Starfish Therapies

A pediatric therapy company operating in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. We provide physical, occupational, speech and aquatic therapy services in the most beneficial and convenient setting for you and your child, including our clinic, currently located in Burlingame, your home, school or daycare.

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Body Awareness and Proprioception – A Brief Glimpse

August 15, 2012 by Stacy Menz

So after 3 weeks of keeping my left hip from turning out I am finally allowed to.  Since my legs tend to turn out on their own I was being extra careful over these last 3 weeks by either actively holding it straight or making it turn in (since it was allowed to turn in as much as it wanted).  Well today when I let it turn out for the first time I was still lying in bed and couldn’t see my feet.  I was actually excited because I felt like it had turned out almost as far as my other foot had.  This was good because it meant the pain and soreness I was expecting that would go along with stretching wasn’t going to be there.  Well imagine my surprise when I finally looked at my feet and they were nowhere even close to being the same.

What does this mean?  Well besides it meaning that I will actually have to do stretching it also means that because of 3 weeks of keeping my foot turned in, my body’s sense of where it is and where midline is became skewed.  To my brain (when not looking) my feet felt the same.  It wasn’t until I added the visual input that I could see that wasn’t correct.  I was amazed at this because it gave me a whole new insight into the kids I work with.

I have always intellectually understood that a kiddo may not have a good idea of where their body was in space, or not realize where midline was because they were so used to being in a position that wasn’t midline.  However, this was the first time that I experienced it.  Now granted, mine is small compared to some of the kids but it is just one more insight into some of the challenges they have to overcome for movement.

As I retrain my brain and body the proprioceptive input in my hip joint will realign so that they send a message to my brain that matches what I am seeing.   I’m sure it won’t happen overnight but it should happen relatively quickly since its only been 3 weeks.  What about those kiddos that have torticollis and have held their heads turned towards one side for months, or the kiddos that are always lying down or in a reclined position.  They are going to need a lot more assist with learning where midline is and where their body is in relation to the world around them.

I hope this helps to give a slight glimpse into what some of our kiddos are trying to figure out.

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Filed Under: Developmental Milestones Tagged With: body awareness, education, propriocetion, Starfish Therapies

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