“You never had a childhood if you didn’t pretend that the end of the sidewalk was a beam you can walk on without losing your balance”

Anonymous

Some children may have difficulties in researching or maintaining balance: we therefore try, with this article, to analyze the question and propose some solutions.

There are 3 types of balance:

1) dynamic balance : this is what we manage to keep in motion. Stability is obviously guaranteed by a support surface: the wider the surface, the easier it will be to stay in balance. But also the acceleration and the speed of the movement help us to maintain balance: everyone has happened to be able to avoid a fall only by speeding up the pace or lengthening the pace! When we accelerate, in fact, the vestibular system, located inside our ear, helps us to maintain balance. If we feel an imminent fall, for example, it is natural for us to spread our arms, with a reflex attempt to regain stability.

Cycling is an excellent example of dynamic balance; if you observe a child who begins to become familiar with two wheels, you will notice that it is less difficult to maintain balance when the bicycle moves, while the most difficult part for him is learning to start the movement, that is to search for the balance when the bike is still stationary.

2) proactive balance : it is the ability to understand in advance what our body needs to maintain balance; to predict therefore, before making a certain movement, which action will allow us not to fall. For example, each of us knows perfectly well how much elastic tension to apply to their legs in order to jump and, above all, how much to use in order to regain balance depending on whether you land on the floor or on an unsteady, bumpy surface or, again, on a mattress or other soft surface.

3) static balance : indicates the ability to maintain a certain position; for example, when we stand on one leg to put on a sock or when we remain in the same pose for an extended period, such as sitting at an office desk.

When these three aspects are coordinated, we move smoothly and elegantly and allow our body to work efficiently, without unnecessary tension or effort.

It is therefore the harmonious coordination of these three types of balance that allows the child to move and play at their best.

On the other hand, each of these points strongly influences the other two and it can therefore happen that, sometimes, a child encounters a problem with one or more types of balance.

For the intervention of the specialist to be effective, it is necessary to recognize the weakness and exercise in particular the type of balance in which the child has more difficulties, while exploiting, at the same time, his collateral skills.

Let’s look at the case of Mark, a 5-year-old boy.

Mark is very active and lively, he loves to run and never stays still, he knows how to ride a bike very well but is unable to stay still ; or rather, from a standstill it does not stand in balance. Falls off the chair when sitting down to eat; cannot stand on one leg; when he is seated at the table, he must rest his head on the surface so as not to fall; when he plays with machines on the ground, he does not sit on the floor but lies down on his stomach with his head resting on one arm.

His therapist therefore knows that, while dynamic and proactive balance are highly developed, Mark has problems with static balance: they must therefore work together to teach the child to go slow, to move slowly, not to lose balance in the absence of movement.

The therapist uses piscomotor aids such as ” Stone to Stone “ , ” River Islands “, ” River Walk “, ” Tactile Discs “, ” Honey Hills ” or “Rainbow Path”.

Here is a first exercise he proposes to Mark : initially, the child must balance on a high platform; then, surrounded by other colored platforms, he will have to move only one foot on the color indicated by the therapist. The difficulty of standing on a limited support and of thinking about how to move, to reach the required color, force Mark to slow down his movements, controlling them. In addition, the base support has a different height than the arrival support and therefore Mark, even after moving the foot, must exercise static balance in order not to fall.

Subsequently, the therapist asks Mark to return to the starting position, forcing him to reflect (and therefore to slow down!) On the movement to be made, exactly opposite to the one just performed.

This exercise is like a challenge for Mark who, as an awake and active child that he is, willingly accepts it: he laughs at his mistakes and rejoices at his successes!

The therapist can make the process more and more difficult, simply by slowing down his commands: Mark has to wait longer, poised in various positions, before moving to the next position and thus exercises, more and more, the static balance.

Other levels of difficulty are given by the indication of platforms closer or further away or by the request to use, in particular, the right or left foot.

The therapist must calibrate his requests based on Mark’s degree of ability, so as to always give him an idea of ​​a challenge, yes, but adequate, so that, after a few failures, the child can reach the finish line and be satisfied (and aware ) of its improvements.

After a few meetings, Mark already demonstrates an excellent static balance and has learned to move at slow as fast pace!

Here is Mark!