Leg, Feet and Balance Issues

[CW1992]

Susie, Britt also had the 'W' way of sitting - low stomach muscle tone is what they told me. They said that when she sat in a wedge it forced her stomach forward and the compensation would strengthen the wrong muscles. She also had torticolis as a baby. To me it is odd that your little guy walks on the back of his feet though - and the stiffness - might not be about his injury but something completely different. My nephew - no injury - is also having some issues about walking and going to PT now. It could be from the fractured clavicle - wish I could be more helpful. I agree that you need to find a great PT. Britt used to always complain of leg pains when she was younger - I'd tell her she was having a growing spurt - but it always concerned me because I wasn't sure if it was BPI related or not.
Christy

[admin]

DD also favors W sitting. We are also told that she has low stomach tone and are using a new wrap during PT to help keep her stomach muscles aligned. I remember being concerned about the way she was walking early on but it seemed to resolve itself.

[admin]

My daughter is 15 months w/bpi in her left arm. Can you please explain to me what w sit is?

[CW1992]

A "W" sit is when your child sits on the floor, bending their knees - like to watch tv or play, but their feet go out sideways behind them with their knees bent - making a wedge type look. It is supposed to be very bad for their backs because it forces them to compensate and arch their backs to play - and all in all is not good for the back. We were told that it's best to try to keep your child's legs in front of them while they sit - either criss/cross or straight out. (I hope I am making sence). My daughter w/o an injury also sits in a "w" - I think it must be a comfortable position for kid's - but is supposed to not be too good for your back.
Christy

[TNT1999]

Another alternative is to side sit, which is either good strengthening for the BP arm, if they lean on that arm (and if they have enough strength to even sit like that; if not, it would have to be done with support by someone else and only for short periods). If they lean on the non-injured arm, then it would encourage them to use the other arm for playing, etc. I'm not sure if you know what a side sit is, so I'll try to explain. Sit on your bottom and bend your legs, but instead of bending each one out to the side (the W-sit), put them both to one side so that one leg partly sets on the other leg. A PT can work with your child to show you different ways of sitting. Another position that's good is to lie on the stomach (using a Boppy type pillow for support if necessary).

A former PT of Nicole's told us that W-sitting can lead to hip problems later. She also told us of a 20 (?)-yr old she knew who had to walk with a brace due to W-sitting. I know this is only one case and the info. is at least second hand, but it made me keep a close eye on it.

~Tina

[TNT1999]

A couple links I just found:

http://www.pediatricservices.com/parents/pc-22.htm


This one has pictures of W-sitting and side-sitting. It also has some PT ideas, etc., but of course, one should check with a dr/PT before doing some of these exercises.
http://www.learninglinks.org.au/Publica ... LIS_25.pdf


Francine's splint page shows a picture of a cute little girl -- someone I know well :O) W-sitting. It is the picture where she's wearing a blue Benik thumb splint and holding a duck (velcroed to the splint) on her left hand. A coupl pics above that, she's attempting a side-sit while wearing a purple Pedi-wrap to help stabilize her arm.
http://www.injurednewborn.com/maia/splints.html


~Tina

[CW1992]

What a little cutie! Yep - her and the duck are doing the "W' sit. I remember one day at therapy - while the therapist was explaining something - myself, Britt, and her little sister were all sitting on the floor in a row - all of us doing the "W" sit and our therapist yelled at all three of us! It's funny now..........embarrassing at the time though. I'd never been told about the side sitting option but I guess we've sort of been doing it to avoid the W - just never thought about it.... the side sitting sure makes sense and it's always good to hear more info.
Thanks,
Christy

[Susie]

Thank you all so very much for all of your responses!!! It is nice to know that we are not the only ones having these issues. One of you mentioned a stomach wrap...what is that and how does it work? I am thinking that most of our problems are from the 'W' sit although we have just been told that my son has short heal cords...anyone experience this? I am still stumped about the high tone to; most of the bpi babies have low tone, right?

[katep]

wow, I've always "w" sat and I've never had any problems with my back. Shoulders, yes (bad scoliosis) but never my back. I've also always had very good posture... I don't see how the "w" sitting does anything but make me sit up straight??

puzzled Kate

[CW1992]

Hey puzzled Kate! I'm not sure - I sit like that too - but you don't want to do it around a therapist! They will tell you to sit in a different way! There must be lots of research out there to back what they are saying though - so we try not to sit like that even though it is a comfy position. I hope they don't tell us Reese's peanut butter cups are also bad on the back - that would not go over well in our family!!!
Christy