In our previous post we explained that, according to biotensegrity, the shape of the body is determined by the right balance between tension and compression.
If we are worried about your child’s posture, understanding biotensegrity offers a new perspective of what is happening, and it gives us new tactics to help.
Let’s revise the tensegrity model (this is formally called the tensegrity Icosahedron):
For this example let’s pretend that the colorful struts are a child’s bones and the black elastic bands are the fascia. If the bands are tense enough (remember fascia is a tensional system), then the model has the right shape, the bones are properly aligned and the whole structure is very efficient.
But if the bands are too loose without the right tension, then the structure is not aligned anymore and it becomes less efficient (it requires more energy to keep the shape - aka muscle activity).
This is what we usually see in kids with cerebral palsy. Their fascial system doesn’t have the right tension, hence the whole structure doesn’t get enough support.
There is one more lesson we learn from this model: your child uses muscle tone to increase the tension in the fascial system! That is very smart, but not too efficient. Your child should be using the muscles to move, but not to hold the posture.
Watch this short video so you can experience this concept yourself.
When your child uses muscle tone to hold the posture, then it is harder to have controlled and refined movements.
To start doing fascia therapy with your child, learn the first exercise to improve torso control here.
WeFlow´s tip for you!
If your child is trying to use the hands to play, you can help them have more refined movements if you support the torso with your hands or with a wrap around the torso.
Comments