TOPIC

Paediatrics research

Everything we have read on paediatrics. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

1,906 PAPERS · PAGE 37 OF 39 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTQualitative2026Caring for a child with a lower respiratory tract infection: Parents' perspectives.The South African journal of physiotherapyCaring for a child under 3 with a chest infection was described as exhausting: lost sleep, missed work and money drained by medicines and visits. Most valued being present during physiotherapy and wanted procedures explained; suctioning looked worse than anything else.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2026Effectiveness of Rehabilitation Interventions on Participation in Children and Adolescents With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationAround 840 children and teenagers with one-sided cerebral palsy improved on participation measures after rehabilitation, but no study compared therapy with no treatment, and no single therapy beat another.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Associations Between Comorbidities, Developmental Status, and Disease Severity in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study in China.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchIn this Chinese cohort, 96.6% of 1279 autistic children had at least one other diagnosed condition: 87.3% intellectual or developmental disability, 45.3% food refusal, 16.9% insomnia. Children with these conditions tended to score higher for autism severity.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Maternal Responsiveness, Parenting Self-efficacy, and Economic Empowerment: Determinants of Infant Development in Pakistan.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPMore responsive, more confident mothers had lower odds of their baby showing developmental delay at six weeks, in communication, problem solving and personal-social skills. One check-up of 400 Pakistani mothers and babies, so it cannot show which came first.
• PTRCT2026Fundamental Movement Skill Development in Children With Intellectual Disabilities: An 8-Week Coach-Led and Parent-Supported Intervention.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARIDAdding parent-led home practice to a weekly coach session improved ball skills in children with intellectual disabilities more than the clubs' usual programme. The coach-led sessions alone did not. Running, jumping and balance did not improve either. Only 57 of 82 children were retested.
• PTPilot2026Therapeutic Effect of Schroth Method on Plantar Pressure and Related Muscle Imbalance in Children and Adolescent With Idiopathic Scoliosis.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationSix months of Schroth gymnastics plus home core exercises reduced the spinal curve in 6 of 21 children and evened out their walking and trunk muscle asymmetry. Fifteen curves did not change and none worsened, but there was no comparison group.
• PTOTSLPSurvey2026Exploring Health Care Providers, Families and Educators' Perceptions of an Online Self-Paced F-Words for Child Development Foundations Course.Child: care, health and developmentPeople who took the free, self-paced F-words course rated it highly (mean satisfaction 8.5 out of 10) and said they used the F-words in goal-setting and family conversations. Families, health care providers and educators asked for shorter videos and more interaction.
• PTCohort2026Perceptions of the Likelihood and Importance of Physical Activity Outcomes at 14 Years Affects Physical Fitness at 17 Years.Child: care, health and developmentTeenagers stayed active mostly for fun, fitness and friends, and those reasons barely shifted between 14 and 17. Boys and girls who expected activity to keep them fit and healthy were the fittest later; girls who feared being mocked were least fit.
• PTOTSLPPilot2026Exploring Treatment Expectations and Clinical Meaningfulness in Spinal Muscular Atrophy Using the Goal Attainment Scale.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationPeople with SMA asked to set their own goals most often chose independence in movement, upper limb strength and daily activities. Most of those goals matched items on the motor scales already in use.
• PTOther2026Physical Fitness Profiles Among Children and Adolescents With ADHD and ASD: A Comparison With Typically Developing Peers.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism ResearchChildren with ADHD or autism did worse than typically developing classmates on a running test, a fast tapping task and a balance test. Their flexibility and body weight were the same, and the two groups differed only in jumping, which was weaker in autism.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Neonatal Therapy Interventions Supporting Oral Feeding Skills in Preterm Infants: A Systematic Review.Physical & occupational therapy in pediatricsPreterm infants given oral motor stimulation, non-nutritive sucking, swallowing exercises or sensory-based therapy reached full oral feeding sooner than controls, by 4 to 9 days in the studies that found a difference. Effects on weight gain and length of stay were inconsistent.
• PTOther2026Assessing Balance in Young Athletes With and Without Chronic Ankle Instability.International journal of sports physical therapyAthletes with chronic ankle instability balanced on one leg for 14.55 seconds with eyes open versus 24.75 seconds for healthy athletes and 25.20 for copers, and reached less far on the Y-balance test. With eyes closed, the groups did not differ.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2025Safety and effectiveness of non-invasive brain stimulation on mobility and balance function in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationNon-invasive brain stimulation plus other training improved walking distance, gait speed and gross motor scores in children with cerebral palsy; balance and Timed Up and Go did not improve. Stimulation was mostly combined with training, so its own contribution is unclear.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2025Limited Evidence of Functional Benefit After Upper Limb Botulinum Toxin Treatment in Children With Cerebral Palsy: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationBotulinum toxin into the upper limb lowers muscle tone and spasticity in children with cerebral palsy, and parents report improvement, but the arm does not clearly work better. Grip strength drops while the toxin is active.
• PTRCT2023Parent factors associated with BMI, diet, and physical activity of adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.Disability and health journalParents with higher BMI, lower income or less education had adolescents with higher BMI z-scores. Diet and activity were poor across the whole group, and parent BMI and income did not predict them. Cause cannot be shown.
• PTMeta-Analysis2022Effect of muscle strength training in children and adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical rehabilitationIn children and adolescents with spastic cerebral palsy, strength training gave small gains in lower-limb strength and walking speed, larger gains in standing balance, and small improvements in gross motor function. It did not make spasticity worse.
• PTSystematic Review2025Effectiveness of Vestibular Rehabilitation in Children Post-Concussion: A Systematic Review.International journal of sports physical therapyVestibular rehabilitation may help dizziness, balance and gait problems after concussion in children, but the evidence is weak and inconsistent. The 12 included studies disagreed with each other, only three were randomised, and most children received other treatments at the same time.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2023A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Effect of Active Video Games on Postural Balance.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationActive video games improved balance more than no treatment, and also more than conventional therapy, across 129 studies and 6407 participants. The average effect was modest, the included studies were mostly small and unblinded, and the authors found signs of publication bias.
• PTMeta-Analysis2023The effectiveness of Schroth method in Cobb angle, quality of life and trunk rotation angle in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineSchroth exercises on their own improved the spinal curve, trunk rotation and quality of life in teenagers with scoliosis more than no treatment or other exercise, but the average curve change of 3.18 degrees fell short of the 5 degrees therapists treat as clinically meaningful.
• PTMeta-Analysis2023Headaches treatment with EMG biofeedback: a focused systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicinePooling four trials, EMG biofeedback did not reduce headache frequency, intensity or attack duration more than control treatments. The review's 29 studies are mostly pre-2000 with quality problems, so the evidence that it eases headache pain remains unproven.
• PTSystematic Review2022Quality of Care Indicators for Hospital Physical Therapy Units: A Systematic Review.Physical therapy178 clinical quality indicators exist for hospital physical therapy units, mostly measuring whether care was delivered as evidence says it should be. Effectiveness covers 82.6%, while efficiency, equity and accessibility are barely covered, and few were tested for reliability.
• PTOTRCT2025Functioning and activity outcomes of the Akwenda Intervention Program for children and young adults with cerebral palsy in Uganda: A cluster-randomized trial.Developmental medicine and child neurologyTraining and supporting caregivers improved self-care, social function and, to a smaller degree, gross motor skills in children and young adults with cerebral palsy in rural Uganda. Children who waited a year for the program also improved, which the authors could not fully explain.
• PTRCT2024Individualized orthotic alignment and footwear for balance and mobility in children with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy: A randomized trial.Developmental medicine and child neurologyChildren with bilateral spastic cerebral palsy improved more in balance over three months when their rigid ankle-foot orthoses were individually aligned and their shoes modified than when the same braces stayed at 90 degrees. Parents also reported better community mobility; pain and satisfaction did not differ.
• PTMeta-Analysis2024Aerobic fitness in children with cerebral palsy compared to typically developing peers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Brazilian journal of physical therapyChildren with cerebral palsy average 32.84 mL/kg/min of peak oxygen uptake at maximal exercise, against 45.02 in typically developing peers. Values were lowest in the children with the most limited mobility.
• PTOTRCT2022Usage Patterns of an mHealth Symptom Monitoring App Among Adolescents With Acute Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationTeens who used the concussion app logged their symptoms about nine times each but mostly stopped before the learning modules, so most got feedback without the education meant to help them act on it. Total app time averaged just over an hour.
• PTOTRCT2025Hand Functions Following Prone-weight Bearing on Upper Limb with Active Elbow Extension Versus Modified Constraint Induced Movement Therapy in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy - A Randomised Clinical Trial.NeuroRehabilitationIn 38 children with unilateral cerebral palsy aged 2 to 5, two weeks of prone weight-bearing on the arms improved hand-function scores more than modified constraint therapy did, though both improved. The weight-bearing group started lower and no one was followed up.
• PTOTRCT2025Lamotrigine for cognitive deficits associated with neurofibromatosis type 1: A phase II randomized placebo-controlled trial.Developmental medicine and child neurologyLamotrigine 200 mg a day for 26 weeks did not improve performance IQ or any other cognitive or behavioural measure in adolescents with NF1. The trial stopped early at 31 of a planned 60 participants, but the groups' scores barely differed.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2024Cognitive approaches in the rehabilitation of upper limbs function in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicineAdding action observation therapy to usual rehabilitation did not significantly improve upper limb function in children with cerebral palsy when five trials were pooled. Individual trials reported gains, and mirror therapy trials also reported improvements, but mirror therapy could not be pooled.
• PTOTRCT2022Changes in physical activity across a 6-month weight loss intervention in adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRActivity barely moved: moderate-to-vigorous activity rose about 4.5 minutes a day, from 15.2 to 19.7, and did not reach significance. Only 2 of 30 met the 60 minute a day goal at six months.
• PTSystematic Review2025'Bear Feels Sick': A Systematic Review of Picture Books About Physical Symptoms in Dutch Children's Literature.Child: care, health and developmentDutch picture books for young children mostly show injuries and colds, and in 89% of the stories the child needed a remedy or medical care. When accidents caused the symptoms, the child was always blamed.
• PTOTRCT2025Early developmental trajectories of the impaired hand in infants with unilateral cerebral palsy.Developmental medicine and child neurologyWith early therapy, 63 infants with unilateral CP followed three paths of hand development: 29% barely improved, 35% improved steadily, 36% began high-functioning. Which therapy they got, the dose, the side affected and the brain lesion did not predict the path.
• PTSystematic Review2022A Systematic Review on the Association Between Vestibular Dysfunction and Balance Performance in Children With Hearing Loss.Ear and hearingAcross 20 studies, children with hearing loss who had vestibular dysfunction generally scored worse on balance tests than those with normal vestibular function. The studies were small, unblinded and used inconsistent tests, so the size of the link is unclear.
• PTRCT2023A pilot randomised controlled trial on the effectiveness of infant massage on the acceptance, commitment and awareness of influence in parents of babies with Down syndrome.Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDRParents who took a five-week infant massage course scored higher on an interview about how much they accepted their baby, felt committed, and felt they influenced them, than parents who did not. Both groups improved, and only 32 parents took part.
• PTRCT2022Using Telehealth to Conduct Family-Centered, Movement Intervention Research in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy AssociationNo results to act on. This is a description of how one team moved a face-to-face movement study for children with autism online during COVID-19, including the games, the equipment families were sent and the videoconferencing problems they hit.
• PTSystematic Review2025Evidence on the Effectiveness of Public Policies for Physical Activity Promotion in the Early Childcare Education and Care Setting: A Systematic Review.Child: care, health and developmentRequiring physical activity in childcare changed what centres offered, with 74% to 94% adherence, but did not consistently get children moving more. Most included studies were rated only fair or poor quality.
• PTOTRCT2023Fidelity of Delivery in a Multisite Randomized Clinical Trial of Intervention Efficacy for Infants With Unilateral Cerebral Palsy.Pediatric physical therapy : the official publication of the Section on Pediatrics of the American Physical Therapy AssociationTherapists delivered baby bimanual and baby constraint-induced therapy as designed in 64 of 72 recorded home sessions. All 8 lower-fidelity sessions were Baby-BIM, 6 of them from home visit 4 onwards. This shows delivery, not whether either therapy works.
• PTOTRCT2023Multisensory Stimulation and Priming (MuSSAP) in 4-10 Months Old Infants with a Unilateral Brain Lesion: A Pilot Randomised Clinical Trial.Occupational therapy internationalAdding a wristband that gave light, song and vibration to eight weeks of home hand training did not improve hand use more than the home training alone in 16 infants with a brain injury on one side. Both groups improved.
• PTSystematic Review2023Effectiveness of an educational approach between adolescents and adults with patellofemoral pain syndrome: a scoping review with meta-analysis.Journal of physical therapy scienceEducation alone did not beat education combined with exercise for knee pain in patellofemoral pain at mid-term follow-up, and the evidence is too weak to say whether adolescents respond differently from adults. Only two trials could be pooled.
• PTOTRCT2025Effects of Inline Skating Exercise on Symptoms, Executive Functions, and Motor Proficiency in Children With ADHD: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Occupational therapy internationalTwelve weeks of inline skating improved ADHD symptoms, executive function and motor proficiency more than waiting did in children with ADHD, and the gains were still there at follow-up. The trial was small, the changes modest, and medication was not recorded.
• PTRCT2024Improving trunk posture control in children with CP through a cable-driven robotic hippotherapy: A randomized controlled feasibility study.Gait & postureChildren with cerebral palsy tolerated a robot horse that rocks the pelvis while they sit astride, and their trunk control improved more than with conventional training after 6 weeks. The difference was gone 8 weeks later.
• PTRCT2024Effectiveness of simple and basic home-based exercise programs including pediatric massage executed by caregivers at their homes in the management of children with spastic cerebral palsy: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineAdding pediatric massage to a home exercise programme did not improve gross motor function more than the exercises alone; both groups of children with spastic diplegia improved over 12 weeks. Massage reduced spasticity a little more than exercise alone.
• PTOTCohort2026Father and Sibling Involvement in Home Rehabilitation: Longitudinal Effects on Infant Development and Maternal Wellbeing in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.Child: care, health and developmentInfants whose fathers and siblings joined the home rehabilitation programme scored 4.4 points higher on the Bayley cognitive scale after three months than those with mothers alone. Mothers' mental health improved most in the three-caregiver group. Families were not randomly assigned, so causation is unproven.
• PTOTCohort2026Diverging Paths: Longitudinal and Reciprocal Associations Between Two Fundamental Motor Skill Assessments in Preschoolers.Child: care, health and developmentAt ages 3 and 4 the two motor tests partly agreed about a child. A year later they did not: a child's score on one gave no useful clue about the other. They are not interchangeable as children get older.
• PTCase Series2026Sensor game rehabilitation for children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities-medical care dependent group: feasibility case series study.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesNo injuries occurred when four children with severe motor and intellectual disabilities needing medical care played a movement-controlled sensor game 15 minutes a week for 4 weeks. Parents described children focusing and enjoying it, and motor scores rose in three of four.
• PTCase-Control2026Psychological and Neuromechanical Recovery After Concussion: Dual-Task Stability and Kinesiophobia from Return to Play to Six Months.International journal of sports physical therapyAthletes cleared to return to play after concussion reported more fear of movement than uninjured controls (about 3 points more on a scale running to 44), but their balance and single-leg landing were no worse, even with a mental task added.
• PTOther2026Does Medial Knee Position Reflect Dynamic Knee Valgus? Comparing Kinematic Timing and Magnitude During a Three-Task Movement Screen.International journal of sports physical therapyWhere the knee looks most collapsed is not where knee abduction peaks: in a jump and landing, collapse came 23% and 39% earlier, and 17% later in a single-leg squat. Treat 2D video as a movement screen, not a measure of peak knee load.
• PTCohort2026Contralateral Trunk Tilt in High School Baseball Pitchers: Comparison and Relationship with Trunk Rotational Mobility, Compensatory Lateral Flexion, and Performance.International journal of sports physical therapyTrunk rotation and the sideways lean pitchers show on testing did not differ between those with high and low contralateral trunk tilt, and neither predicted that tilt. More trunk tilt went with faster pitches, but not more elbow torque. Only 19 pitchers took part.
• PTOther2026Standard Versus Arm-Length-Normalized Conditions for Assessment of the Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test in Healthy Youth Athletes.International journal of sports physical therapyIn 154 healthy teen athletes, the arm-length-normalized CKCUEST gave 23.9 taps versus 23.0 on the standard distance version, and only the standard version was affected by arm length and body weight. Individual results varied by more than the test's own measurement error.
• PTOTSystematic Review2025Clinical Tools for Assessing One-Handed Skills in Children With Cerebral Palsy: An Umbrella Review.Occupational therapy internationalAmong 17 tools for measuring one-handed skills in children with cerebral palsy, three (PMAL-R Uswatte, COPM, ACHES) earned the highest ratings for both measurement quality and practical use in clinic.
• PTRCT2025Effects of SAFE Early Intervention Approach in the First Months of Life in Infants at Risk: A Randomized Controlled Study.Child: care, health and developmentSAFE, a home-based physiotherapy programme built around sensory strategies and hands-off motor learning, outperformed NDT on motor scores and sensory processing in 26 at-risk infants over 12 weeks. Cognitive and language scores improved in both groups with no between-group difference.