Exercises for strengthening back muscles for children

For normal physical development of a child, special exercises are needed to strengthen the back. Let's consider popular complexes and the features of their implementation.

Physical activity is the key to normal growth and development of any organism. Physical education has not only therapeutic and preventive functions, but also educational ones. The child learns about the world around him, acquires certain hygiene skills. Exercises to strengthen the back for children are necessary for the correct formation of the musculoskeletal system, strengthening the spine and back muscles, eliminating posture asymmetry and preventing scoliosis.

The structure of a child's skeleton is specific, so normal posture is formed during the growth of the baby with the help of physical exercises. You can do exercises to strengthen the back from 6 months of age.

The following muscles are involved during the exercises:

• Trapezius - starts from the back of the head, is located in the upper part of the back, is responsible for tilting the head and shifting the shoulder blades.
• Latissimus dorsi – located in the lower back, covers the lateral part of the chest. Responsible for lowering raised arms and bringing the torso closer to the limbs.

• The muscle responsible for straightening the spine. Located along the spinal column.

Since each child is individual in their development, before training it is worth contacting a pediatrician or pediatric physiotherapist who will help determine the degree of readiness for physical activity. To determine the development of the muscles, it is necessary to conduct the following test: place the baby on his stomach, holding him with your hands in the waist area, and lift him up a little. If the back muscles are developed normally, then the child hangs suspended, taking the "swallow" pose. If the baby does not hold his body suspended and does not strain the back muscles, then special exercises should be carried out. This test must be repeated periodically to monitor the effectiveness of gymnastics.

To determine the level of muscle development in older children, you need to do this exercise: let the child stand up straight and stretch out his arms. Watch how long the baby can stand in this position. If he stands for more than 30 seconds, then the posture is correct and the muscular corset is developed normally. If less than 30 seconds, then the posture is weakened and requires correction.

Regular exercise not only strengthens the back muscles, but also has a beneficial effect on the entire body. Physical exercise helps strengthen the cardiovascular system, improves blood circulation and breathing. In infants, it develops motor skills and regulates the processes of nervous excitation and inhibition.

Exercises for a child 6-9 months old.

• First, prepare the child, pick him up, turn him with his back to you, hold him with your hands in the area of his legs and pelvis. Together with the baby, slowly lean forward and return to the starting position. This will teach the child to keep his back hanging. Repeat the exercise 5-7 times.
• Take a gymnastic ball and place the child on it with his back up. Hold the baby in the armpit area and swing him back and forth on the ball. The child should arch his back like a boat, holding this position for 3-5 seconds. Do 5-8 times.
• If the baby copes well with the previous exercise, then it can be made more difficult. Hold him by the hips and roll the ball away from you and towards you. Hold each position for a couple of seconds so that the baby arches his back.

In addition to exercises, massage is recommended for infants. As a rule, it is recommended to do it when the child begins to learn to sit. It helps prepare the spine for future loads. Massage consists of stroking movements, rubbing and kneading.

• Place the baby on his tummy and make slow stroking movements with your hands along the spine up and down. Repeat 5-7 times.
• Using your fingertips, rub up and down your spine. Do 3-5 repetitions.
• Using light kneading movements of your fingers, go along the spine and sides along the intercostal vertebrae. It is necessary to massage only the lateral muscles of the back from the bottom up. Perform 3-5 repetitions and finish the exercises with stroking.

From about three years of age, a child begins to sit actively at the table, so parents need to think seriously about strengthening his back muscles and forming correct posture. It is better to do health gymnastics after consulting a doctor. It is also recommended to gradually increase the load and systematically perform exercises. Training should be carried out at all stages of physical and physiological development, preparing the young body for new loads.

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Indications

There are certain indications for back strengthening exercises for children. It is necessary to undergo an examination and consult an orthopedist, neurologist and pediatric neurologist.

Exercises and massage are prescribed in the following cases:

• Developmental delay.
• Scoliosis.
• Rickets.
• Hip dysplasia.
• Inguinal or umbilical hernia.
• Displacement of vertebral discs.
• Clubfoot.
• Flat feet.
• Torticollis.

Exercises include: stroking, rubbing, kneading, vibration. Particular attention is paid to preparation for the procedure:

1. The child should feel well and be in a normal mood, rested and cheerful.
2. Before starting the exercises, you should ventilate the room. The optimal temperature is considered to be 18-22°C.
3. Classes should be held at the same time, 40-60 minutes after eating.
4. During gymnastics, you can turn on quiet music that will relax the child and set him up for work.
5. The complex should be completed with water treatments.

The set of exercises is selected taking into account the child's health and the degree of muscle development. The exercises should cause slight fatigue, but at the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the child does everything with pleasure and understands their meaning. Training should begin with 15-20 minutes 3 times a day and gradually increase to 40 minutes daily.

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Contraindications

Each age period in children has its own characteristics, therefore it requires an individual approach when developing a set of exercises. Any physical activity is not recommended if you feel unwell, have a fever or are suffering from an acute illness.

Contraindications include heart rhythm disorders and respiratory failure. Exercises are not performed in case of malignant diseases, acute rickets or tuberculosis, active hepatitis, inflammatory lesions of joints, bones and soft tissues. Training should be cancelled until the baby is fully recovered.

It is necessary to take into account that preschoolers are very active and get tired quickly. Children aged 6-7 have a high blood circulation rate, higher than adults, so they are prone to heart rhythm disorders. For children over 10 years old, training should be more intense. Thus, according to medical research, a schoolchild aged 8-12 needs 3-4 hours of physical activity daily. For teenagers, short but more complex exercises are necessary. At the same time, exercises to strengthen the back and have a beautiful posture are needed at any age, and especially when there are already certain defects.

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Duration

The duration of training to strengthen the back depends on the child’s age, emotional state and medical indications.

• For babies under 6 months, it is recommended to do exercises for 10-20 minutes a day.
• For children from 6 to 12 months, 30 minutes should be devoted to gymnastics.
• For children aged 1 to 3 years, physical activity can last 30-40 minutes.

In this case, it is advisable to conduct the first session with a professional massage therapist, who will show and help parents establish contact with the child. As a rule, gymnastics is prescribed for a long period. If the exercises are prescribed in combination with massage, then the course of such procedures is from 10 to 15.

Frequency

Therapeutic and strengthening gymnastics for the back must be performed with a certain frequency. The frequency of classes at first should be 3 times a week and gradually increase to daily training.

The load should also gradually increase. You should start training with a warm-up, followed by the main complex and light stretching. During training, you should avoid monotonous exercises and those that cause pain. It is better to do training 40-60 minutes before or after meals.

Description of the exercise

Children of any age need regular training to develop their muscular frame. A set of exercises to strengthen the back of children is carried out as prescribed by a doctor or after consultation with an orthopedist, surgeon, pediatrician.

Therapeutic and preventive gymnastics is especially necessary for school-age children, as they have to sit at their desks for a long time. Staying in the same position causes discomfort and can provoke a number of violations in the formation of correct posture.

Let's look at the most effective exercises to strengthen the back in children that can be done at home:

• The body is straight, arms raised up. Stretch up and slowly bend forward, touching your toes and bending well in the lower back.
• Lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent. Bend your torso without lifting your feet off the floor. The abdominal exercise is good for both your lower back and your abdominal muscles.
• Hands on your waist, feet shoulder-width apart, bend your body left and right, forward and backward.
• Feet shoulder-width apart, hands on hips. Make circular movements with your pelvis, first in one direction, then in the opposite direction.
• Lie on your stomach and simultaneously lift your legs and arms outstretched in front of you. Hold this pose for a couple of seconds.
• Get on all fours, place your hands on the floor and gradually arch your back up and down like a cat.
• Lie on the floor and pull your knees up to your chin, rounding your back. Gently rock from a sitting position to your back and back.
• Lie on your back, place your hands under your head or back. Raise your legs and perform movements as if riding a bicycle, i.e. pedal in the air.
• Lying on your back on a flat surface, lift your legs and keep them vertical, making crossing movements.
• Lie on your back, knees bent, feet pressed to the floor, arms along the body. Lift your pelvis off the floor and arch. Try to lift your pelvis as high as possible, holding this position for 3-5 seconds.
• The child is kneeling on the floor, with his palms on the floor. Take him by the ankles so that he walks with his hands on the floor. Do three sets of 10-15 steps.
• Lie on your stomach, arch your back, grab your ankles with your hands, and stretch as high as you can.
• Lying on your stomach, swing your straight arms and legs in the air, imitating the movements of swimming.
• From a standing position, alternately pull your left and right knees to your chest, holding this pose for 3-5 seconds.
• Feet shoulder-width apart, arch your back well, clasp your hands. Bend to your left leg, touching your toes, to your right leg and to the middle.

All exercises should be performed in 2-3 sets of 3-5 repetitions. It is recommended to do a set of 3-4 exercises described above daily, gradually increasing their number and making the training more varied. Gymnastics should be done together with the child so that he sees the correct execution of the exercises and feels your support.

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The changes occurring in the body

Regularly performing back strengthening exercises for children allows you to restore the normal state of the muscular system. Changes that occur in the body during therapeutic and preventive gymnastics have a beneficial effect on the growth and development of all systems. Lack of training can lead to a disruption of functional activity and uneven development of the muscular corset.

Correctly selected exercises allow you to correct the most common pathologies of muscle tone in children:

• Hypertonicity – increased tone is manifested by strong tension and stiffness. Even in sleep, the child cannot fully relax: the legs are bent at the knees and pulled up to the stomach, the arms are crossed on the chest. At the same time, due to the strong tone of the occipital muscles, the baby holds his head well.
• Hypotonia - with decreased tone, the child is lethargic and rarely moves his limbs, cannot hold his head for a long time. Sometimes the arms and legs are strongly unbent at the knee and elbow joints. The baby looks limp.
• Asymmetry of muscle tone – the muscles on one half of the body are more developed than on the other. The pelvis and head are turned towards the tense muscles, and the torso towards the other.
• Dystonia - uneven tone is a combination of hyper- and hypotonia. That is, some muscles are too tense, while others are relaxed.

Training has a beneficial effect not only on the physical, but also on the emotional state of children.

Complications

Painful sensations in the back and tension in the muscles of the spine may indicate various pathological processes in the body. Complications in the form of pain and discomfort very often act as a sign of improper development of the muscular system. The lack of special exercises and increased loads lead to serious disorders not only of the muscles, but also of the skeleton.

Incorrect performance of exercises for muscle development is also dangerous. First of all, various injuries. Complications most often cause painful sensations in the lower back. Due to overexertion, sprains appear. Discomfort extends to the shoulder and neck area. In addition to increased muscle sensitivity, the child gets stress. To prevent this problem, before exercise therapy, you should consult a doctor and study the correct technique for performing the prescribed exercises.

Very often parents are faced with incorrect posture of the child. This disorder is related to the risk group for the development of orthopedic pathology of the spine and feet. A child with such a problem is more susceptible to diseases of the respiratory system, digestion, astheno-neurotic conditions. Incorrect posture leads to a decrease in the vital capacity of the lungs and complicates the work of the cardiovascular system. Because of this, frequent headaches and rapid fatigue appear.

To correct posture defects and strengthen the back in children, it is necessary to follow these recommendations:

• Daily routine and compliance with hygiene conditions.
• A proper diet that includes meat, vegetable and cereal dishes. Particularly useful are products that contain magnesium, iron, vitamin B and C, glucose, lecithin.
• A therapeutic exercise complex for strengthening the back, preventing scoliosis and other pathologies.
• The correct choice of footwear will prevent functional shortening of the limb and flat feet.
• Sleeping on a hard mattress in a position lying on your stomach or back.
• Control over uniform and correct load on the spine. This is especially important for children who wear a backpack and sit for a long time.
• Regular physical activity: walks in the fresh air, swimming, various physical exercises.

Exercises to strengthen the back for children should be done at any age, starting from the first months of the baby's life. This helps prevent various disorders in the development of the muscular and skeletal system. Strengthens the spine and the body as a whole. In addition, regular physical activity gives a boost of energy and improves the emotional state.

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