Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Children's health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Question about "W" sitting and hypermobility

51 replies

rainbowinthesky · 23/07/2011 22:43

I suspect dd, aged 7, may be hypermobile due to various things. Does anyone know if being able to sit in the "w" position is something only children with hypermobility can do at this age or can children who are not do it too?

OP posts:
5inthebed · 24/07/2011 12:06

DS2 sits like that, he has dyspraxia and can't sit properly the "normal" way without getting uncomfortable and twitchy.

Piffle · 24/07/2011 17:03

Dd 8 has hypotonia and hypermobility
She w sits
She cannot sit cross legged as her core is so weak so she slouches curves and gets aching neck and back
I asked school to provide her with a square short cushion so she can squat which is good
I have one at home...

Galena · 26/07/2011 20:50

DD has mild CP and hypermobile hips. She W sits and her physio has told me to discourage it. I do - and she responds to 'Feet in front please' but still goes back to sitting like that ASAP!

narmada · 26/07/2011 20:55

I sat like this throughout my childhood and as far as I know I'm not hypermobile - my fingers and thumbs bend back quite alarmingly but that's it!

mankyscotslass · 27/07/2011 17:36

Sounds like you are hypermobile!

feckwit · 27/07/2011 17:39

I sit like this, as do all my children and we re not hyper mobile! It is just a comfy way for us to sit.

Milliways · 27/07/2011 17:45

I used to sit like that before I had my legs surgically corrected (at age 7)! I had bilateral femoral anteversion / inward rotating femurs, but basically just looked pigeon toed / knock kneed.

It was the most comfy postition for me, but my legs were not correctly aligned and I had to be stopped from doing it after the operation (had become a habit). Apparently it's not good for the hips.

lou33 · 27/07/2011 17:49

Ds2 has moderate/ severe CP and chooses to w sit but is discouraged from doing so as it will cause him hip and lower joint issues. This is why he is constantly hearing me telling him to sit in the chair provided by the OT dept.

basingstoke · 27/07/2011 17:53

I sit like that and if anything I am hypomobile (I have made that up, but YKWIM) in all other areas...

mankyscotslass · 27/07/2011 19:52

Milliways Dd has excessive femoral ante-version, and might have to have the operation too.

What age were you when you had it, and how did you find the recovery process?

Hassled · 27/07/2011 19:57

DS3 sits like this all the time - he's 9. I had no idea it was any sort of an issue - will start to discourage him.

Milliways · 28/07/2011 17:38

mankyscotslass - I was 7 and it was tough but note I am now 43 and apparently they have better ways of doing it now :)

I was in a hip-spiker cast from my armpits to toes with a metal bar bracing the knees. Apparently they can brace the knees and use a lot less plaster now? It WAS painful (they break your femurs) and I had a few days under a cage of lights to dry the plaster out - which was hot. Also, parents could only visit at set times, and I was so far away from home my Mum came every other day & my Dad once a week - so everything seemed a bit worse than it would now if your Mum is with you loads etc. I came home for a month with the cast on and had a trolley to scoot around the floor on. My Mum had to get the neighbour in a few times a day to help turn me (when need the loo etc!)

I had intensive Physio in the hospital and was allowed home when I could manage to walk & do a staircase with 2 walking sticks (went from daily swimming pool to get legs moving again, then walking between parallel bars, the crutches, then sticks).

I learned to ride my bike very quickly and was allowed to ride to school.

My feet & legs were straight and I could walk/run without permanently tripping. I avoided a wheelchair which was forecast without the op as my condition was progressive. I was useless at Sports days, but that is probably just me! Grin

I had a few further ops. At 16 my metal plates were removed and in my 20's I had a muscle released and bone shaved as my muscles had grown for so long in the wrong place, that as I grew and bones had been straightened I had a few muscle problems. My parents kept saying "maybe we shouldn't have put you through that" but I am eternally grateful they did!

CMOTdibbler · 28/07/2011 21:35

I can do it, and am def not hypermobile. DS likes to sit in a w, and although he is flexible, I wouldn't say hypermobile either

JacksonPollocks · 29/07/2011 16:34

Interesting reading, I sit like this sometimes as does DS. Never put any thought into it. I'm flexible but broadly average. DH is the other end of the flexibility spectrum so little to compare too (I don't sit like this at work!)

mankyscotslass · 29/07/2011 17:29

Thank you Milliways. Smile

They have said if the op is needed it will be when she is 10-11, so another couple of years away.

alowVeraWithPurpleTwuntyPants · 02/08/2011 00:30

Dd can W sit, With both feet pointing out. does not have hypermobility but does have HMSN, and we have to keep reminding her not to. As physio and specialist have both told us that with HMSN it can cause muscle damage/weakness.

rockinhippy · 02/08/2011 00:51

Bookmarking as curious about this with my own DD & have been considering going back to Drs for a referral as she is very bendy too

I've just realised from the link that I too was probably Hypermobile & never diagnosed - I'm not any more due to Fibromyalgia & only ever heard of Hypermobility as a medical condition, due to the link between the 2

applefortea · 02/08/2011 12:35

I sit like that - and sat like that as a child. I'm not remotely hypermobile.
I do have tight hamstrings though as in some of the links on
"w" sitting.

narmada · 02/08/2011 13:20

Actually now I think maybe I am hypermobile after all - had terrible joint problems in both pregnancies. Sorry for thread hijack but are joint problems in pregnancy typical of hypermobility?

pepperrabbit · 02/08/2011 21:37

narmada, I'm "very hypermobile" and in fact have just had surgery on my wrist for problems associated with it, but didn't suffer any more during any of my pregnancies. Probably everyone has slightly different weak spots?
I have to say i hadn't given a thought to W sitting till I read this thread and found the link to the diagnosis scoring very interesting.
My consultant told me very matter of factly that hypermobile girls tend to excel at gynastics/ballet and come to him later in life with all the problems and that boys didn't so much have an "excel" sport, but if they played rugby for example were much more likely to dislocate shoulders etc.
I've no idea if that is relevant to the discussion!

befuzzled · 04/08/2011 15:07

hi there my ds2 who is nearly 4 often fully W sits - and sometimes Z sits too if you can imagine. He has always sone this since he could sit. He has often walks on tippy toes which I sometimes worry about as I know it can be indicative of developmental problems. Do you think the 2 are linked in any way? He doesnt always tippy toe but does a lot of the time. AFAIK he has no developmental problems (apart from being a grump sod!) - can run and walk normally but is a tad clumsy. The only other slightly odd thing is that when he falls over, he never puts his hands out to break his fall so is always bashing his head and nose.

I cant believe I have never noticed before but I have just checked on that scale and as well as the W sitting his thumbs ben right back flat against his hands (ewww) and his fingers go a bit more than 90o (he is talking on the phone to his father at the moment complaining that I keep bending him while he is trying to watch tv!)

Do you think any of this needs checked? Or just on the normal curve

befuzzled · 04/08/2011 20:03

shit he had a heart murmur when little and i've just seen the link with Marfans syndrome! Brain running away with me now. Do you think I need to mention any of this to a HCP?

befuzzled · 04/08/2011 20:05

Also I had terrible SPD in all 3 pgs and can do the feet flat on ground one - maybe a genetic link?

Drummerdude · 03/08/2012 10:59

I am 36. I never had hypermobility. I am not very flexible at all. Since I was six years old I could never sit indian style or with my legs out in front of me without pain and discomfort. I have always had a hard time kneeling. When I was six I discovered w-sitting as an alternative to sitting any other way. It was extremely comfortable and to this day that is the only way I have sat when sitting on a bench or on the floor. I am not very flexible at all and I don't have any joint problems with my knees, hips, or feet but w-sitting is the only way I sit when I'm not sitting in a chair. I sit like this for super long periods of time. I even sit like this at work. I have to sit on the floor 95% of the time at my job and I w-sit the whole time and it feels so good to sit like this for hours and hours at a time. I can go long periods of time without stopping to stretch my muscles when I w-sit. I don't know why I can w-sit with such ease and comfort at 36 years of age when I can't sit any other way. I know I'm not very flexible at all and my muscles and joints are very tight but I can w-sit with such ease and comfort. Go figure!

ditavonteesed · 03/08/2012 11:06

dd does this, I never even knew it was an issue until my friend was looking at some photos the other day and pointed it out, trying to work out when she does it since then. shhe has suspected dyspraxia.