Is Crawling for Everyone?

Categories: Blog Nov 20, 2016

Recently, crawling has been in the news. I will be completely plain with you and tell you that I think it is just awesome. It has really been cool to see crawling make it to the press in the Washington Post, CNN, Fox News, and other publications. I'll also be very honest with you and tell you I am overjoyed with Original Strength also getting mentioned in these articles. It is nice that crawling is getting recognition regardless of OS getting mentioned, but man is it nice that OS in getting mentioned!

Some of the articles are written from an intrigued point of view and others are written from a more skeptical point of view. Regardless of how they are written, it's good stuff! Anyway, in some of the articles, experts were contacted and many of them offer some cautions about crawling. Which brings up the question, "Is crawling for everyone?"

Well, yes, it is. Kind of...

The truth is, crawling is, and can be, an extremely gentle form of movement. One of the most gentle, yet most important, movements a person can make. But there may be people (adults) whose body is not ready for crawling. Sounds weird, right? There may also be people who do have pain or other physical limitations or issues that would contra-indicate crawling. If so, these people don't need to crawl. Yet...

Here is what none of the articles told you. In OS, we teach a few core concepts or beliefs. One of those core concepts is that people should not move into pain. If something hurts, even something called crawling, we teach not to do it. Pain can take movements that should be good and turn them into not so good things. In fact, pain changes how you move and it can alter your movement patterns and create movement compensations. These compensations can create a whole host of problems if they are cemented into the nervous system. We strive for pain free movement in OS. Pain free movement will always yield a better outcome than painful movement, in both the short term and the long term.

Another core belief we teach in OS is that everyone should start where they are. In other words, people should do what they can. Whatever you can do, wherever you can start - you are starting from a GOOD place. From there, from good, we strive to move to better and best. But where ever you start is good. If you cannot crawl because of physical limitation or even because of fear, it's OK. Don't do it. BUT, do what you can do. Find a way to "crawl", find a way to move. Your body was designed to heal itself and healing comes through moving.

Here is the thing - It's not about the crawling. It's more than that. Much more. It's about the pattern of crawling. It's about deliberately engaging in contra-lateral limb movement with all FOUR limbs. Can you not crawl on your hands and knees? Ok, can you walk? That is crawling standing up. At least it should be... Can you march? Can you skip? Can you perform cross-crawls? These are all variations of crawling. You can do one of them.

But like I said, its much more than just crawling, or even the pattern of crawling. It's about moving the way you were designed so your body can repair, restore, heal, optimize, perform, and/or be the way it was meant to be. You might not physically be ready for crawling. You might need to move in other ways first. You might need to remember how you are supposed to breathe. You might need to remember how to regain control of your head's movements. You may even need to work on contra-lateral patterning before you begin to crawl.

You need what you need at the time you need it. It's that simple.

Should everyone crawl? Yes - in some way. BUT the truth is everyone should move the way their body was meant to move in the current ways it will allow them to move. That is the key to health, strength, resiliency, fitness, or whatever else you want to call it. Again, OS isn't really about crawling. It's about moving like we should and living life the way we were meant to live it. Crawling, in some fashion, helps us do that...

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