One of the
most common sitting positions among children is sitting in the form of the
letter W. They spend many hours like that while playing, however, it may cause
a lot of issues about which people are not even aware of. It causes destruction
of hip rotation points which may lead to serious orthopedic problems. For that
reason, stop your children from sitting in that position.
Who should
not w-sit?
For many
children, W-sitting should always be discouraged. This position is
contraindicated (and could be detrimental) for a child if one of the following
exists:
There are
orthopedic concerns. W-sitting can predispose a child to hip dislocation, so if
there is a history of hip dysplasia, or a concern has been raised in the past,
this position should be avoided.
If there is
muscle tightness, W-sitting will aggravate it. This position places the
hamstrings, hip adductors, internal rotators and heel cords in an extremely
shortened range. If a child is prone to tightness or contractures, encourage
anther pattern of sitting.
There are
neurologic concerns/developmental delays. If a child has increased muscle tone
(hypertonia, spasticity), W-sitting will feed into the abnormal patterns of
movement trying to be avoided (by direction of the child’s therapist). Using
other sitting postures will aid in the development of more desirable movement
patterns.
How to
prevent W-sitting..
The most
effective (and easiest) way to prevent a problem with W-sitting is to prevent
it from becoming a habit it the first place. Anticipate and catch it before the
child even learns to W-sit. Children should be placed and taught to assume
alternative sitting positions. If a child discovers W-sitting anyway, help him
to move to another sitting position, or say, “Fix your legs.” It’s very
important to be as consistent as possible.
Please SHARE This With
Your Friends & Family..
This post was republished
from stayonthehealthypath.com. You can find the original post here.
