Does this demonstrate core strength in 5 year old... ?

[TropicofCapricorn]

DD is possibly hyper-mobile and SENCO and DR keep saying she needs good core strength... Recommended all sorts of stuff. She already does things like gymnastics, can ride a 2 wheel bike, a 2 wheel scooter,. trampolining etc.
I think she has good core strength,but I might be looking through googly mum eyes.

We tested her doing a plank, she held it for 20 seconds and got bored lol it was correct posture (straight back, bum not sticking up etc)

Here's an image of her on the monkey bars lifting her legs, trying to hook her legs over. this was about the 8th time she'd had a go and had tried 3-4 times each time (she dropped down once her arms were tired) . She did eventually manage it.

Sorry for the scribble it's just you can see her underwear otherwise.

Would you say that it demonstrates good core strength or not?

Yes. It sounds pretty normal to me.

Thank you. They keep harping on about "build her core strength"... And I think she has got good core strength, so thank you!

Why don't you ask for a referral to physio? Our HV has always said that DD1 (3.5y) has some indications of hypermobility. She referred us to physio. The physio was brilliant - it was a 1hr appointment where she had DD1 doing all sorts of different movements, including plank style things and observations of her kicking, running, jumping etc. DD1 had great fun - she didnt want to leave! The physio then issued a letter with advice and a plan for next steps. She said often hypermobility isn't formally diagnosed until around 7y anyway, but it was clear DD1's joints are hyperflexible and she recommends another review before she starts primary etc. We do swimming and ballet to build muscle strength but we've been told not to do gymnastics until she can control her movements better to protect her joints. Anyway, my point is that it was all super useful and basically a one off appointment for now. If the physio agrees with you that your DD does have good core strength, you can shut down the discussion with the GP and the senco as it being addressed.

Waiting for GP referrals 🤞🤞

I don’t think it’s a good v bad core strength thing. They mean improving her core strength further. So she can hold a plank for 20 seconds now, next she can try for 25 seconds. It’s progressive. Great she has a good starting point though. But yes, building core strength for people with hypermobility is very important.

I'm not quite sure what you are hoping for. Presumably there is an issue, you have been given advice but are keen to ignore it. I remember taking my DD to gymnastics at a similar age. The kids tended to be in 2 categories - good core strength but less flexibility and vise versa. My DD could easily do the splits but lacked the core strength of others. If your DD is hypermobile then surely doing the recommended exercises would be helpful.

To build core strength in a child of that age, get a wobble cushion for her chair at school and a yoga ball for her to sit on when she’s watching TV at home. It really helps with what feels like minimal effort

No I'm not ignoring the advice. I'm just thinking that her core strength is fine? They haven't assessed her core strength. They just say that as a default thing. Iyswim? I'm trying to guage if ber core strength is okay or not.

She does gymnastics, swimming and ballet.
She does orienteering, cycling, scooting, playgrounds, park run. We go walking through woods, over hills etc
She goes on her trampoline pretty much every day. She does yoga at school and at home. We do planks and balancing games (stand in one leg and catch a ball type things).

I might get her a balance beam too.

I understand, I need to get her to see how long she can actually hold a plank (it's tricky because she gets bored,so we need to find a way to keep her engaged, she doesn't show any signs of struggling at the point of distraction.

She had a wobble cushion, but it made her feel anxious/upset for some reason so it was removed at my request. She would get angry if anyone mentioned it, or upset if she was asked to use it.

But she does have a yoga ball we play in and do things like "superman" on it and try and balance in it whilst sitting.

If she can do that, ride a bike, swim ect…she is probably decent for now. But she needs to build on what she has. My DD’s hypermobility didn’t start to impact her until she got older. So getting them extra strong now is important and will benefit her long term.

fair enough

Next time they say about her needing to build her core strength, ask them what exercises they suggest.

Agree with others that it will be important later in life - my DD at 31 has been told she has mild hyper mobility that is causing her awful backaches.

DD (12) is hypermobile and whilst she's amazingly flexible and strong (has visible abs) she lacks control in her movement. She dances and her teacher has her doing slow, steady movement to use her muscles rather than just relying on her flexibility and risking injury. She also has her on balance boards when they're doing conditioning exercises to make sure she's actively engaging her muscles.

Basically she struggles with stability rather than strength.

Have you asked why they think she has poor core strength?

DS (6) had an OT assessment recently as part of assessment for ADHD and they put him in the 5th percentile for balance which was mostly assessed by him standing on one leg 😁

He can ride a bike, climb run etc. DH was sceptical about it until we actually asked him to stand on one leg and timed him. He can barely manage 5 seconds because basically he won't stay still, he's wriggling all the time.

I thought it was fascinating because I was reading that this can be behind why they are always so wiggly, if their core strength/balance is poor, and you wouldn't necessarily have noticed anything "wrong" as such. I don't think it is a "they say that to everyone" thing. I've never been assessed myself but I think I'm hypermobile, and I can't sit in a normal chair comfortably - I always want to be on the floor or squished into the corner of an armchair with my feet up on the seat with me. I seek pressure around my middle/back. Apparently it's the same kind of thing. DS also loves pressure and when he's dysregulated he'll try to drape himself over people or want me to sit on him or wrap him up in a blanket like a sausage roll.

Not liking the wobble cushion makes sense in the sense that she might be looking for more support rather than less.

I’m sure her core strength is fine, it’s just that she’ll need to have slightly above average strength to protect her back and posture later on.
My adult DD has spent years sitting and sleeping in weird positions to feel comfortable because her back needs extra support that it’s not getting - that’s the hypermobility. Higher levels of stability will be needed for your DD to maintain a healthy back as she gets older.
it wasn’t diagnosed in my DD as it’s not that severe - but the outcome at 31 is very debilitating. And she did years of dance etc.

Does she use her stomach or back muscles?

When she does these exercises does her stomach tense? I have a friend who is always posting about their daughters high level dance and gymnastics, but you can see it's all on her back muscles. It's storing up trouble

Hypermobile here. It’s not that core strength is bad as a result of hypermobility or that poor core strength is a contributor. It’s that she will need extra core strength to try to hold herself together!

Ah, actually shew utterly rubbish at standing in one leg... Like 3 seconds... terrible!!

We can definitely practice that, thanks 👍 👍 👍

Well that's what DH wanted to do as well, but I'm not sure practising standing on one leg is the way to build it - will see if we ever get to the end of a waiting list for actual OT rather than just the assessment.

Well, it won't do any harm getting her better at standing in one leg.

A plank doesn't tell anything about core strength, it tells you about the ability of holding a plank. One can develop endurance on holding a plank.
It is not a transferrable strength. It is an overhyped position and exercise and not representative of how the body, spine and muscle work.

Her having a strong core is to support everything else. She certainly does a good amount of exercise but I don’t think say cycling or scooting is particularly good for your core.
She needs to be using her abs and back muscles, these stabilise everything else.
Things like crunches, Russian twists are good but I don’t know if kids and specially ones with hyper mobility should do them.