Children (and adults) need to feel safe and secure in their bodies.   Adults who have experienced Vertigo, understand the extreme discomfort experienced in not feeling certain whether the body is moving or staying still.  The life and death terror of this sensation was even portrayed on the Hitchcock film entitled, Vertigo.  Balance is a really important component to our sense of well being.  Some individuals do not share in the sense of postural security that most of us have. 

To appreciate the distress, imagine walking down the aisle of a plane during serious turbulence, or the effort you put into not falling into another person’s body as the subway sways side to side.  While some revel in these challenges (refer to Comfort with Movement),

the importance of having control of the body in relationship to the ground and gravity are key to our sense of bodily safety. 

There are many components involved in effective and automatic balancing.  Automatic refers to not having to think about balancing-it simply happens on an unconscious level unless challenged by some change in the environment (e.g. sudden unexpected movement like the bus lurching or stopping fast). 

If you have been reading other sections you can guess what several of these components are.  Here is the list:

Body Awareness

Trunk or Core Strength

Flexibility of Movement

Visual Assistance

Comfort with Movement

There are certain special components built into the body that emerge soon after birth that help facilitate the development of balance. 

1. 1. Early, hard wired  motor responses, such as the Startle Reflex,  and other primitive reflexes, followed by Automatic Responses, such as Protective Extension and Body
   

    Righting, set the stage for the body to develop  equilibrium reactions.

     Equilibrium Reactions are the automatic movements we make to keep our bodies in a

     balanced (usually upright) position.  Difficulty in balancing up side down is due to the need

     to recalibrate the system’s equilibrium responses.

2. 2. An innate drive to keep the head in an upright position allows the body and head to maintain a balanced position.
   

3. 3. Multiple sensors in the body contribute to balance.   They are:
   

     Vestibular  (inner ear)

     Proprioceptive/Kinesthetic  (muscles joints)

     Vision  (eyes)

      While these sensors are present, the efficiency of the messages sent to the brain rely

      upon life experiences.  When a child gazes at the world with intent, moves and feels

      movement (ride in the stroller, rocking, bouncing, running, jumping) important pathways

      are laid down that contribute to balance.

  

While most of us come into the world with these systems “ready to go”  for certain reasons,

some easily understood and many others not,  some people come into this world with less innate ability to recruit and use these precursors to balance. 

A vicious cycle may ensue.  The child has limited balancing ability so avoids any activity that requires balancing.  Movement experiences become restricted.  Limited motor experiences further delay the development of equilibrium reactions and balance.

What to do to avoid this scenario, be proactive and build solid equilibrium reactions and balance?  Suggestions follow below.

Waking up the balancing sensors:

1. 1. Stimulate the vestibular system:  This involves movement.
   

     Rotation

     Swinging

     Movement at varying speeds (fast/slow)

     Movement in various directions  (up/down/sideways)

     Positioning (right side up/upside down)

     Bouncing/jumping

   Rotation                         Jumping                          Rolling

   Swinging                         Rotational swinging                      Forward thrust                   

   Acceleration                                                             Speed

    Up and down                           Inverted                                                   Sideways                          

2. 2. Teaching the body how to respond to a position of imbalance.
   

      Essentially training the body to have equilibrium reactions.

      This entails placing the child in a slightly off balance position and

      guiding back to center.

      With very young children this can begin on the lap and as the child improves, move to

      other moving surfaces.

         Sideways                                                 Backwards and back to center

       With the older individual,  begin with equipment that has minimal movement and a fair

       amount of control can be exercised by the client, so a sense of safety is always present.

         Feet planted firmly on the ground        Hands available to help

3. 3.   Adding a dynamic aspect to the balancing challenge. 
   

       Once basic equilibrium reactions are activated,  incorporate an additional motor

       demand.  This helps establish the automaticity or automatic response to occur.

       Essentially,  balance should occur without having to think about it.

      Catching/throwing while on a moving swing    Doing a puzzle while balancing on a ball

     Staying on the scooter while pulled.

     More difficult:  pulling self across room via a line stretched between two posts

4.    Use of the eyes to focus and help develop balance.

       The eyes give valuable information of where the head and body are in relationship to

       each other.  This reference point helps the body  know how to center itself.

     

    Developing visual focus through loving interactions throughout the day!

   Visual focus in a variety of positions 

    Visual focus while engaged in motor activities (standing/reaching, ball play, swinging ... )   

5.  Strengthening the legs to elicit isolated movement for balancing.   This is important for

      static balancing  (standing still while balancing on one foot).

     Strengthening the core and making sure rotation is strong in the body are  important

     precursors to the ability to balance. 

    

     Refer to:  Building Trunk Strength

                     Muscle Tone

                     Trunk Rotation

                     Blog entries:  The Big Picture

                                           The Flip Side of the Story

                                           The Case for Crawling

                    

Specific activities that help develop leg strength for static balancing follow below:

     Jumping:  trampoline

                      two foot hopping

                      one foot hopping

     Activities that require jumping:  hop scotch

                                                       jump rope

                                                       Simon Says/ “Mother May I”*

                                                       jumping off climbing structures, etc.

                                                       long jumping in sand

      Walking/running activities:       hikes

                                                       tag games*

                                                       yard games*

                                                       walks on the beach (sand)

      Balance games:                       walking on curb

                                                       walking on line        

      Crab walking and crab kicking

  

    Squatting to pick up toys

  

      Climbing

While specific equipment designed for climbing is good,  every day activities like climbing

over a pile of pillows, tree stumps, small walls in parks, yards and city streets provide unique

opportunities for the child to figure out how to balance and move in the process.

     Pedaling (refer to Bicycle Riding) for more information on this.

       Scooters:  one leg kicks/pushes while the other stays stationary and keeps the body

       balanced on the moving scooter.

       Foot wrestling:  match up the bottom of the adult’s feet with the bottom of the child’s

       while lying on the back.  Push feet together.

       Pumping on swings

     Even before the child can pump independently, having the legs lift in anticipation of

     a push, strengthens the legs.

Activities that specifically address balancing and have balancing demands:

Riding a bike

Balancing on an inflatable float in water (rafts, kick boards)

Trampolines

Tilt boards*

Scooters

Moon shoes

Stilts (very difficult)

Skiing

For additional thoughts on balancing refer to:

Real Life Examples:  The Center Line

More on Dynamic Balancing:  The Center Line Part 2

1. *For more on yard games:  www.gameskidsplay.net
   

2. *
   

3. *For resource on equipment:  http://www.therapro.com:80/Sensory-Integration-Equipment-C307827.aspx
   

*http://www.southpawenterprises.com/Motor-Planning-Balance-C19.aspx?s=OrderBy_ASC&p=1