Unlocking the Potential of Children: Physiotherapy and the Power of Learning

In physiotherapy, every child is unique and deserving of individual attention and care. As practitioners, we have a special role in nurturing their physical abilities, making them feel supported and exceptional.

I always start my new consults talking up the child I am seeing. Making them feel special, like the most important thing in the room. I also tell them the best thing about being a kid coming to physiotherapy is that any physical challenges we give them will be easy with practice as their brain and body are way smarter than mine. They are like sponges ready to absorb new information; their learning ability is second to none. Therefore, with a little bit of learning or practice- amazing things can happen.

New research confirms that kids learn new knowledge and skills faster than grown-ups. It all comes down to a chemical messenger in the brain called GABA, which helps newly learned material stick in the brain. Researchers from the US and Germany have found that levels of GABA rapidly increase in the brains of primary school-aged children aged 8 to 11 while learning new tasks or information and in the minutes afterward. By contrast, the level of GABA in the brains of adults aged 18 to 35 does not change during or after lessons in new tasks and information.

Children of primary and intermediate age can learn more items within a given period of time than adults. It was found that visual learning increases GABA in children’s visual cortex, the brain area that processes visual information. That GABA boost also stayed around for several minutes after training ended. However, there were no changes in GABA whatsoever in adults who had the same visual training. Follow-up behavioural tests backed the findings.

Researchers suggest that children stabilise new learning much more rapidly than adults, making learning more efficient in children. This should encourage teachers and parents to give children as many opportunities as possible to learn new skills, from their times tables to bike riding.

Young children are actually better at learning unusual or unlikely principles than adults. Researchers have discovered that by age three, a child's brain is actually twice as active as an adult's. Childhood is a place where children spend their time catching up with adults' more sophisticated abilities. This is largely due to neuroplasticity, meaning the brain can form and change its connections, pathways, and wiring based on experiences.

To learn quickly, children also need support, guidance, and access to appropriate learning materials. Therefore, physiotherapy, working specifically with children, can help this physical learning process.

Let's celebrate the amazing potential of children and continue to provide them with the support and opportunities they need to thrive and learn.