Hi Reader

Dad Joke: Just when you don't think vegetables don't have phones. Onion Rings

If you learnt what I learnt - it goes like this…babies start with the primary thoracic and sacral curves and then along the line the secondary cervical and lumbar curves develop as they get involved with gravity…Useful, yes. But what if that is only the beginning?

What if the cranium has its own curve logic? What if the knees and ankles are not just hinges, but expressions of how force is being organized through the system? What if the arches and even the balls of the feet are part of the primary, secondary curve system?

I know...breathe deep!

Because once you stop seeing curves as limited the spine and start seeing a complete developing curve system, practice gets more interesting very quickly. Anatomy Trains by Tom Myers opened my eyes to a more connected view, where strain, tension and compensation are distributed through the fascial web rather than living neatly in one local structure. Myers talks about this as a “longitudinal anatomy,” with continuity through the body’s connective tissue network rather than disconnected parts working alone.

So…

A baby is not a little big person...a baby is a curve under construction. In the early months, babies build their relationship with gravity. The physiologically flexed newborn unfolds. The head lifts, the pelvis is organizes and the feet slowly become part of support, loading, balance, and propulsion.

So then what about plagiocephaly, persistent asymmetry, poor prone control, flat-footed collapse, knock knees, toe walking, mouth breathing, or clumsy gait…maybe the better question is not, “Which bit is wrong?” but, “Which curves are not yet talking to each other well?”

#ClinicalLensShift

It means the skull is no longer just the skull. The sphenobasilar angle is part of the child’s first orienting curve. If the head can’t mold, turn, load, and balance well, that affects visual midline, vestibular input, feeding, upper cervicals, and the beginning of spinal extension. The knees are no longer just knees. They become a checkpoint in the chain to absorb force, stack over the feet, and transfer load upward. The arches are no longer just something to look at in standing. They become a reflection of whether the child can organize spring, balance, and ground reaction force from below.

Now your assessment becomes less local and more developmental.

Can they move from flexion into extension with variability? Can they load the head, trunk, pelvis, knees, and feet in sequence? Is the system distributing force, or dumping it.

Helping a child is not just about releasing a tight spot or adjusting a stuck joint. It is about helping the system find a better shape, a better sequence, and a better relationship with gravity.

That is where paediatrics gets fun.

Chat Soon

Mike

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info@connectedpaediatrics.com
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Connected Paediatrics – Dr Mike Marinus is a registered paediatric chiropractor treating babies and children and helping chiropractors learn effective paediatric techniques that they can use in their practice