Beliefs and Practices of Pediatric Physiotherapists in Türkiye Regarding Early Mobility and Crawling

<p>The present study aimed to explore pediatric physiotherapists’ beliefs in Türkiye regarding early mobility and crawling and how these beliefs influence their clinical practices.</p> <p>Physiotherapists working with children were asked to complete an online survey about their beliefs regarding early mobility and crawling, their clinical approaches to these areas, and their opinions on removing crawling from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developmental milestone checklists.</p> <p>Among the 109 physiotherapists who participated, 94.5% (<i>n</i> = 103) believed that crawling was important, and between 82.6% and 100% (<i>n</i> = 90 and <i>n</i> = 109) thought it was linked to various positive developmental outcomes.

Additionally, 63% of physiotherapists (<i>n</i> = 68) opposed removing crawling from the CDC checklists.</p> <p>These beliefs appeared to influence therapeutic approaches, with many physiotherapists reporting that they would train hands-and-knees crawling when clinically appropriate. At the same time, most did not support discouraging existing alternative mobility strategies. Further research is needed to assess the extent to which pediatric physiotherapists’ beliefs and clinical practices align with current scientific evidence.</p>