By: Michelle Warren, Physiotherapist (Pediatrics)

What is Intensive Therapy? 

Intensive therapy is a focused therapy that provides longer, more frequent sessions over a shorter period of time to help accelerate motor learning. The reason we do intense therapy is to take advantage of neuroplasticity in order to optimize movement and function. 

What is neuroplasticity, you ask? It is the ability of the nervous system (brain) to change, reorganize, or grow neural networks (ie: create functional or structural changes). We create better, stronger neural networks when we use the neurons frequently, so by doing a lot of therapy in a short time, we are creating neural pathways and solidifying them before they get trimmed and eliminated from the brain. Neuroplasticity is best up until the age of about 3 years old, but continues to occur throughout one’s life. Think about this like construction on a road…perhaps a new road initially has lots of bumps, stop signs and a few detours that slow things down. But as they get worked on, they become smoother (like paving), faster (more lanes) and more efficient (roundabouts instead of stop signs). The end result is more efficiency and capacity. This is what happens in the brain and nervous system during therapy sessions. 

What does intensive therapy look like?

The first step is filling in a specific intake form for your child’s intensive sessions so we get to know a bit about your goals and child’s abilities. The therapist will then do an assessment to get a better sense of how the child moves and what s/he/they is capable of already. From here, they create a plan for what the sessions will include. When coming in for the subsequent sessions, your child will do many specific exercises and treatment modalities selected specifically to help your child reach the therapy goals that you have laid out with your therapist. 

Using toys and ideas that interest your child, the therapist will engage the client in therapeutic play. The therapy may include stretches, strengthening exercises, functional and gross motor skills (eg: working on sitting, standing or walking), balance activities, and/or sensory integration. The choice of tools used for these depend on your child’s abilities, developmental stage, and the therapist’s proverbial “tool box” (skill set/ knowledge/ experience/ philosophies, etc). So this will look a little different for each child. 

As intensive means “lots of therapy in a short amount of time”, we usually schedule each session to be 60-120 minutes in length, 3-10 days in a row, and 1-2 sessions per day. The choices here depend on your child’s age, stage of development, capacity for learning, endurance, preferences, and the therapist’s availability matching yours. 

How do I know if this is right for my child?

In general, intensive therapy is used for people with long-term neuromuscular and genetic conditions (like Cerebral Palsy, Down’s Syndrome, Prader-Willi, Spina bifida, Stroke, etc), trauma, and after surgery. 

If you aren’t sure if this is right for your child, book a discovery call. One of our therapists will chat with you about your child’s needs and help to guide you in making the best choice for your child. 

This sounds great –  is there intensive therapy near me?

Indeed, there is! We offer intensive therapy sessions for Physiotherapy right here in Ottawa, (just a few hours east of Toronto and West of Montreal) at Play On Pediatric Therapy. Depending on your timing, Occupational Therapy can also be scheduled into your child’s intensive therapy in order to help achieve the child’s goals. We also offer Chiropractic care, Osteopathy and Athletic Therapy which may also be incorporated, depending on your goals. 

How do I book it?

Just give us a call. Our Patient Experience Coordinators would be pleased to help you find a suitable therapist and time to host your child’s intensive therapy sessions. Be forewarned though, bookings generally need to be done 2 or more months in advance in order to secure preferred timing. 

Call us at 613-699-0787 to book a discovery call to see if this is the right option for your child.