Thank you so much in taking the time to go over these helpful exercises. My baby just turned 10 months and started hitch crawling. In the meantime, waiting for a physical therapy evaluation, I want to help him the most I can! I'm not sure where his muscle tone went wrong. I feel he hit every milestone on time. He even loved Tummy time since only a couple of months old. He would stay 30 min straight, multiple times a day. Prior to hitching, he would even go from lying flat facing up, all the way to sitting up (a huge sit up) all by himself 😯. He seems to have good core strength. He makes me so confused 🤷♀️. With crawling, I was concerned because he hadn't started on all fours. However, when he did just around his 10 month time, he started hitching.
Our first born hitched all the way until 18 months (clearly we had no idea how detrimental it was), until he wasn't walking and started PT. He was diagnosed as low tone. So in addition to low tone, the hitching caused weakness along his entire left side-- since there was uneven weight-bearing and laterally flexing his trunk. He still does it because it's so engrained! To any parents reading my comment, please work on correcting NOW if you can, I wish so bad I could turn back the clock. Now our 7 month old JUST started to hitch too!!! Although she has normal tone, I am at least able to intervene early this time around, since now I know how bad it is!! TY for this video
Thank you so much my little has always had issues using his core he has a 💯 head lol tummy time was very hard on his neck when he was younger and now we are having more problems from a weak core with hitching so we’re super excited to have found your very helpful video
thank you for this! my almost 10 month old has been asymmetrical crawling for almost a month and i’m getting a little worried 😅 will try these tips and exercises
This is so helpful, my child has been hitch crawling for 4 months. He us very used to this crawl and fusses everytime I corrrect him. How many times a dayor for how long should I be correcting him? He is really crawling all the time? Should I correct his position all day? When should I see a PT?
I've read that hitch crawling could potentially be an indicator of vision problems (which I've already suspected my daughter might have), in a case like that where there's an issue with vision, would the muscle weakness also still be a concern or would the problem be entirely owing to the vision impairment? Would these corrections still be applicable for a baby in that situation? Or would the issue just be expected to self correct once the vision is addressed?
Hiiii … I just got to see ur video and I have a concern … my baby has been crawling normal on all 2 arms and legs for the last 3 months … we shifted to the a new place where we have hardwood floors … he has been hitch crawling since we got to this new house ??? What cud be the reason for this change ??
Change of surface will do it. How is he now with the floors? If he is still having issues with normal crawling I’d suggest trying to get a rug, trying these tips in the video, giving him pants and then if still doing it talking with a pediatric physical therapist. (Just a mom with the same issues and what was suggested to me-the rug plus the tips worked for me.
What if she's been at it for almost two months and is now started to stand mostly pressing with the one leg? Ugh I feel so discouraged. I had no idea this was something to address immediately. I've seen a. Physical therapist and we are working on it but I can't help but feel that it won't be fixed and I'm worried for her potential uneven development. Will this still be affective if she's been at it for a couple months? Please help
Hi there! I can see that you are such a great parent by staying on top of this and being proactive, so I hope you don't get too discouraged. Excellent question! Usually once a child starts to do things like pulling into standing and are exiting the crawling phase, I typically target strengthening their leg (the one that does not hitch out) and stretching their trunk on the side that does hitch out. This will help "even them out", so to speak. You can do this by helping them lead with their non-hitching leg for half kneeling against for preparing to pull into standing. You can also have them lay sideways on a physioball to stretch out the tight side of their trunk, for example. Your PT should be able to help target these asymmetries custom to your child as well. Lastly, I would make sure your PT is targeting their core muscles that they will need for balancing and standing. At the heart of hitch crawling is a weaker core strength, so, again, using a physioball to bounce them, practicing sit-up's with them, etc are all great. Please do not worry! The great thing about muscles is that we can always build strength at any phase regardless of their past mobility, so you're already off to a great start :)
Hi there! Just so I'm understanding this correctly, what does the child do with their other leg (the one that is not propelling themselves forward)? If the other leg is not moving to help the child move forward, I am imaging that these techniques would not be effective since they may prevent the child from all mobility. It may be helpful to get your pediatrician and/or physical therapist to take a closer look to rule out any mobility issues or red flags if they are only moving the one leg to help them crawl forward.
How long do you think before kid learns to crawl on all fours, assuming parents do these exercises religiously every time they get? If no result-- when should i ask for professional help? Thank you. I have almost 8 month old girl who has begun this assymetric crawling a week ago.
Wow this is a great question! Kids typically start crawling around 6 months, but there's a whole range that goes all the way up to a year. If they were crawling on all fours previously and started hitch crawling, it may be easier to correct because that means they have baseline core and hip strength to get them to this point. You could try these exercises for a couple of weeks to see if you find improvement. If not, it may be beneficial to find a pediatric physical therapist. If your child assumed this hitching position when they first learned to crawl, I would go ahead and try to get a professional opinion from a pediatric physical therapist. If this position persists, it can lead to postural issues and also some asymmetries in their trunks. Hope that helps!
