What would you say if I said I have often had elderly people crawling again in order to assist

in their walking patterns and habits? Sometimes if we have been injured or have had a leg in

plaster for a long time it is difficult to begin walking again as patterns of movement which have

been unused for a while are almost forgotten, not just consciously.

 

This can also come about if someone suffers some form of brain injury and there is a time of re-learning body mobility. Just like we spoke about breathing being helped by going back to sucking and swallowing reflexes, walking can be assisted by reverting back to crawling.

 

Now crawling has 2 stages to it. One is when we start crawling we use the arm and leg on the same side moving forward. So left arm and left leg move at the same time and vice versa. The second phase is when we crawl with alternating legs and arms, so left leg and right arm move at the same time. This sets us up for walking.

 

So if we do have any issues with walking, it is always better to revert back to phase one of crawling until this movement is satisfactory and easy to perform, then move on to phase 2 of crawling, and then advance to walking. Occasionally it may be useful to elaborate the movements of the arms and legs, lifting them higher or taking longer strides initially, then move into the more finesse movements.

 

Sometimes you have to go back to move forward.