What different types of physical therapy are there?

Physical therapists use a variety of exercises and techniques including adaptive play, strength training, exercises to increase balance and flexibility, stretching, and practicing developmental activities like crawling or walking. PTs also work on identifying and fitting a child for adaptive equipment — such as standers, gait trainers, and wheelchairs — that will support a child in achieving greater mobility.

There are a lot of different modalities or approaches used in PT. Some of these include neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT), aquatic therapy, Cuevas Medek Exercises (CME), treadmill training, spider cage, NeuroSuit, TheraTogs, gait training, hippotherapy, electrical stimulation, and Intensive Model of Therapy (IMOT), among others.

You can read much more about the different types of physical therapy in our Therapy Glossary.