Children and Sports

Motor Development
Motor development only happens when the child is biologically and mentally ready
for it. Motor development refers to the development of movement and various motor
abilities from birth till death. It is the ability to move around and manipulate his/her
environment. There are four stages of motor development in children

1. Infanthood (0-2 years)

2. Early childhood (2-6 years)
3. Middle childhood (7-12 years)
4. Later childhood (12 years and later)

The first stage is marked by extremely rapid growth and development, as is the
second stage. By the age of 2 years, this development has begun to level out
somewhat. The final stage does not have any marked new development; rather it is
characterised by the mastering and development of the skills achieved in the first
two stages. Before the stages of childhood, there is the age of infancy that is from 0-
2 years.

Types of Motor Development

There are two types of motor development/skills

1. Gross Motor Development This development uses the larger muscles of

the skeleton or groups of larger muscles to maintain posture and
balance for activities such as throwing a ball, walking, running and
hopping.
2. Fine Motor Development This development uses the smaller muscles of
the hand, feet and face for more precise activities such as eating,
speaking, playing with toys and eventually writing.

Factors that Influence Motor Development

The development and quality of a child’s motor skills are influenced by many factors.
These include

1. Tone It refers to the ongoing contraction and state of the muscle at rest.
Tone can be normal, hypotonic or hypertonic.
2. Strength It refers to the force of a muscle contraction purposefully
exerted against resistance to carry out an activity.
3. Endurance This is the ability to maintain the exertion required for an
activity.
4. Motor Planning It is the complex and often intuitive ability to know how
to carry out the steps needed to complete a physical, activity.
5. Sensory Integration It is the ability to accurately interpret sensory input
from the environment and to produce an appropriate motor response.
Exercise Guidelines at Different Stages of Growth and Development
The motor development in children takes place in various stages of growth. The
infanthood or infancy is followed by the childhood, stage that is divided into three
stages : the early, middle and later childhood.

Infanthood (0-12 Months)

• Turns head.
• Moves arms and legs.
• Reaches and grasps objects.
• Rolls back from side to side.
• Crawls, stands and walks.

Childhood (2-12 Years)

2-5 Years (Early Childhood)

• Basic locomotor.
• Ball-handling.
• Eye-hand coordination.
• Running, jumping, hopping, skipping grasping.
• Games with-simple rules.

6-10 Years (Middle Childhood)

• Fine motor skills.

• Fine eye-hand coordination.
• Growth is relatively slow.
• Cognitive activities.
• Movement precision.
• Balancing and coordination.
• Catching, throwing; kicking.
• Planned activities games.

11-12 Years (Late Childhood)

• Motor skills perfected.

• Onset of puberty.
• Beginning of sexual maturation.
• Competition.
• Planned activities, that involve a .lot of movements.

Weight Trainin
Weight training refers to the physical exercise which involves lifting weights to
improve the” performance of the muscles. Weight training-for children carries with it
a variety of advantages.

• It builds muscle strength and strong bones.

 • It reduces excess, body weight.
• It boosts confidence.
• It makes a child more competitive.

Disadvantages of weight training are as follows

• Serious injuries have come from situations with home gym equipment
when there was no supervision.
• Another disadvantage is the risk of non-flexibility. This happens when
proper exercise to. increase flexibility is not done along with weight
training. If weight training is combined with flexibility exercises then this
problem will not occur.

Concept of Correct Posture

Correct posture is one in which the body is so balanced as to produce least fatigue.
It means that correct posture is the position of the body held without any sense of
effort. The body weight should be equally distributed over both the legs and feet so
as to produce least fatigue. Correct posture may also be defined as that assumed
position which enables the body to perform or function effectively.
These are stated below
1. Correct Posture of Standing In standing position, both the heels of the feet should
meet each other. The whole body should be erect, knees straight, chin inside, chest
forward, belly backward and pressed inside with equal body weight on both feet. In
this position, the complete body should be balanced.

2. Correct Posture of Sitting When we sit in a chair, our hips should be in a straight
line and erect. Legs should touch the ground and should not be in hanging position.
Thighs should be in horizontal position. The backbone should be erect with the
upper region of the backbone straight against the back of the chair. While we read,
the book should be on the table but the book should not be too away or too near the
eyes. The approximate distance between book and eyes should be at least 30 cms.
For writing, a table with slight inclination towards the outside is appropriate.

Advantages of Correct Posture

Advantages of correct posture are as follows

1. Improves Physical Appearance A good posture helps in creating a good

impression and improves the physical appearance. This in turn helps in
building an impressive personality.
2. Have more Energy Good posture ensures greater energy as the mind
and body work in coordination with each other. More energy means
more capacity to work and perform tasks.
3. Increases Flexibility Good posture ensures proper alignment of the
body as well as balanced approach. This increases the flexibility of the
body as bones and muscles remain well toned.
4. Reduces Muscle Tension Good posture does not put excess pressure
on a particular muscle. Therefore the muscles remain in their normal
 position. Neither it brings stiffness to any part of the body so there is no
tightening of the muscles.
5. Increases Confidence An upright and relaxed posture increases
strength and power of a person. This helps the individual to sit or stand
upright which brings in confidence.

Causes of Bad Posture

Poor posture is the posture that results from certain muscles tightening up or
shortening. There are different factors which can impact on posture. Some common
causes for bad posture are given below

1. Pain or Past Injuries In order to avoid the pain in the body such as back
pain or simply to avoid pain from past injuries, people try to overcome
the pain by holding the body in a different position. When this posture is
continued for a long time, it can become a daily habit. Hence holding
yourself differently can be due to some pain or muscle injury in any part
of your body.
2. Low Nutrition Low nutrition and lack of vitamins and calcium in the diet
can affect the bones and muscles by not providing adequate strength
and flexibility to hold your body in a correct posture.
3. Hereditary Reasons Having a family history of bent back or flat foot,
may cause bad posture. The genes may be responsible for poor
posture.
4. Overweight and Obesity Extra body weight can also be the reason for
poor posture. Obese and overweight people tend to collect excess fat
around their stomach and hips. This puts strain on the skeletal system
as well as muscles thereby resulting in poor posture.
5. Habit Sometimes, the way you walk or . the way you hold things can be
the reason of bad posture. For instance, if you always walk with your
head down or slump your shoulders, this can cause your posture to pull
out from proper alignment. Sometimes, carrying weight on only one side
of the body can contribute to imbalanced or poor posture. This is
especially true for children who carry heavy bags to school on one side
of their body, as the bones are soft at this age. .
6. Type of Job People who have desk jobs often push their neck and head
forward and hunch their shoulders. All these factors contribute to our
inability to keep our spines straight and results in – poor posture.
7. Lifestyle and Fashion Clothing and shoes especially affect posture.
Women who walk in pencil heels are more prone to cause problems to
their posture. Besides high heeled shoes, wearing boots, tight fitting
clothes, low waist jeans and wide belts can cause bad posture. This
changes your centre of gravity, which ultimately causes your posture to
suffer.

Common Postural Deformities

This refers to the deformation in the skeletal structure or where the body parts are
not aligned that results in some kind of postural deformities. People having postural
deformities cannot perform their work efficiently. Some common postural
deformities are Knock Knee, Flat Foot, Round Shoulders, Lordosis, Kyphosis, Bow
Legs and Scoliosis.
1. Knock Knee
Knock knee is a postural deformity in which both the knees touch or overlap’each
other in the normal standing position. Due to this deformity, an individual usually
faces difficulty during walking.

Causes

• Weakness of muscles and ligaments.

• Overweight body.
• Lack of balanced diet.
• Lack of vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus.

Precautions

• Balanced diet should be taken.

• Do not force the babies to walk at early age.

Corrective Measures

• Horse riding is to be done regularly, as it is one of the best exercise’s for

correcting this problem.
• Keep a pillow between your knees whenever possible.
• Perform Padmasana and Gomukhasana.
• Take nutritious meals.

2. Flat Foot
It is a deformity of the feet. In this deformity, there is no arch in the foot and the foot
is completely flat. The individual faces problems in standings walking, jumping and
running; –

Causes

• Heaviness of the body.

• Standing for a long time,
• Use of poor quality footwear not having an arch.
• Faulty posture.

Precautions

• Wear shoes of proper shape and size.

• High heeled shoes or walking barefoot for long durations should be
avoided.

Corrective Measures
 • Walk on heels and toes.
• Pick up marbles with toes.
• Perform Vajrasana.
• Walk on wooden staircase.

3. Round Shoulders
It is a postural deformity in which the shoulders become round as they are drawn
forward, the head is extended and the chin points forward.

Causes

• Poor posture in work, particularly in a desk job.

• Faulty furniture.
• Wrong habit of standing and sitting.
• Carrying heavy load on shoulders.

Precautions

• Do not sit, stand or walk in bent position.

• Avoid tight fitting clothes.

Corrective Measures

• Stand in correct posture.

• Keep the finger tips on your shoulders and encircle your elbows in
clockwise and anti-clockwise direction.
• Perform Chakrasana and Dhanurasana for some time.
• Hold the horizontal bar for some time.

4. Lordosis
It is the inward curvature of the spine or a deformity of spinal curvature. It is an
increased forward curve in the lumbar region. It creates problems in standing and
walking.

Causes

• Habitual over-eating.
• Improper environment.
• Diseases affecting vertebrae.
• Improper development of muscles.
• Lack of exercise.

Precautions

• Take a balanced diet.

• Keep the body straight while carrying weights.
 • Avoid walking too long with weight on one hand.
• Don’t walk, sit or stand in bent position.

Corrective Measures

• Perform Halasana and Paschimottasana.

• Do sit-ups slowly.
• Stand to attention and touch the feet with the hands repeatedly.
• Lie on your back and lift feet vertically.

5. Kyphosis
It is a deformity of the spinal curvature in which there is an increase of exaggeration
of a backward curve or a decrease of a forward curve. It is also called as round
upper back.

Causes

• Malnutrition, illness.
• Carrying heavy load on shoulders.
• Habit of bending while walking.
• Wearing light and shapeless clothes.

Precautions

• Take a balanced diet.

• Keep the body straight while carrying weights.
• Avoid walking too long with weight on one hand.
• Don’t walk, sit or stand in bent position.

Corrective Measures

• Bend head backwards in standing position.

• Perform Chakrasana and Bhujangasana.
• Hold arms at shoulder level and bending elbows.

6. Bow Legs
It is a deformity just the reverse of the knock knee position. In fact, if there is a wide
gap between the knees, the deformity can be observed easily when an individual
walks or runs.

Causes

• Putting extra weight on leg muscles.

• Lack of balanced diet and deficiency of calcium and phosphorus.
• Improper way of walking.
• Forcing babies to walk at a very early age.
Precautions

• Balanced diet should be taken.

• Do not force the babies to walk at early age.

Corrective Measures

• Never stand for a long time.

• Use vitamin D supplement and a proper balanced diet.
• Walk by bending the toes inward or on the inner edge of the feet.
• Proper massage should be given to the child if this problem is observed
early in life.

7. Scoliosis
It is a postural deformity of spinal curvature in which there is one ldrge lateral curve
extending through the whole length of the spine, or there may be two curves. This
type of deformity is also called curve.

Causes

• Short leg of one side.

• One side flat foot.
• Carrying heavy loads on one shoulder.
• Heredity defects.
• One side paralysis of spinal muscles.

Precautions

• Take a balanced diet.

• Keep the body straight while carrying weights.
• Avoid walking too long with weight on one hand.
• Don’t walk, sit or stand in bent position.

Corrective Measures

• Perform Trikonasana with proper technique.

• Avoid walking with a heavy weight.
• Lie down in prone position, i.e. on the chest. Right arm should be
upward and left atm at side. After that move right arm towards,the left
overhead. Press down with left hand and then slide the left hip up.
• Stand erect, lift left heel and left hip, extend right arm in an arch and
press left hand against the ribs.

Note This problem can be controlled by an expert doctor.