Loosey Goosey

What a FABULOUS experience at the Physio yesterday - I learned so much !!
They were specialist Paediatric Physio's and they were just wonderful.

Soooo .. nothing wrong with Master B. She measured him all up - legs the same length, hips even, gait good etc. Turns out all kids will have a limp at one stage or another ( or more often ).
Muscles growing faster than ligaments .. all sorts of stuff like that ...

His knock-knees are also normal for toddlerhood, and as your muscles tighten in your bottom and etc, your legs and hips push forward and out, thus creating a 'normal' stance. This usually sorts itself out by about 4yrs of age.

She also showed me how to choose a good shoe ( Blunnies are OUT, peoples !! - no elastic sided shoes for the growing foot !! ). Also, the common-held theory that Clarks are the be-all and end-all is NOT true. Here are the 3 things to look for:

- fixed firm closures ( velcros, laces, buckles, straps ). No elastic that allows the foot to slip'n'slide and do whatever the hell it wants..

- Bend the shoe in your hand. It should bend well at the toe, and not be rigid and unflexible. It should also not bend in the middle, near the arch ( basically collapsing in your hand )

- A closed heel should be firm and have a good degree of rigidity.

- An internal shaped arch is fine if all other criteria above is met, but not essential. Studies/research shows that you are either born to have a flat foot or an arch, and that's about all there is to it.

So hopefully that's all helpful to others. I found it all pretty interesting.


My son also has a genetic condition known as 'Loosey Goosey'. Well, not really, but that's what the Physio called him :) He's really, really flexible, and while she was rabbiting on about how most people can only bend their this&that to this degree, loosey gooseys can do stuff to a more extreme degree, I lapsed into daydreamy state .. my son was ... like me ....

I am so proud.

I love the fact my husband ( from listening to her, I surmised he was at the other end of the Loosey Goosey scale .. a real tighty .. whitie !??!? ) will exercise and stretch and limber up, and can barely cross his legs, and I will do NOTHING and flip my legs into a full-lotus. I can also bend my thumb back to my wrist and a whole heap of other uninteresting party tricks that thrill only me.

Hey - I was never good at sports or stuff, being bendy was pretty important to me !!

She also gave me practical advice on toy-buying and activities. I really can't tell you how much I got out of this appt - I was almost transfixed. Climbing is good, Soccer is good ( kicking a ball using alternate feet build up even leg/foot strength etc ), bare feet are good ( yay - I rarely wear shoes unless going out, and thus, my son is the same ).

So i'm really happy. I went there half-expecting to be told to get over myself and stop being so ridiculous, there's nothing wrong with my son ...

I hate feeling like one of the hand-wringing worrisome mothers that I so often roll my eyes at myself ... ;)