Gymnastics to strengthen back muscles for children 7 years old

Physical therapy for a child’s back muscles

Scoliosis is a very common orthopedic disease, affecting about 10-15% of children and adolescents. It is a persistent deformation of the spinal column with a displacement of the vertebrae to the side.

According to statistics, girls have this pathology twice as often as boys, since their connective tissue is weaker. To treat spinal curvature in childhood and adolescence, exercise therapy is used to strengthen the back muscles.

Features of the procedure

Gymnastics with a baby at the age of five months is aimed primarily at strengthening the musculoskeletal system and strengthening the back muscles. Very soon the baby will be sitting and crawling, so the back muscles must be strong. The duration of massage and gymnastics takes from 15 to 30 minutes; the baby’s mood plays a significant role here. The mood he is in is one of the main criteria during the procedure. Monitor your baby's reaction during various movements; if you see a negative reaction, stop the exercise.

Smiling and communicating with the child are also required. Gymnastic exercises for a five-month-old baby are more intense than gymnastics for a 4.5-month-old baby. During this period, the baby already perfectly perceives songs for children, so background music will add a playful atmosphere. It is also recommended to count loudly during massage or gymnastics, this will help develop rhythm.

The massage should begin with the face, then move on to the arms, chest, legs and back. The best time to study is lunch or evening, but not just before bed, otherwise the process of falling asleep will be delayed.

Types of scoliosis in children

There are several classifications of scoliosis.

According to the time of its occurrence:

In early childhood up to 3 years.
In the juvenile period from 3 to 10 years.
Youth - from 10 to 20 years.

According to the shape of the curvature:

C-shaped, when there is a curvature of the spine along only one arc.
S-shaped - there are two arcs of curvature.
Z-shaped - three arcs of curvature.

Due to the occurrence:

According to the level of damage to the spine:

Upper thoracic with damage to the first three to four thoracic vertebrae.
Thoracic - from the fourth to the ninth thoracic vertebrae.
Thoracolumbar - from the tenth to the 12th vertebra.
Lumbar affects the first to fourth lumbar vertebrae.
Lumbosacral - from the fifth lumbar vertebra to the first sacral.
Combined - several areas of the spine are affected.

There are such degrees of scoliosis in children:

1st degree – minor displacement of the vertebrae; the curvature angle is no more than 10 degrees.
2nd degree – the angle of curvature of the spine is from 10 to 25 degrees, moderately pronounced displacement on the x-ray with the appearance of vertebral deformity.
With grade 3, there is a pronounced displacement of the vertebrae relative to each other, the angle of curvature reaches 50 degrees, and changes in the spine become fixed.
Grade 4 scoliosis is characterized by a pronounced deformation of the spine and chest, the angle of curvature exceeds 50 degrees, resulting in displacement and compression of internal organs.

Causes of spinal curvature

Among the causes are congenital disorders of pathology formation due to improper intrauterine development of the child’s skeleton, cerebral palsy, various genetic diseases with connective tissue weakness. And:

Injuries during childbirth.
Low physical activity.
Poor nutrition.
Increased load on the spine.

How to determine if a child has scoliosis

The surest early method of diagnosis is routine preventive radiography, which will help to identify the disease at the first stage and begin timely treatment.

Starting from the 2nd degree, parents themselves can identify deviations in the child’s posture by such signs as stooping, drooping of the head, contracted shoulders, and their uneven height.

There is also another important test for home determination of scoliosis and monitoring the effectiveness of treatment using exercise therapy.

It goes like this:

The test is carried out on the floor near a flat wall so that the result is not distorted.
The child stands straight with his back to the wall. The arms are freely lowered down. And he touches her with his heels (heels together, toes slightly apart), calves (their middle part), buttocks, shoulder blades and the back of his head.
If there is no scoliosis, then all points will be on the same straight line.

Complexes of classes by age

If there are no contraindications, then gymnastics for the youngest (up to 6 months) is carried out for 10-20 minutes. If the baby is 6-12 months old, then you need to devote half an hour to classes. The duration of the training for children from 1 to 3 years is from 30 to 40 minutes.

Before physical activity, the baby needs a massage. A specialist will show you how to do it correctly to warm up your baby’s muscles.

Gymnastics from 6 to 12 months is carried out on a fitball. From 1 to 3 years old, a child can perform special exercises to strengthen the back muscles and prevent spinal curvature. Before class, you need to warm up and stretch your muscles after it. This is necessary to avoid injuries and reduce pain after physical activity.

Starting from 4 years old, the number of repetitions and approaches increases. Physical therapy is carried out three times a week, gradually moving to daily exercises. It is recommended to perform exercises an hour before or after meals.

Carefully! If acute pain occurs during exercise, you need to stop and consult a doctor.

Up to 3 years

To strengthen the muscles of the back, sides, and abs of a six-month-old baby, you need to put him on his back on a ball, roll him forward, and then back.

Then the baby is turned over on his tummy and the steps are repeated. You need to move smoothly, with a small amplitude, constantly supporting the newborn.

To strengthen the muscles, a child from 8 months old is placed on a ball and rotated, then placed first on the right and then on the left side, holding him by the limbs, again performing circular movements with the fitball.

Important! Do not perform gymnastics after the baby has eaten. Wait 2-3 hours.

These exercises strengthen different muscle groups and have a good effect on the physical development of the baby.

Exercises to strengthen the back for children 1-3 years old:

Running, jumping, dancing, etc. will help warm up your muscles. Turn on some music to make it more fun for your young athlete.
Stand up straight, smoothly lower your body, while simultaneously stretching your leg back and your arms forward. Make sure that the child has a straight back, his legs do not bend, and his eyes look forward. Then change the supporting limb.
Lie on your stomach, pull your arms back, and at the same time raise your legs to meet them, trying to connect the limbs. Grab your ankles with your hands, and then stretch up, lifting your chest and knees off the floor.
Roll over onto your back, bend your knees, clasp your lower limbs with your hands, pressing them to your stomach. Then pump back and forth.
Stay in the same position, lean on the floor with your arms outstretched, and move your legs as if you were pedaling a bicycle.
The child turns over on his stomach, one of the parents takes his legs, and the baby walks on his hands.
Stand on all fours, first arch your back up, lowering your head, and then arch it down, pulling your chin up.

While performing the complex, parents should be with the baby in order to correct the exercise technique together. After several trainings, he will remember the sequence of actions.

For preschoolers

Strong spinal muscles form correct posture and contribute to the correct functionality of internal organs. To avoid curvature of the spinal column at 4-6 years old, you need to do the following exercises:

Stand with your feet at shoulder level, bend your torso forward parallel to the floor, arms extended to the sides. Alternately touch your right or left limb to the toes of the opposite foot.
Do not change your position; clasp your hands above your head. Move your body and arms back a little, and then lower it so that your upper limbs are between your knees.
Stay in the same position, place your hands on the back of your head, rotate your waist to the right and then to the left. Make sure your child doesn't move his hips. Then you can tilt your body forward and backward.
Stand straight, put a book on the top of your head and try to walk with it so that it doesn’t fall. Make sure that the athlete’s head, shoulders, and back are straight, and his hands are on his belt.

These exercises are quite enough for a preschooler to strengthen muscles and improve posture. The main thing is to do the exercises every day.

At 7-14 years old

The following exercises will help improve posture and strengthen the back muscles for children aged 7 years and older:

Stand up straight, take a deep breath, rise on your toes, stretch your arms as high as possible.
Tilt your head in different directions. Then rotate your head left and right.
Raise your shoulders one at a time, then both shoulders. Then swing your arms up and rotate them. Pretend that you are swimming breaststroke or crawl.
Tilt your torso in different directions. Then walk, raising your knees high so that they are at chest level.
Jump in place, and then with a 180° turn.
Bring your hands together, stretch them forward, and then lower them, trying to touch the floor.
Stand with your feet wider than shoulder height and squat. Make sure that the child does not round his back or lift his heels.
Hold the ball between your legs and then slowly squat down. Shoulders and back should be straight.
Lie on your stomach, spread your arms, and squeeze your legs. Then lift your chest off the floor and wave your arms as if you were a bird.
Get on all fours, turn to the right, as if trying to see something, and then to the left. Parents should ensure that the back is straight while turning.
Lie on your stomach again, with one arm pressed to your body and the other at eye level. Look in different directions, and then change limbs.
Do not change position, arms in front, legs pressed together. Raise your arms sharply, as if a fish is jumping out of the water, then lower and raise your legs.

To strengthen your back, you can use elements of gymnastics that were described in the complex for children from 1 year old. All of them effectively develop muscles and correct posture.

Treatment of spinal curvature

To correct scoliosis in children, a set of measures is used:

exercise therapy;
back massage;
a balanced diet with a high content of calcium and phosphorus to strengthen bone tissue;
swimming;
use of an orthopedic mattress and pillow for sleeping, a properly selected desk and chair according to the child’s height;
if necessary, wearing an orthopedic corset;
for scoliosis of 3rd and 4th degrees - surgical intervention.

On the subject: How to train the latissimus dorsi muscle
What are the benefits of exercise therapy for a child’s back muscles:

Inhibits further progression of the disease.
Strengthens the muscles located around the spine, thereby relieving excess stress from it.
Corrects existing deformities of the spinal column and gives it a physiological position.
With regular exercise therapy at least 4-5 times a week, you can get rid of scoliosis within six months with a 90-97% probability.

Why do gymnastics?

Gymnastics, as already mentioned, will help your baby more actively learn new motor skills, prepare his muscle and bone tissue for ever-increasing loads, for standing, and for his first independent steps. Gymnastics develops speech, imagination, and partially satisfies the child’s needs for emotional and tactile contact with his mother.

Children who regularly do exercises improve blood circulation, improve coordination of movements and the vestibular system. Such children get sick less often, sleep better and, as a rule, do not experience problems with appetite.

An approximate set of exercise therapy exercises to strengthen the back muscles in children

Before starting classes, you need to make sure that the child has no contraindications for this type of treatment. These include any disease in acute form and during exacerbation, oncology, frequent nosebleeds and hemophilia, heart defects, heart rhythm disturbances, poor health of the child.

Classes should preferably be conducted in the first half of the day, in a well-ventilated area and in clothes that do not restrict movement.

Any lesson should begin with a warm-up, which consists of exercises to stretch the muscles and work out large joints. At the end of the complex there are exercises to stretch the already worked muscles.
Walking on toes and heels, on the sides of the feet, with high knees. Bringing your shoulder blades together. Locking your hands behind your back.
Raising your arms up while placing them on your toes. You need to stretch your arms up, as if trying to reach the ceiling.
Exercises with a gymnastic stick (bodybar). It must be held with outstretched arms below, standing straight with a straight back. As you inhale, lift the stick and bend down with your back straight until it is parallel to the floor so that your outstretched arms with the bodybar are a direct extension of your back. Stay in this position for several counts. As you exhale, straighten up and lower the stick.
Stand up straight. Raise the bodybar while inhaling with straight arms above your head. While exhaling, bend your elbows and bring the gymnastic apparatus behind your head to shoulder level. Stay in this position for several counts. As you exhale, lower the stick down over your head.
Exercise "swallow".
Exercise "bicycle".
Exercise "box". The child, lying on his stomach, tries to touch his nose with his socks.
Exercise "cat".

Exercises with a gymnastic roller are useful.

How to strengthen a child's back at 9-10 months?

Usually, a weak back at this age is indicated by the fact that the child sits with a round back or cannot sit for a long time, but there are also those who still cannot sit down at all. Among the strengthening exercises for the back at 9-10 months and older, I recommend using squats. Why squats? When a child rises from a squatting position, in addition to strengthening the legs, the iliopsoas muscle is strengthened; it is located in the pelvis. This muscle is attached to the lumbar vertebrae and is a very large postural muscle that maintains physiological lumbar lordosis. In addition, when doing squats, the child must keep his back straight, and this is an additional isometric load for the back muscles. Of course, you need to make sure that the child squats with a straight back. This is the main thing that can be added to the exercises described above to strengthen the back of a child aged 9-10 months and older.

For children after one year of age, back strengthening can be done through gymnastics. The older the child, the more difficult the exercises can be. Massage alone cannot strengthen children's backs; massage is used as a method of warming up the muscles, and is done intensively. Corsets also do not strengthen the back; on the contrary, the back does not work in a corset; it is used to accustom the ligamentous apparatus to a certain position, and strengthening is only through gymnastics.

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Prevention of spinal curvature

In order to prevent the development of scoliosis, you need to be attentive to the child. It is necessary to provide him with conditions for high physical activity, provide him with a balanced diet, and equip him with a bed and a training place according to his height. Do not neglect an annual preventive examination at the pediatrician's clinic.

Scoliosis is quite easily treated with physical therapy and other restoratives. The most important thing in its treatment is timely identification and seeking help from a specialized specialist.

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Exercises to strengthen back muscles for children

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

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

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

During exercises the following muscles are involved:

Trapezoid – starts from the back of the head, located in the upper back, responsible for tilting the head and shifting the shoulder blades.
Latissimus - located in the lower back, covers the side 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 his 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 muscles, it is necessary to carry out the following test: place the baby on his stomach, holding him with his hands at the waist, and lift him up a little. If the back muscles are developed normally, then the child hangs on the canopy, taking the “swallow” pose. If the baby does not support his body and does not strain his back muscles, then special classes 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, it is necessary to carry out the following exercise: have the child stand up straight and stretch out his arms. Observe how long the baby can stand in this position. If he stands for more than 30 seconds, then the posture is correct and the muscle corset is developed normally. If less than 30 seconds, then the posture is weakened and requires correction.

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

On topic: Yoga for back problems

Exercises for a child 6-9 months old.

To begin, prepare the child, pick him up, turn him with his back to you, hold him with your hands in the legs and pelvis. Together with your baby, lean forward slowly and return to the starting position. This will teach the child to keep his back up. Repeat the exercises 5-7 times.
Take a gymnastic ball and place your child on it, back up. Hold your baby by your armpits and rock him back and forth on the ball. The child should arch his back in the shape of a boat, staying in this position for 3-5 seconds. Perform 5-8 times.
If the baby copes well with the previous exercise, then it can be complicated. Hold him by the hips and roll the ball away from you - towards you. Hold each position for a couple of seconds so that your baby arches his back.

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

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

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

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

Physical development of a 6 month old baby

Even at the age of 6 months, the baby has its own character and preferences. Some children lie down a lot and are in no hurry to move around the room on their own. Others are already crawling a little, pulling their body with their hands to the objects of interest. By this age, very few people are able to sit well, without leaning back or to the side.

What is the purpose of exercise for a 6 month old baby? At this age, the greatest importance is strengthening the muscles of the arms and back, improving coordination of movements, and orientation in space. Usually kids exercise with pleasure. Firstly, this is additional physical contact with parents, attention from them, and secondly, the opportunity to feel your body, its strength and dexterity.

Indications

There are specific indications for back strengthening exercises in children. It is necessary to undergo an examination and consult with 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:

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

A set of exercises is selected taking into account the child’s health condition and the degree of muscle development. Activities should cause slight fatigue, but you should ensure that the baby does everything with pleasure and understands their significance. Training should begin with 15-20 minutes 3 times a day and gradually increase to 40 minutes daily.

[6], [7], [8], [9]

Recommendations

In good weather conditions, it is better to conduct gymnastics for a 5-month-old child without clothes, and in the summer in the fresh air. Gymnastics must begin with a comprehensive massage. This is necessary in order to “warm up” the baby’s muscles for further exercise. The most favorable time for classes is before lunch. Gymnastics has a stimulating effect on the baby’s body, which can disrupt sleep if done in the afternoon. If the child is capricious, then the lesson should be stopped.

Contraindications

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

Contraindications relate to heart rhythm disturbances and respiratory failure. Exercises are not performed for malignant diseases, acute forms of rickets or tuberculosis, active forms of hepatitis, inflammatory lesions of joints, bones and soft tissues. Training should be canceled until the baby has fully recovered.

It must be taken into account that preschoolers are very active and get tired quickly. Children 6-7 years old have a high blood circulation rate, higher than that of adults, so they are characterized by irregular heart rhythms. For children over 10 years of age, 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, shorter but more challenging classes are needed. At the same time, exercises to strengthen the back and beautiful posture are needed at any age, and especially when there are already certain defects.

[10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15]

How to strengthen a child's back at 7-8 months?

At 7-8 months, children usually sit up on their own and the issue of a strong back is very important for this age. But it happens, and quite often, that a child is just beginning to make some attempts to support his back at this age. With the right approach, strengthening your back in 7-8 months will go faster than 2 months earlier. Of the exercises to strengthen the back of a 7-8 month old child, you can use the ones described above and add:

1. You can use the exercises described above.

2. Sitting the child down for a short period of time, supporting him by the hand, balancing while sitting.

3. If, when bending forward, the baby cannot yet lift himself up on his own, then at the moment of tilting there should be at least resistance to tilting. It is this back resistance, or you can call it an attempt to stay upright, that will be the most useful “point” from which you can build on and move forward in strengthening the baby’s back. In this case, we simply repeat the tilts, and this resistance will very soon become much stronger and then the child will be able to lift himself from the tilt position.

Duration

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

Babies under 6 months are recommended to exercise for 10-20 minutes a day.
For children from 6 to 12 months, 30 minutes should be allocated for gymnastics.
In children from 1 to 3 years old, 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.

conclusions

Gymnastics and massage for a 5-month-old child are necessary for normal development. Do not be lazy to carry out this procedure every day. Just 30 minutes a day is enough for normal development in accordance with age, as well as for good health. And classes with a baby at this age are, first of all, invaluable communication between parents and their child. They mean the whole world to him, so tactile contact and emotional connection with his mom and dad are very important. The child should feel love and care.

Everyone has heard about the benefits of physical exercise. But if at an older age the frequency of classes and the amount of load are adjusted independently, then performing gymnastics for a 6-month-old child requires compliance with certain rules. What activities are useful for six-month-old babies, how to make training not only useful, but also exciting, let’s ask pediatricians.

Frequency

Therapeutic and strengthening exercises for the back must be carried out at regular intervals. The frequency of training at first should be 3 times a week and gradually increase to daily training.

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

Charging game

If a child resists doing difficult exercises, you can resort to a little trick. Surely he will like the following game:

Gradually it will be possible to move on to performing gymnastic exercises. The baby will get used to physical activity, and the activities themselves will now be associated with something pleasant and entertaining.

For the normal development of a child, it is enough to provide him with freedom of movement. Spending a long time in a playpen, high chair, or walker inhibits the strengthening of the musculoskeletal system. It is also not recommended to sit the baby down and cover it with pillows - this will take him longer to master the skill of sitting independently. In addition, this threatens health problems if the baby is not yet physically ready to sit.

Gymnastics for a child after 6 months is a way to explore the outside world in a new way. If the baby is inquisitive and restless by nature, then the first successes will not take long to arrive. After just a few lessons, he will be more confident in sitting and crawling, and perhaps even learn to stand against a support. Calm children will have to be more interested, encouraged to act with toys, and maintain constant emotional contact. The main thing is to feel the child and not overload. Short gymnastics, but positive, is better than long exercises with exhausting crying. And finally, even for minimal benefit you need systematicity. Activities with your child should become a habit and be done, if not daily, then at least 3-4 times a week.

Description of the exercise

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

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

Let's look at the most effective exercises for strengthening the back in children, which can be performed at home:

The body is straight, arms are raised up. Stretch up and slowly lean forward, touching your toes and arching your lower back well.
Lie on your back on the floor, knees bent. Bend your body without lifting your feet off the floor. Abdominal exercises are beneficial for both the lower back and abdominal muscles.
Hands on your belt, 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 raise your legs and arms extended forward at the same time. Stay in this position 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 towards your chin, rounding your back. Gently roll from a sitting position to your back and back.
Lie on your back with your hands under your head or back. Raise your legs and perform the movements as if riding a bicycle, that is, pedal in the air.
Lying on your back, on a flat surface, raise your legs and keep them vertical, making crossing movements.
Lie on your back, legs bent at the knees, feet flat on the floor, arms along your body. Lift your pelvis off the floor and arch. Try to raise your pelvis as high as possible, holding this position for 3-5 seconds.
The child kneels on the floor, resting his palms on the floor. Grab him by the ankles of his feet so that he walks with his hands on the floor. Do three sets of 10-15 steps.
Lie on your stomach, arch your back, holding your ankles with your hands, and stretch as high as possible.
Lying on your stomach, swing your arms and legs straight in the air, imitating swimming movements.
Alternately, from a standing position, pull your left and right knee to your chest, holding for 3-5 seconds in this position.
Feet shoulder-width apart, bend your back well, arms clasped. Bend towards your left leg, touching your toes, towards your right and in the middle.

On topic: Back stretch ring

All exercises must be performed in 2-3 sets of 3-5 repetitions. Every day it is recommended to do a set of 3-4 of the above-described exercises, gradually increasing their number and making the training more varied. You should do gymnastics together with your child, so that he can see the correct execution of the exercises and feel your support.

[16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22]

What to consider?

Gymnastics for a baby should not be burdensome, and physical activity should not be excessive. Therefore, when planning a set of exercises, you must take into account the character traits, health status of your baby, and the degree of his readiness to master a particular motor skill.

At 7 months, if your son or daughter is not yet sitting, you can add exercises to strengthen the back, abdomen, arms and neck. If the child stands confidently on all fours, you can add exercises that will stimulate crawling.

At 10 months, you can move on to exercises to strengthen the legs, because soon the baby will have to take his first steps, and some children are already trying to take them. Be sure to take into account the toddler’s existing skills in order to build a new set of activities on their basis.

It is clear that exercises such as “Bicycle” and “Frog”, which delighted your child at 3-4 months, are now unlikely to be perceived with pleasure by him, since not every baby will agree to lie quietly in the second half of the year during the waking period.

Use the child’s desire to move, saturate the gymnastics program with active exercises that require the participation of the child himself in everything that happens.

Most children at 8-9 months are well familiar with their body, know where the arms are, where the legs are, they perfectly understand simple familiar phrases, and therefore gymnastics for the child should be made as clear and simple as possible.

Exercises for crawling, sitting, standing, walking should be accompanied by cheerful and good-natured comments from the mother, this will give the child a feeling of play, will interest him, and he will be happy to perform funny and useful techniques.

If a toddler has pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, neurological diseases, or other congenital or acquired ailments, it is important to add new exercises with the permission of a physical therapy specialist or attending physician, since such children need a very specific load on specific muscle groups, depending on the diagnosis.

Changes occurring in the body

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

Properly selected exercises can correct the most common pathologies of muscle tone in children:

Hypertonicity – increased tone is manifested by strong tension and tightness. Even in sleep, the child cannot completely 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 low tone, the child is lethargic and rarely moves his limbs, and cannot hold his head up for long. Sometimes the arms and legs are strongly extended at the knee and elbow joints. The baby looks limp.
Asymmetry of muscle tone - the muscles of one half of the body are more developed than the other. The pelvis and head are turned in the direction of the tense muscles, and the torso in the other.
Dystonia is an uneven tone that is a combination of hyper- and hypotonicity. 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.

Features of age physiology

Smiling and expressing emotions is exactly what a child has already mastered at the age of five months. In addition, the baby already holds his head, lies on his stomach, and also grabs objects of interest due to awareness of movements. Sitting in one place and doing nothing is no longer for him.

Gymnastics for a 5-month-old child should take into account all the physiological characteristics of this age. During this period, the baby is already pronouncing some individual syllables and sounds, his attention and thinking are improving. Wakefulness becomes prolonged, and the baby now sleeps no more than 15-16 hours. The remaining time he needs communication: verbal, tactile and emotional.