Growing from the Ground Up: Osteopathy

Let’s circle back to primitive reflexes. A little home care can go a long way in helping your baby feel more stable, which supports their overall mobility.

 

I covered the Palmar Reflex, where your baby tightly grasps your finger. Another primitive reflex is the Babinski Reflex. Trust me, it’s just as fun to stimulate the reflex as it is to say “Babinski.” 

 

This reflex happens when you gently stroke the bottom of your newborn’s foot and their toes flex up and spread. This reflex begins to fade between 9-12 months, right around the time when little ones are starting to pull to stand, and usually completely disappears by the time they are two years old.

As a note, if your little one is still showing the Babinski Reflex after two years of age, it’s best to check in with your Primary Care Practitioner.

 

Eventually, the Babinski Reflex is replaced by the Flexor Plantar Response. This happens when the bottom of the foot is stroked and the toes flex downward. Both help your baby develop proprioception: our “sixth sense” that allows us to move with ease within space without looking.

 

For example, while you are in a seated position, you know that you are leaning forward, that your knees are bent, and that your feet are on the floor. Proprioception allows us to balance, move smoothly, and be steady in our own bodies. The process of proprioception begins as early as their days in the womb, when your baby felt the amniotic fluid against their skin. Although, it takes a few years for littles ones to be steady on their feet (hello head bruises on your two year old!).

 

When we consider proprioception of the feet, it’s important to understand that babies build good proprioception by real, active contact with the floor. They want to push with their feet and stand long before they can. This helps them learn how to shift their weight and move their joints, and discover what muscles work together.

 

We want babies and toddlers barefoot, in grippy socks, or soft grippy moccasins for the first two years of life – as much as possible! Most daycares require little ones to have hard-soled indoor shoes. Once daycare begins, focus on “free foot” time at home – again, as much as possible!

In my office, I often recommend avoiding positions your baby can’t yet hold on their own. Admittedly, this isn’t always my most popular advice. This includes baby-gear like jumper systems. Many babies love them because they can touch the floor and push against it, and while we do want to encourage leg and foot pushing, jumpers don’t support this in a natural way.

 

In a jumper, babies land unevenly or on their tiptoes, and their body weight is held by the harness rather than their own muscles. This means they aren’t learning how to shift their weight or balance independently. Most importantly, their feet aren’t making full, steady contact with the ground. Without that grounded contact, the brain doesn’t receive accurate proprioceptive information, because the baby isn’t in control of their weight, movement, or foot position.

 

If your toddler is walking on their tip-toes, homecare includes stroking the bottom of their feet and gently massaging the base of all ten toes. Think “This Little Piggy” but without the tickling. Do this as many times a day as possible to increase the neuropathway to their brain and help them to walk with their heels on the floor.

 

Remember: the best way for babies to build foot stability is with free movement on the floor. When we allow them to explore their body and surroundings naturally, they are more easily able to learn where their body ends and the rest of the world begins.