Core Values (NOT a Political Commentary)

Just like the core of an apple, your core is the center of your body. And just like your core values, your core is your foundation. It supports everything your body has to do. If you've been in a gym lately you know that working on your core is the focus of many types of workouts including yoga, pilates, martial arts, weight lifting, crossfit and pretty much another type of workout. We used to say we were doing an ab workout but now were talking about a little broader group of muscles. Our core includes the abs, the pelvic floor, diaphragm, and spinal muscles to name a few.

So just like any muscle in the body if our core is weak we begin to compensate. No one needs therapy to learn to compensate for a weak muscle. Example: If you stub your toe, no one needs to teach you how to limp. You automatically avoid using the toe and over use other muscles to walk. Same thing happens when we work out too hard and wake up with soreness. We instinctively avoid using the sore muscles.

In our babies if the core is weak, they will avoid using it which often results in kiddos that I call "statues" ie. they maintain a static position beautifully when they are placed but they never move into or out of that position. They pose! So what do we do??

Some babies, these ones that pose so beautifully, need to experience movement. They need to work or play on unstable surfaces so their core can become stronger. They need to learn to move off of center and into different positions (sit to hands and knees, hands and knees to pulling up, etc.) Without movement they can't explore their environment, which is how they learn about their environment. Of course it means its time to baby proof but that's a good thing. It means your baby is gaining motor skills and independence.

Some more advanced skills that require a strong core are speech and singing, sitting at a desk/handwriting, running/playing sports, balancing and pretty much everything you do in a day.

If your baby is not rolling by 6 months, or sits but cannot get into sitting you might benefit from some PT intervention to show you how to challenge your baby through play. Getting a strong foundation early will help your child as they progress through all the gross motor skills.