotherapy Williamstown
Williamstown Health Hub for Kids provides specialist physiotherapy for babies, toddlers, children, and teens. Our paediatric physiotherapy team helps with movement difficulties, developmental delays, sports injuries, and posture concerns.
What is paediatric physiotherapy?
Paediatric physiotherapy supports children’s physical development, movement, and function. Unlike adult physiotherapy, our approach considers your child’s developmental stage, growth patterns, and age-appropriate movement milestones.
We work with babies who aren’t moving as expected, toddlers with walking difficulties, school-aged children with sports injuries or posture problems, and teens recovering from injury or managing chronic conditions.
Our physiotherapist uses manual therapy, exercise programs, and parent education to improve strength, flexibility, coordination, and confidence.
Conditions we help with
Toe walking
Toe walking is common in toddlers learning to walk, but persistent toe walking beyond age 3 may need assessment. We see children who walk on tiptoes most or all of the time, have tight calf muscles, or struggle with balance.
Our physiotherapy approach includes stretching programs for tight calves and Achilles tendons, strengthening exercises for ankle and foot muscles, gait retraining (teaching heel-toe walking patterns), and footwear advice.
Most children show improvement within 8-12 weeks with consistent home exercises and regular physiotherapy sessions.
When to see a GP: If toe walking is accompanied by other developmental concerns, muscle weakness, or loss of previously acquired skills.
Growing pains
Growing pains affect 25-40% of children, typically ages 4-12. Kids complain of aching or throbbing in their legs – usually calves, thighs, or behind the knees – often at night.
While called “growing pains”, the pain isn’t directly caused by growth. It’s more often related to activity levels, muscle tightness, or biomechanical factors like tight calves and hamstrings.
Our physiotherapist provides stretching programs, strengthening exercises, manual therapy, and activity modification strategies. Home management with heat packs, gentle massage, and maintaining flexibility typically reduces pain within 4-8 weeks.
Gross motor delays
Gross motor skills include rolling, sitting, crawling, walking, running, jumping, and climbing. Some children develop these skills later than expected or struggle with coordination and balance.
We assess children who aren’t meeting movement milestones, have low muscle tone or weakness, or avoid physical activities other children enjoy.
Our physiotherapists create individualised programs focusing on building core strength and stability, improving balance and coordination, developing age-appropriate movement patterns, and building confidence in physical play.
We work closely with paediatricians, occupational therapists, and early intervention services when needed.
Torticollis & plagiocephaly
Torticollis is neck tightness that causes a baby’s head to tilt to one side or rotate in one direction. It often leads to plagiocephaly (flat head syndrome) because babies spend more time on one side.
Our physiotherapy approach includes gentle stretching and mobilisation of tight neck muscles, positioning advice for sleep and play, tummy time coaching, and parent-led exercises to do at home multiple times daily.
When combined with chiropractic care for babies with significant tension, most cases resolve within 8-16 weeks. Best outcomes occur when treatment starts early (2-6 months), though we can help babies up to 12 months old.
Sports injuries (youth athletes)
We treat active kids and teens with acute injuries (ankle sprains, knee injuries, muscle strains, shoulder injuries, stress fractures) and overuse injuries (Sever’s disease, Osgood-Schlatter disease, little league elbow and shoulder, shin splints, tendinopathies).
Our sports injury service includes accurate diagnosis and injury management, pain relief strategies, rehabilitation programs (strength, flexibility, balance), return-to-sport planning with gradual load progression, and injury prevention education.
We work with coaches, sports trainers, and our exercise physiology team to ensure safe return to play.
Hypermobility & joint pain
Some children have very flexible joints (hypermobility), which can lead to frequent joint pain, joints that feel unstable or give way, poor endurance, and frequent sprains or injuries.
Hypermobility often runs in families. While flexibility can be an advantage in some sports, children with hypermobility benefit from strengthening programs to support their joints.
Our physiotherapy approach focuses on building muscle strength around flexible joints, improving proprioception (joint position awareness), teaching safe movement patterns, and providing activity modification strategies when needed.
How paediatric physiotherapy works
Manual therapy
- Joint mobilisation (gentle movement to improve range of motion)
- Soft tissue release (massage for tight muscles)
- Stretching techniques
Exercise therapy
- Strengthening programs tailored to your child’s age and ability
- Flexibility and stretching routines
- Balance and coordination exercises
- Gait training (walking and running patterns)
Developmental support
- Tummy time coaching for babies
- Crawling and standing progression for infants
- Gross motor skill development for toddlers
Sports rehabilitation
- Injury recovery programs
- Return-to-sport protocols
- Strength and conditioning for young athletes
Hydrotherapy (when appropriate)
- Water-based exercises for children with movement difficulties
- Low-impact strengthening and coordination work
What to expect at your first visit
Initial assessment
We’ll discuss:
- Your child’s development and health history
- Current concerns and symptoms
- Activities your child enjoys or avoids
- Goals you have for treatment
We’ll assess:
- Movement patterns and range of motion
- Strength, flexibility, and balance
- Posture and alignment
- Developmental milestones (for younger children)
- Sport-specific movements (for athletes)
You’ll receive:
- Clear explanation of findings
- Diagnosis (if applicable)
- Treatment plan with expected timeline
- Home exercise program
- Activity and management advice
Follow-up sessions
Most children need 4-12 sessions depending on the condition. We reassess progress regularly and adjust the program as your child improves.
What to bring:
- Your child’s health record (Green Book for babies/toddlers)
- Any relevant medical reports, X-rays, or specialist letters
- Comfortable clothing for movement assessment
- Sports equipment if relevant (running shoes for gait analysis, etc.)
- Questions or concerns
Cost & health fund rebates
- Initial consultation: Standard $125, Extended $180
- Follow-up sessions: Standard $105, Extended $125
- Most private health funds with extras cover provide rebates
- HICAPS available for instant claiming
- NDIS: $173.99 p/hr (plan-managed and self-funded only)
Meet our paediatric physiotherapist
Palak Amin
Palak is our lead paediatric physiotherapist, specialising in infant development, childhood movement disorders, and sports injuries in young athletes.
She has training in paediatric physiotherapy with particular expertise in torticollis, plagiocephaly, gross motor delays, and neurological conditions affecting movement. She’s experienced working with babies from birth, toddlers navigating developmental milestones, and teens recovering from sports injuries.
Her approach is family-centred and evidence-based. Palak involves parents in every session, teaching exercises and positioning strategies you can use at home between visits.
Why families choose us for physio in Williamstown
Team-based care
Our physiotherapy, chiropractic, and exercise physiology teams collaborate. If your child needs multiple services, we coordinate care internally.
Evidence-based approach
We follow best-practice guidelines, stay current with paediatric research, and work alongside GPs and paediatricians.
Parent-led management
Parents are partners in treatment. We teach you exercises, positioning strategies, and management techniques to support your child at home.
Common questions we get from parents
Book your child’s physiotherapy assessment
If your child has movement difficulties, developmental delays, sports injuries, or posture concerns, our paediatric physiotherapist can help.
