Edmonton parents turning to physiotherapy clinics as access to pediatricians declines

Adler’s baby girl had an issue with her head — something first noticed by her doctor, who recommended treatment at Summerside Children’s and Sports Physiotherapy in Edmonton.

“Once you have a child, you want to do what’s best for them and want to do everything you can for them,” says Natasha Adler.

“She just did like a head-to-toe check, similar to what a GP would also do,” Adler says. “She noticed she had hemangiomas, which is like a little birthmark on the head as well — something I never thought a physiotherapist would look out for as well.”

The clinic is co-owned by pediatric physiotherapist Lizz Zahary, who says she diagnoses and treats a wide variety of issues in children.

“I work with kids who have issues with development, musculoskeletal injuries, any issue with movement — so neurological things, musculoskeletal things — primarily in babies,” Zahary says.

She says the clinic has seen an influx of patients since COVID-19, as more families are left without access to pediatricians — or even family doctors — and are turning to other avenues for care.

“What we really noticed at that time was an increase in the acuity of what we were seeing,” says Zahary. “Because we would have children who maybe parents thought they had torticollis, where they couldn’t move their head equally, and it turned out to be cerebral palsy.”

As access to traditional care declines, Zahary says clinics like hers have become a first line of defence.

“Parents should really follow their instincts,” she says. “Parents know when something’s not quite right, and if you’re not sure, it doesn’t hurt to come in and have a second look. We are very experienced in seeing what is normal and what is not.”

She also notes that parents do not need a referral to see a physiotherapist — and that for many conditions, earlier is better.

“For an example like torticollis, 90 per cent of the time it will lead to a skull deformity called plagiocephaly,” Zahary says. “The earlier we can intervene, the more likely we are to be able to correct that with conservative strategies, like repositioning and fixing the neck so we can fix the head.

“If we wait and see, we lose that window of opportunity. The cost of physio is something, but it is a lot less than getting a helmet, which is over four thousand dollars. And is not covered by Alberta HealthCare.”

Adler agrees. Her daughter has now graduated from physiotherapy, with the issue corrected by the time she was seven months old.

“If you’ve noticed something developmentally that you want to get checked out that you haven’t been able to get ahold of a GP or another medical professional, they definitely deserve a seat at that table,” she says. “We saw amazing care, and if we wouldn’t have had the chance to see a GP, physiotherapy would probably have been our first step, for sure.”