One of the most important movements your baby will ever learn
It might not seem like much at first glance.
In fact you’ve probably seen babies do this a zillion times over and haven’t given it a second thought…..
But GOD it’s beautiful to watch for a baby movement nerd like me. (I know right? I used to be fun).
You see that little twist is everything.
That little twist of a baby’s body means they are moving away from their simple reflexive infant movement patterns, and they are starting to experiment with bigger and more complex movements. It means they are getting stronger and more confident.
That little twist challenges posture and body awareness. That twist allows them to begin to learn how to shift weight from one side of the body to the other without having to step. It is integral to the ‘fine-tuning’ of the vestibular system and ultimately the development of balance.
When repeated over and over again like a healthy little baby does, that little twist frees up the spine and switches on the abdominal muscles in such a way that it physically prepares the baby to be stronger and more ‘dynamic’ in sitting and standing for childhood and beyond.
It fires up muscles all the way from the teeny tiny muscles of the feet to the big strong gluteal muscles around the hips, and is one of the most important pre-cursors for walking.
Trunk rotation is an incredibly important foundation for so many of our everyday movement activities around the home and in the classroom, but it is also an absolutely crucial aspect of just about any sporting skill.
Think about any sport, be that swimming, tennis, gymnastics, football, netball, rock climbing…..the list is endless…..they all require ‘that little twist’.
You can probably see why am I so hung up on this tiny movement now right?
But most importantly…..
I can safely say that trunk rotation or ‘twisting’ is compromised, or is a ‘missing’ element for the majority of children I see with movement difficulties.
This holds true for an enormous range of movement disorders such as toe walking, coordination disorders, cerebral palsy and torticollis (a tight neck in a baby) just to name a few.
The wonderful news is that trunk rotation can be practiced and trained and re-learned at home.
The movement can be practiced in either sitting, on the knees or in standing (initially just by encouraging the child to reach around to an object) and it is one of my all time FAVOURITE exercises to give to my little patients.
So get twisting baby. It is an incredible human movement.
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