Chronicling Research and Practice Evolution in Pediatric Physical Therapy.

Purpose: To observe research and practice trends in the journal, Pediatric Physical Therapy, as a proxy for the field.

Methods: All issues of Pediatric Physical Therapy published from 1989 to 2019 were chronicled and summarized. Data were extracted regarding variables related to the issues and individual articles.

Results: The most common diagnosis studied was cerebral palsy. The proportion of studies involving middle childhood and adolescent-aged participants increased over time. Cohort studies and exercise were the most common study type and intervention studied, respectively. The proportion of scientific content in the journal increased.

Conclusion: It is evident that pediatric physical therapy research has evolved over the past 30 years, both in rigor of articles published and in breadth of populations studied.

What This Adds To The Evidence: This review adds an in-depth evaluation of trends in the literature, facilitating the profession's continued growth.