As people get older they become prone to back aches, strains, pulls and ruptures.  Now there are many  factors  that might explain a particular injury, but one frequent issue relates to the mobility of the spine.  As we get older, we tend to move in a symmetrical way.  We bend up and down, we sit, we stand, we may walk quite a bit.  But frequently we do not bend to the left or stretch to the right.  Rolling down a grassy hill is a distant memory.  Rolling over in bed may become more challenging.

Personal trainers, pilates and yoga instructors recognize the importance of trunk rotation in maintaining  healthy core strength.  Regular daily activity typically does not include moving off center, and as a result,  the muscles associated with such movements are not as strong as they need to be when they do come into play.  So, a simple stretch to retrieve a can of beans from a top shelf may cause muscle spasms of excruciating pain.

Children on the other hand, when given ample opportunity to move in unstructured, unfettered ways, will move “off center”  in reaching, climbing and rolling activities all the time.  It is almost as though the body has an instinctive drive to “work” specific muscle groups as they are developing. 

When my son was a toddler, I remember him having a brief spell in which he would pick up almost any object and swing it back and forth across the mid line of his body.  There was no apparent purpose to the activity and on first examination may have looked a tad bizarre.  Since I do what I do, I saw this activity as quite a positive one.  He was working all the muscles  that facilitate diagonal movements in the trunk.  

Here are some motor activities that require trunk rotation (or the muscles used for this):

Throwing

Reaching to right or left of center

Dynamic Balancing

Swinging object (racquet, bat, etc.)

Raking

Sweeping/vacuuming

Scrubbing

Digging

Crawling

Rolling

Besides the importance of strengthening core muscles, another important element to rotation follows.  As ease of movement in reaching occurs, the tendency to use two hands together for bilateral activities increases. 

Many children I see struggle with core strength.  They tend to use one hand to stabilize the trunk while the other engages in an activity.  Think of the student slumped over the desk, holding his head as he scribbles on a shifting piece of paper. 

-With weak core strength, one hand tends to support the body while the other works an activity.

-As the individual works one handed, the automatic bilateral cooperation that should develop is inhibited.  Manipulating objects with only one hand tends to be inefficient and often clumsy.

-A tendency to avoid reaching across the midline of the body may occur.  This leads to reaching for objects-left hand for the left side; right hand for the right side.

-When each hand manipulates objects on a specific side, specialization of hand function may be delayed, thereby inhibiting the development of a preferred hand.

-When two sides of the body do not work together, there is less “inter-hemispheric communication” or simply put, the two side of the brain “talking to each other.”

Steps to increase trunk rotation for reaching:

1. 1. Build core strength.  Refer to Building Trunk Strength
   

                                                    Muscle Tone

2. 2. Activities specifically designed to encourage trunk rotation:
   

    

     Rolling  (Blanket Roll-Ups)

   

     Crossed leg sitting and reaching to the sides

 

     Straddling an exercise roll or ball (more difficult) to reach to the sides

    

     Crawling                                                     Four Point Reaching

    

                                                  Snake crawling

                                  Photos:  Eileen Counihan

3.  Activities specifically designed to encourage bilateral movements:

    

                      Bopping balloons and catching balls with two hands

                  Photo:  Eilene Counihan

    

     Holding a paper towel or wrapping paper cardboard roll with two hands

     (Substituting for a bat)

     Crab kicking a ball with two feet

     Pushing a ball with two hands

     Pulling a rope with two hands - tug of war

4. 4. Scooter board activities to address rotation and bilateral movement:
   

    

     Holding onto something with two hand for a ride (Prone and sitting) while pulled

     

     Pulling on a rope that hangs across the room (crossing a river)

    

     “Rowing” on a scooter-using a plunger

     In front is easiest ... to the sides requires trunk rotation and sequencing

     Scooter soccer and baseball

5. 5. Swing activities that facilitate bilateral and trunk rotation work:
   

     Holding onto the tire swing with two hands    Propelling self on net swing

    

     Playing games that require holding on with one hand while the other reaches

   

6. 6. Sport Activities that require Bilateral  Motor Coordination and Trunk Rotation:
   

 

                                                     ALL OF THEM!

While obvious sports that use two hands are baseball and hockey, each sport requires some coordination of both sides of the body and all trunk muscles to work most efficiently. 

Baseball is the quintessential bilateral activity with all that catching, throwing and batting.

In tennis, even if a one handed back hand is used, the other should be engaged in the follow through and guiding the racquet.

Basketball requires ongoing use of both hands in a cooperative way for catching and tossing.

Then there is the footwork and coordination with dribbling and throwing.

Soccer-ditto basketball except we’re talking feet not hands.  One leg has to firmly stabilize as the other kicks. 

Swimming requires coordinated timing of both arms and legs in strokes;  as a swimmer becomes more proficient, lateral trunk muscles are pulled in with the rolling motion of an efficient swim stroke.

Cycling requires the reciprocal movement of the legs.  While the legs should move independently from the body for most efficient pedaling,  all the body muscles work to stabilize the trunk so that  isolated movement in the legs can occur.  All quick twitch muscles are also activated to maintain balance.

Skiing  downhill requires the legs working together while the arms have a reciprocal motion coordinated with the leg movements.  As with cycling, the body is fairly stable to allow for isolated movement  from the hips down.  Quick twitch muscles are constantly activated to maintain balance.  Cross country skiing requires more complicated reciprocal movements of the arms and legs.  This is a great motor sequencing activity.  Skating-refer to cycling and skiing as it is similar related to reciprocal coordinated movements, use of the body for stability and balancing.  ADD hockey and the bilateral motor demands are immense.

Dancing-everything is involved in a variety of ways.  Along with excellent bilateral motor coordination for arms and legs and balancing, motor sequencing helps make the individual more flexible in general motor approach.

Martial Arts-ditto dancing

Horseback Riding-combining issues of cycling and dancing along with all that proprioceptive input and you have a very integrating exercise indeed!

The list goes on, but hopefully you get the idea!

5.  Fine motor activities that require two hands:

    

     Scissor cutting

    

     Clay, playdough-encourage both hands doing the same thing (e.g.rolling)

      Kitchen activities:  stirring, grating, peeling

      For more fine motor bilateral activities refer to:  Improving Dexterity

AND ... More on Bilateral Activities are reviewed in the second half of Organizing That Body

Remember any activity that requires the use of two hands facilitates bilateral motor coordination.