Therapeutic gymnastics for children. Physical therapy: exercises for children

The success of treating many diseases depends on various factors. And that's enough important role plays integrated approach, including the use of physical therapy techniques.

Therapeutic exercise(or as it is more often called exercise therapy) is often underestimated by parents and even some doctors, but in fact it can play one of the leading roles in the treatment of patients of different sexes and ages. In particular, competent physical activity helps children:

• Which are often bothered by acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections.
• With an asthenic figure.
• Overweight.
• With ailments of the musculoskeletal system, such as flat feet, scoliosis, hip dysplasia, and postural disorders.
• Those who lead a sedentary lifestyle.
• Those who have been diagnosed with hyperactivity and other neurological disorders (behavioral pathologies, neuroses, etc.).

Exercise therapy exercises for children are not just a set of different loads - it is a whole system that is carefully developed and offered for implementation in specially equipped rooms under the supervision of an instructor. It is possible to conduct complex classes at home.

Goals

Therapeutic physical education in childhood can become the most important part of the formation physical health child. In particular, the following have a positive effect on immunity:

• All kinds aerobic exercise represented by gymnastics, running, walking, aerobics.
• Breathing exercises.

There is evidence that exercise therapy can produce a more noticeable and lasting effect than a balanced and varied diet.

Many children are characterized by frequent occurrence of respiratory diseases, which lead to:

• Gas exchange disorders.
• Not enough meaningful activity cardiovascular system.
• Changes in metabolic processes.
• Reduced protective and adaptive abilities.

As a rule, when a baby is sick, he physical activity naturally decreases. Even parents try to insist on limiting movements, including when the child’s well-being is not too disturbed. However, performing physical therapy often helps speed up recovery:

• Improve the activity of the organs of the bronchopulmonary system, as well as the respiratory muscles.
• Make breathing deeper, add rhythm to it.
• Strengthen all breathing muscles.
• Activate or improve the drainage functions of the bronchi, restore their patency, and reduce the severity of inflammatory processes.
• Increase gas exchange activity and increase the flow of oxygen into the blood.
• Activate the synthesis of biologically active elements that can increase the body’s resistance to aggressive pathogens.
• Prevent all kinds of complications, the development of chronic ailments, etc.
• Activate the work of the adrenal glands, in particular, their synthesis of anti-inflammatory hormones, which, in turn, helps reduce sensitivity to all kinds of allergens.

Competent physical activity in case of illnesses in children, they help speed up the recovery process and make it possible to prevent relapses of the disease. You can engage in exercise therapy only after stabilization of temperature indicators and improvement general condition baby.

Exercise therapy and pulmonary diseases

Physical activity for bronchopulmonary diseases in children should be moderate with gradually increasing intensity. It is best to start doing exercises after consulting a doctor and receiving his approval. Exercise therapy classes should be comprehensive and include:

• Breathing exercises.
• Static exercises.
• Dynamic load.
• General strengthening exercises.

In particular, for children early age I like to engage in playful activities. Doctors usually advise starting exercise with simple breathing exercises, for example, you can ask your baby:

• Blow into a tube or whistle.
• Inflate balloons(of varying degrees of density).
• Blowing soap bubbles.
• Blow on a boat that floats in a bowl.

After breathing exercises, you should finish the session with a series of massaging claps. chest- front and back.

Exercise therapy complex

Each exercise must be repeated several times. During the first classes, there is no point in performing all the proposed load options; you can limit yourself to a few simple ones, and then supplement the complex with more and more exercises:

• The lesson begins with the child walking in place, raising his legs high and bent at the knees. At the same time, the arms make movements characteristic of walking, being bent at the elbows.
• The child bends his back, simultaneously putting his leg back and throwing his straight arms behind his head. Stretches and returns to starting position, and then repeats the exercise with the other leg.
• The child, standing, leans his body to the right and then to the left. At the same time, the arms are pressed to the sides, when tilted to the right, the straight right arm goes down, and the left one, bent at the elbow, goes up. When tilting to the left, it’s the opposite.
• The child picks up an ordinary light hoop and places it behind his back. After commits top part body turns in different directions.
• The child lifts a light hoop over his head, then lowers it onto his shoulders, while simultaneously moving one leg back.
• To perform this exercise, the child sits on a chair, rests his straight back on the backrest and bends his legs at the knees alternately. You can rest your hands on the seat of the chair.
• From the same position, the child raises his arms (without bending the elbows) to the sides and up, then smoothly lowers them down.
• In the same position, the child picks up a stick, lifts it up and lowers it down onto his knees.
• Now you need to sit on a chair without a back and, taking a stick in your hands, place it behind your back. Next you need to make several bends forward and backward.
• Then, sitting on a chair, lean against the back with a straight back and lift your legs up one at a time, without bending them at the knee.
• In the same position, you need to stretch your arms to the sides and bend to the right and left.
• In the same position, put your hands on your belt and perform the same series of bends.
• Now the child should lie on his back and raise his legs slightly above the floor. You should perform a series of repetitions of the “bicycle” and “scissors” exercises.
• The child should move on all fours, keeping his back straight.
• After this, he needs to lie on his stomach and stretch well, bending back. At the same time, your arms and head should lift off slightly from the floor, and your legs should remain on the surface.
• To complete the complex, you need to stand up straight and, with deep and measured breathing, raise your arms back, up and then lower them down in front of you.

Typically, each exercise should be repeated three to five times. There is no need to force a child to exercise; it is better to turn gymnastics into fun game and do it together.

Fun exercises

The complex can include a variety of game exercises for children:

• Crane. The child stands straight, while inhaling, sharply raises his straight arms upward (like wings), and as he exhales, lowers them down, making a drawn-out sound “oooh”.
• Bug. To perform this exercise, the child sits on the floor and places his hands on his belt. Then you need to turn your body to the right and move your right hand back, while inhaling. Exhaling, you need to return to the starting position and repeat the turn to the left, with the other hand.
• Flight. This exercise should be performed while running, the child should flap his arms like wings, actively breathing.

When performing exercises, doctors advise children to actively pronounce buzzing and hissing sounds. Thanks to this, breathing will become cleaner, and the remaining mucus will be removed from the bronchi.

About the rules

Therapeutic physical education is not one hundred percent harmless, so it is better to perform exercises by adhering to certain recommendations and rules:

• Before starting exercise, you should consult with your doctor. So, if the baby has certain pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, ordinary exercises may be strictly contraindicated for him.
• Children need to be loaded gradually; activities should not cause discomfort, much less pain.
• You should exercise at least forty-five minutes after a meal.
• Lethargy, weakness, moodiness, fever are categorical contraindications for exercise therapy.
• Classes should be carried out in a well-ventilated area.
• You cannot engage in exercise therapy if you have heart pathologies, cancer, a tendency to bleed, or other diseases. If a child has any health problems, the appropriateness and type of physical activity should be discussed with a doctor.

Exercise therapy can be practiced even with infants. But the first lessons are best done under the supervision of an experienced specialist.

The main and most important function of the body is movement. Medical physical culture(physical therapy) is exactly the set of exercises that will help not only normalize the activity of the musculoskeletal system, but also improve the functioning of internal organs. Exercise therapy started on time can replace long-term use medicines and surgical interventions.

Exercises are divided not only according to anatomical principles (for example, they can be aimed at improving the functioning of the muscles of the legs, arms, correcting posture, etc.), but also according to the degree of intensity. The range of possibilities of exercise therapy is huge: it includes applied sports exercises and therapeutic gymnastics different types, and breathing exercises. Independent selection of a set of activities can cause significant harm to the body, because it is the development by a specialist individual program And medical control are the main differences between exercise therapy and other types of physical education.

Indications for prescribing physical therapy

Exercise therapy is part of a comprehensive approach to treatment and prevention for existing problems with the following body systems:

• Musculoskeletal (physical therapy is also indicated for coxarthrosis, poor posture, osteochondrosis, scoliosis, etc.)
• Nervous
• Cardiovascular
• Respiratory
• Digestive

As one of the most important methods of rehabilitation or maintenance health exercise therapy also important for:

• Injuries
• Chest surgery
• During pregnancy

The effectiveness of exercise therapy

The effectiveness of physical therapy is no longer a secret to anyone. On the one hand, it is a good assistant in complex therapy, on the other – best way consolidate the results of already completed treatment. In addition, exercise therapy is prescribed to prevent the development possible complications, slowing down the development of a particular disease, as well as for the purpose of general strengthening of the body. The mechanics of exercise therapy are quite simple - a set of exercises improves blood circulation in muscles under stress and has a positive effect on growth muscle strength, helps restore or increase joint mobility. Breathing exercises, for its part, allow you to relieve muscle spasms. Exercise therapy works most effectively in conjunction with massage and physiotherapy.

Exercise therapy for diseases of the musculoskeletal system

One of the most common cases of prescribing exercise therapy is situations related to injuries and diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Unfortunately, processes of impaired lymph and blood circulation in injured tissues are inevitable, moreover, they can even lead to necrosis. Such degenerative (negative) changes can cause both persistent limitation of joint mobility (contracture) and complete immobility (ankylosis). In this case, it is exercise therapy that tones the central nervous system, improves blood flow to injured tissues, promotes their healing and restoration of muscle elasticity and strength.

The course of exercise therapy for this problem is divided into three periods:

• Immobilization (reduction of pathological reactions of the body associated with the resulting injury, strengthening the immune system, prevention of possible complications such as thromboembolism, osteoporosis, pneumonia, muscle atrophy, etc.)
• Post-immobilization period (virtually complete restoration of lost capabilities of the musculoskeletal system)
• Final recovery period (elimination of possible residual effects associated with the disease and consolidation of the result)

Exercise therapy for children is prescribed for the purpose of:

• Proper development and strengthening of the musculoskeletal system: muscles, joints and bones
• Prevention of scoliosis and flat feet and other orthopedic diseases
• Normalization of activities nervous system, combating tics and the consequences of injuries or prolonged immobility, restoring normal muscle tone
• Maintaining and restoring the normal functioning of the cardiovascular system, digestive tract, lungs
• As part of complex therapy of diseases of internal organs and skeleton
• Prevention of complications or relapses of diseases
• General strengthening of the body and immune system

Indications for physical therapy include diseases of a wide variety of profiles:

• Pathologies of the musculoskeletal system: congenital conditions, injuries, etc.
• Chronic diseases of the cardiovascular system
• Diseases of the endocrine system, metabolic disorders
• Violations respiratory system: frequent bronchitis, bronchial asthma; rehabilitation after pneumonia
• Diseases gastrointestinal tract
• Nervous disorders

Exercise therapy for the little ones

For infants in the first year of life, physical therapy is the foundation of future healthy life. At first, exercise sets consist mainly of passive and reflex movements, but as the baby develops, the specialist begins to add active components. It is useful to combine gymnastics for little ones with massage.

MEDSI doctors know that exercise therapy has the most beneficial effect on mental and physical condition children. Exercises stimulate blood circulation and the activity of the nervous system, tidy up muscle tone, normalize the baby’s sleep and mood.

Thanks to the general strengthening effect of physical therapy, the child’s body develops harmoniously. The risk of developmental delay is eliminated, the baby begins to sit up, walk and talk on time or even a little earlier than his peers.

If a child is diagnosed with rickets or has lost weight, physical therapy will prevent complications of the disease, help the skeletal system develop normally, improve appetite, and improve metabolism.

Exercise therapy for children makes them more active, positive, and resistant to diseases and stress.

Contraindications to the use of exercise therapy

• Fever and general serious condition
• Bleeding or hemorrhagic diathesis
• High or low blood pressure
• Acute disease of internal organs or exacerbation of a chronic disease
• Hyperesthesia (particularly with rickets)
• Extensive hernias
• Diseases that cause increased bone fragility

There are not many contraindications to the prescription of exercise therapy; basically, they are all associated with the initial (acute) stage of the disease, injury or exacerbation of chronic disease, and the presence of indications for surgical intervention. As time passes and after the cessation of acute pain and inflammatory processes, exercise therapy can be prescribed immediately.

Exercise therapy for children with postural disorders plays a very important role. With regular exercise, results become noticeable within a few months. In addition, therapeutic physical culture has a strengthening effect on the entire body.

Normal posture implies symmetry of the whole body and correct position of the spine. However, more and more often children suffer from correct posture. The reasons for this phenomenon are that modern children spend a lot of time in front of televisions, game consoles, computers and move very little.

This condition cannot be called an illness in in every sense this word. However, incorrect posture greatly increases the risk of developing various pathologies of the skeleton and more. Such a child is more likely to have diseases of the digestive tract, respiratory system, and a tendency to neuroses. This is due to the fact that the volume of the lungs decreases, all internal organs shift somewhat.

There are several types of this condition:

1. Kyphosis. A condition in which the physiological curves of the spine, directed outward, are increased, and those directed inward are smoothed.
2. Scoliosis. Asymmetrical posture, in which there is a displacement of the spinal column to one side. In this case, you can notice that the child’s shoulders are located asymmetrically (one higher than the other).
3. Flat back. With this pathology, all physiological curves of the spinal column are somewhat smoothed out.

Exercise therapy for poor posture is almost a panacea for such children. After all, a child’s body is just developing, it is malleable, and all shortcomings can be easily corrected. If this condition is neglected, then in adulthood a person cannot avoid serious problems with the spinal column.

In order to correctly correct your posture, it is important to choose correct exercises. This is best done by an orthopedist, who should definitely show the child. Indeed, in advanced cases, gymnastics alone will not do. The doctor may recommend wearing a special corset or other orthosis, or even surgical treatment.

If we talk directly about physical therapy exercises, then there are those that are suitable for everyone. These are usually general strengthening exercises, breathing exercises, exercises to develop coordination.

With kyphosis thoracic shown exercises to strengthen muscles shoulder girdle, while stretching the chest muscles.

The exercise therapy complex for a flat back is aimed at uniformly strengthening the muscles of the legs, shoulder girdle, and lumbar region.

For asymmetrical posture (scoliosis), exercises are aimed at increasing the mobility of the spine, stretching it, and improving coordination of movements. At the same time, it is important to maintain the symmetry of body parts, so it is better to exercise in front of a mirror.

Very important point is the frequency of sessions therapeutic exercises. They need to be done daily until complete recovery. If you perform the exercises 1-2 times a week, there will be no effect.

Exercise therapy complex for preschoolers:

1. Varied walking - on toes, with high knees - 30s.
2. Mahi. I.p. - o.s. Swing your arms up through the sides, rise on your toes - inhale, take an i.p. - exhale.
3. Swing with a gymnastic stick. I.p. - o.s., stick below. Raise the gymnastic stick up, reach for it - inhale, lower it down - exhale.
4. Swing your legs. I.p. - lying on your stomach. Raise your legs, while your torso should not come off the floor.
5. "Martin". I.p. - the same. lift top part the torso, while the pelvis does not come off the floor.
6. "Swimmer". I.p. - o.s. Half squat, bending your knees, move your arms back - inhale, take an i.p. - exhale. Make sure that the child's back is straight.
7. Alternately stand on one leg with your arms spread to the sides. Watch your posture.
8. Stand against the wall, with at least 2 points of contact between your back and the wall.

Exercise therapy complex for children school age:

1. Raise and lower your hands with the ball. Elbows should be spread out to the sides.
2. Lower the ball behind your head and lift it above your head. The back is straight.
3. Place your hands behind your back - one on top, the other on bottom. Lock them together.
4. Bend to the sides with your arms outstretched.
5. Lying on your back, arch your back lumbar region. The pelvis does not come off the floor.
6. Standing on your knees and palms, take turns bending and arching your back.
7. In the same position, simultaneously raise your right arm and leg, then your left.
8. Lying on your stomach, raise your shoulders and legs simultaneously. Hold this for a few seconds.
9. Simulate riding a bicycle while lying on your back.

It is very important to constantly monitor the correct position of the back of such children during physical therapy exercises. You definitely need to breathe properly and deeply. After performing exercise therapy, you should walk quietly and restore your breathing.

In addition, a sport such as swimming is great for correcting posture. It gives an even load on absolutely all muscles, and thereby develops them. Pull-ups, hanging on a horizontal bar, and simply walking while holding a gymnastic stick with your hands behind your back are also useful for such children.

It is important to remember that such a pathology is a completely correctable phenomenon. You just need to seek qualified help in time. The specialist will select the necessary exercise therapy complex for children with poor posture, and then your child will be healthy!

It is important to start forming early childhood. A sedentary lifestyle associated with prolonged educational process and passion computer games, leads to curvature of the spine. Incorrect posture, caused by problems with the spinal column, will also negatively affect the healthy development of internal organs. Regular physical therapy for children is a chance to avoid the development of serious diseases or correct existing health problems.

Exercise therapy for poor posture

Posture is an opportunity human body control your position in space, which is influenced by external forces. This definition is true for a static posture and body position during movement.

At certain periods of children’s lives (6-7, 13-15 years old) accelerated growth bone mass, internal organs rapidly increase in size. If by this time their muscle tissue is “not prepared,” then the spine remains without “support.” It is vulnerable to the development of pathological changes and the formation of irregular bends. With such disorders in children, the range of breathing decreases, and disruptions in the functioning of the digestive tract, heart and blood vessels begin. The development of myopia is observed.

To prevent such dangerous consequences from occurring, the child must regularly develop muscle mass. Starting from 5-6 years old, children are aimed at preventing problems with the spine. If pathological changes have already begun, exercise therapy for children with poor posture will come to the rescue.

The sooner classes begin, the easier it is to correct your posture.

Exercise therapy consists of a set of therapeutic exercises that perform the following tasks:

1. Train the muscles and ligaments of the back (used for preventive purposes);
2. Correct (used for identified postural defects).

Use posture exercises designed for children for the following purposes:

• Strengthen muscle tissue so as to achieve the correct symmetry;
• Develop the function of motor activity;
• Stimulate proper metabolism, heart and lung function;
• Stabilize the emotional background;
• Eliminate mild deformation;
• Stop the progression of complex forms.

Exercise therapy classes for poor posture in children of preschool and school age are carried out 2 to 4 times a week for 2-3 months. Then a break of 1 month is taken and training is resumed. To achieve an effective result, the child must go through 4 such “approaches”, and each time the set of exercises becomes more complicated.

Contraindications

• Diseases caused by acute inflammatory processes;
• Viral or infectious pathologies that cause elevated body temperature;
• Severe joint or muscle pain;
• Progressive scoliosis.

After the diseases have been eliminated, you can begin training.

Preparatory stage

Despite the fact that exercise therapy classes are necessary for children, most of them are in no hurry to complete necessary exercises. In this case, adults should come to their aid. Proper motivation and control are important components of classroom success.

They prepare for classes after the doctor determines the type of postural disorder and excludes possible contraindications. Regardless of what set of exercises doctors determine for children for poor posture, you need to prepare for them:

1. Eat no earlier than 2 hours before classes. Preference should be given to foods containing complex carbohydrates.
2. Always have drinking water with you.
3. Ventilate the room before training.
4. Work out in sportswear loose fit so that it does not restrict movement.

Initially, classes are conducted in specially equipped rooms under the guidance of an instructor. Then, if the child’s health and general well-being allows, you can continue training at home.

Before classes, children are explained the rules of physical therapy classes.

• You cannot skip training without a good reason, or shorten or increase its duration;
• During exercises, be sure to monitor proper breathing;
• Perform all movements slowly, without jerking;
• If pain or discomfort occurs, inform the instructor;
• If you feel unwell on the day of classes, they should be cancelled.

Like everyone else physical education classes, therapeutic exercises performed in the following sequence:

1. Warm-up;
2. Basic exercises;

Exercises to correct posture

Here are examples of implementation basic exercises for children of different ages.

Warm-up

Exercise 1

Classes begin with a warm-up. It should “prepare” the muscles and ligaments for subsequent loads, “warm up” them. For children 7 years old, you can start charging with this exercise.

• Starting position (IP) – stand straight with your arms down;
• While inhaling deeply, we slowly stand on our tiptoes and raise our arms up;
• We pull our hands up, trying to “reach the ceiling”;
• We return to the starting position, exhale.

To properly “warm up” you will need 10 approaches.

Exercise 2

The following exercise is aimed at warming up the muscles of the arms and neck:

• I.p. – standing, feet shoulder-width apart, arms down along the body;
• We take turns raising our shoulders 5 times each;
• Making swings right hand 5 times;
• We swing with our left hand 5 times;
• We move our right hand in a circular motion along the body 5 times;
• We repeat this movement with our left hand 5 times;
• Do it with both hands circular movements simultaneously 5 times;
• We return to I.p.

Exercise 3

Children 10 years old will be able to perform this exercise, intensively “stretching” muscle and joint tissue:

• I.p. – stand with your legs spread wide, your arms down along your body;
• Walking in place with high knees for 2 minutes;
• Return to starting position;
• Jump on right leg 5 times;
• Jump on your left leg 5 times;
• Jump on two legs 5 times;
• Jump, turning 180 degrees, 5 times;
• Return to starting position;

Basic exercises

Exercise 1

• I.p. – stand with your legs spread wide apart and your elbows bent;
• A gymnastic stick is placed on your back, holding it with your elbows;
• Bend forward, keeping your back straight;
• We return to I.p.

Exercise 2

• I.p. – standing, legs spread wide and arms bent at the elbows;
• We hold the gymnastic stick behind our back near our shoulders;
• Slowly raise our hands with a fixed stick up;
• We return to the starting position.

Exercise 3

• I.p. – lying on your stomach, with your arms and legs straightened in line with your body;
• As you exhale, slowly raise your legs as high as possible;
• We return to I.p.

Exercise 4

• I.p. – standing on all fours, focusing on your knees;
• Inhale and lower your buttocks onto your feet;
• Exhale and stretch your whole body forward, slowly arching your back;

Therapeutic exercise for children is not only a method of treating existing diseases, but also a way of preventing them through physical exercise.

What are the benefits of exercise therapy?

Physical activity is a necessary condition for the normal development of a growing organism, which, unfortunately, adults often forget about. But children's physical education, in addition to therapeutic and preventive, also has an educational function: the child acquires hygiene skills, gets to know the world around him and himself in it. Exercise therapy classes are important for the harmonious development of the musculoskeletal system in children of any age, the formation of posture in children of preschool and school age, as well as strengthening the spine and back muscles, eliminating postural asymmetry in scoliosis.

Exercises are useful for the prevention and treatment of poor posture, correction of flat feet, development of strength, agility, endurance, normalization of the endocrine system and strengthening of the immune system. Also, classes will be important for improving the child’s adaptation at school, increasing resistance to stress, improving academic performance in school-age children and improving the emotional background, hyposensitization (reducing sensitivity to allergens), as well as general strengthening of the body.

Types of loads

Exercise therapy includes not only sets of exercises, but also any type active recreation: games, sports, gymnastics, conducted as a warm-up by the teacher during school lesson. Physical education for children is characterized by play-based activities. For school-age children, the classic gymnastic method of exercise therapy is also used.

Exercises are divided into general, used to strengthen the body as a whole, and special, affecting a specific system, for example, aimed at strengthening the spine, leg and back muscles in case of scoliosis and flat feet.

There is a large class of dynamic exercises, which include active and passive movements, and a class static exercises aimed at maintaining a certain body position. Passive movements are often included in the gymnastics complex for children in the first year of life.

By nature they distinguish: breathing, corrective, relaxing, stretching, coordination exercises. In infants up to one year old, reflex exercises are used. During the preschool period, it is preferable to use a class of play exercises.

Contraindications

Classes are not indicated for acute and malignant diseases, bleeding, decompensated heart defects. Do not start classes if you have a fever, feel unwell, or have an irregular heart rhythm.

What rules must be followed when doing exercise therapy?

See your doctor as you may need testing, for example for scoliosis. It is necessary to work with a specialist who can correctly assess the child’s health status. The load should gradually increase. Movements should not be painful. Avoid monotonous exercises, as children of preschool and primary school age may become bored. The child should not be allowed to tire.

You should not exercise on a full stomach; it is better to exercise 30 minutes before meals or 45-50 minutes after it.

The room should be ventilated, the air temperature should not exceed 22 degrees. In children preschool age, and especially in children under one year old, classes should begin and end with stroking, and it is also worth introducing this technique between movements. For older children, it is necessary to include breathing and relaxation exercises in the complex.

Maintain regularity and phasing of classes: you need to start with a warm-up, followed by the main part and a cool-down. The duration and number of exercise therapy courses is prescribed by a doctor; usually 2-3 courses are carried out during the year.

Exercises for children of the first year of life

Under the age of one year, passive and reflex movements, as well as elements of massage, are mainly used. At the age of up to 3 months, stroking and reflex exercises are used:

• pressing on the sole at the base of the toes (causes flexion of the toes);
• running along the outside of the sole towards the heel (causes extension of the toes);
• reflex crawling;
• holding big and index fingers along the spine from bottom to top (causes reflex extension of the spine);
• during classes you should speak kindly to your baby;
• After each exercise, stroking is performed.

For children over 3 months old, the complex includes a class of passive exercises:

• flexion and extension of arms;
• spreading your arms and crossing them on your chest;
• bending the legs at the knees and hip joints;
• turning from back to stomach and back;
• crawling after an object;
• raising hands for a toy;
• exercises are carried out alternately with stroking and rubbing.

As the child learns to stand and walk, a class of active exercises is added:

• warm-up and cool-down in the form of passive movements;
• stomping on the spot;
• walking with support;
• leaning over a toy;
• stepping over an obstacle.

Remember that exercise therapy from an early age helps to uniformly strengthen muscles, prevent spinal curvature and form correct posture from childhood, because the main class of disorders in the preschool period is scoliosis and flat feet.

Exercises for scoliosis and gait disorders

The main task for scoliosis is to strengthen the back muscles and create muscle corset to maintain correct position spine. Remember: your child may need individual complex posture correction, for the development of which you need to contact a specialist! With rapidly progressing scoliosis (with an increase in the angle of curvature of the spine by more than 10 degrees over the course of a year), surgery may be required!

An approximate set of exercises for grade 1 scoliosis:

Start with warming up, establishing and monitoring correct posture.

Walk in a circle while checking your posture in the mirror for 1 minute.

Walk with your arms raised straight for 40 seconds.

Walking on toes with arms outstretched - 40 seconds.

Walking on your heels – 30 seconds.

Alternately throwing straight arms up (10-12 times).

Tilt the body to the sides (10 times).

Hands on waist, heels together, toes apart. Sit down, stretching your arms forward, return to the starting position (10-15 times).

Lifting gymnastic stick up and moving the straight leg back (4-6) times.

Bending the legs at the knee and hip joints from a supine position, hands behind the head (6-8 times). Execution is slow, with tension in the back muscles.

Exercise “bicycle” (6-8 times).

Alternately raising straight legs from a lying position (4-6 times).

Lying on your back, arms bent at the elbows. Arching the back with emphasis on the elbows and heels (3-4 times).

Raising a large ball with outstretched arms (8-10 times).

Walking with high knees - 2-3 minutes.

Walking at a slower pace.

Posture control.

Active movements alternate with exercises to relax the back muscles and breathing exercises. For children of preschool and primary school age, an element of play is added to the exercise therapy complex for scoliosis and other postural disorders.

Exercises for flat feet

Flat feet occur due to weakness of the musculo-ligamentous apparatus of the lower leg and foot. Purpose exercise therapy classes for flat feet is to strengthen these muscles and ligaments. Correction of this disease is extremely important also because it affects the condition of the joints, back and spine. How younger child, the more effective treatment will be for such a disorder, it is preferable to start from preschool age.
The main class of exercises for flat feet is walking:

Start with a general warm-up.

Walking on toes.

Walking with support on the outer edge of the foot.

Walking with bent toes and adducted feet.

Capturing and moving the ball with your feet.

Grasping a stick with your toes.

Walking on a log.

These exercises are used not only for flat feet, but also for its prevention.

When walking in the warm season, preschool children can take off their shoes and walk barefoot on the ground or grass, which helps improve their mood, strengthen their leg muscles, and harden them; it is useful not only for flat feet, but also for problems with posture and gait.