W sitting and bike riding
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Anonymous
| For those whose kids W sit, do you notice your child has any difficulty with pedaling a bike? My DS W sits and seems to have a particularly hard time pedaling a bike (but can balance on a balance bike) and I’m wondering if they’re related. Like maybe it’s an alignment issue? Has anyone experienced anything similar? |
Anonymous
| W sitting is often, but not always, associated with low tone and poor balance, both of which can make riding a bike harder. |
Anonymous
It is virtually always associated with poor core strength and low tone. Please get your young children evaluated for OT if they cannot “break the habit” of W sitting |
Anonymous
OT and not PT? |
Anonymous
I am the one who said it's often but not always associated with low tone. I agree with the suggestion for an evaluation, and I'd start with OT, unless I was seeing other things. Core strength and stability is something that both OT's and PT's work on, but they come at it from different angles. For many young kids with mild issues with their core, the biggest problem that comes from poor core tone (something you can't work on directly) strength, and stability is fine motor, because it's hard to use your hands when you are using your brain energy to sit up. It's a major reason why kids who can sit criss cross applesauce at circle time, revert to W sitting during free play -- because their hands work better. An OT will look at all these issues. If the core issues were impacting other kinds of gross motor activities, like if they were struggling to alternate feet on stairs at an age when most kids can do so, or if they were having trouble with postural stability when sitting on a chair, or if they're 8 or older and still can't pedal a bike with training wheels, then I would suggest going ahead with both OT and PT, but for what OP seems to describe I would start with OT. |
Anonymous
| 2nd vote for OT. |
Anonymous
| 3rd for OT |
Anonymous
| Any recs for OT? |
Anonymous
What area are you in and how old is your kid? |
Anonymous
|
DD was a frequent W sitter. We started PT when she was 3.5 she could ride a bike with train g wheels but had a hard time with the balance bike. After a yearish “graduated” from PT. She is able to ride a 2 wheel bike now, she learned at the start of the year after she turned 5.
She also has hypermobilty issues as well. We thought she had EDS (Elhers Danlos syndrome). |
Anonymous
| My 3 kids all had hypotonia diagnosed between 2 and 4. The OT said W sitting was a symptom of it. OT was a game changer for my kids. |
Anonymous
| I am an adult who still W sits. I did not ride a bike until middle school. Other posters are correct. This is caused by low tone. PT and exercise help, but it is an inherent trait that cannot be fixed, only managed. It is frequently a comorbid condition, ADHD in my case, so a full neuropsych may eventually be necessary. |
Anonymous
Check the special needs boards. There are lots of recs and discussions of OT on there. |
Anonymous
|
My kids both did W sitting and were very early bikers. Totally anecdotal but that was our experience!
I also took my one kiddo to an ortho doctor and she said that W sitting is not quite as dramatic as the internet would have us believe. |