The "crawling exercise" has become popular. Is it really useful? What are the taboos?

Recently, "crawling exercise" has suddenly become popular!

You must have seen this in WeChat groups:

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Or maybe you've seen this in the community:

Image source: Internet

It is said that this is a fitness method that is "gradually becoming popular". Everyone from white-haired elderly people to college students who have just started to live in a collective enjoy it.

So, does this "crawling exercise" really work? Will it cause harm? And what should we pay attention to?

Does the crawling exercise make sense?

First of all, crawling is indeed a healthy form of exercise .

It is said that the "Five Animal Exercises" created by Hua Tuo, a famous doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty, included "crawling exercises". However, there is no clear evidence of what the "Five Animal Exercises" created by Hua Tuo were like.

For adults, crawling is a kind of "reverse movement" and it has always been an important exercise method in the field of sports. In recent years, there have been some studies on crawling and physical health at home and abroad. Crawling has the following effects:

① Increase waist and abdominal strength and trunk stability . Compared with standing exercise, during crawling, our lumbar spine loses its longitudinal bony load-bearing function, and the muscles around the spine need to exert more force to ensure the stability of the lumbar spine, so crawling can strengthen the strength of the muscles around the spine. At the same time, due to the effect of gravity, the abdominal viscera will sag downward under the action of gravity when crawling, which requires the abdominal muscles to exert more force. In addition, during crawling, the range of motion of the spine will also be greater, and crawling has a stronger training effect on spinal stability than upright exercise.

In competitive sports, crawling exercises are widely used in waist and abdominal training, and play an important role in athletes' physical training.

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② Strengthen the neck muscles . Compared with the upright state, when crawling, the long axis of the head and neck changes from the vertical direction to the horizontal direction. During the movement, more muscles behind the neck need to be used to maintain the posture of raising the head. Proper crawling has a significant training effect on the muscles behind the cervical spine. Exercising the strength and stability of the cervical spine can help relieve shoulder and neck discomfort. It is also a common training movement in cervical rehabilitation.

③ Increase shoulder and upper limb strength . Some scholars have measured upper limb strength before and after crawling training and found that upper limb strength will be significantly improved after crawling training. In addition, crawling can also increase the strength around the shoulder blade, which is rarely practiced in daily life. Long-term work and entertainment in front of the screen will cause the shoulder blade to shift forward, which will form a bad posture in the long run and cause shoulder joint damage.

④ Adjust the breathing function . When crawling, due to the force of the upper limbs, the chest is in a partially restrained state, and the athlete will be more inclined to use the abdominal force to breathe. This abdominal breathing mode has a higher breathing efficiency than chest breathing, which can increase the respiratory function and improve the cardiopulmonary function.

⑤ Improve coordination training . Crawling is a special gait that requires the coordination of the upper and lower limbs. Especially for infants and young children, the appearance of crawling is a key node in the development process. Practicing crawling can promote the brain development of infants and young children, develop intellectual potential, and greatly benefit the neural development of strengthening the brain's control of the eyes and limbs. Crawling training is an important means of rehabilitation training for infants and young children, and it is also an important training method for developing the motor coordination ability of adolescents.

How to do crawling exercise correctly?

Although crawling exercise is very good, if we want to play the role of this fitness exercise, we still need to master the correct exercise essentials :

① Pay attention to adjusting your posture . Generally speaking, crawling refers to the crawling posture of infants and young children on their hands and knees before they can walk. For this crawling posture, our crawling starting position requires the elbows to be basically straight, the upper limbs to be perpendicular to the ground, the hips to be flexed 90 degrees, and the knees to be flexed 90 degrees. At the same time, when the palms are on the ground, the tiger's mouth points in the direction of travel. The most important thing is to keep the spine as parallel to the ground as possible, lift the head, and avoid hunchbacks and collapsed waist postures. At the same time, you need to try to stabilize the lumbar spine when crawling to avoid ups and downs and large swings of the waist .

②Breathe evenly . When crawling, avoid holding your breath and do even abdominal breathing. If you are not familiar with this breathing method, you need to do abdominal breathing training first, otherwise you will have breathing problems after increasing the intensity of exercise and the speed of crawling. The training method is to lie face up and focus on breathing. When you inhale, your belly will bulge, your waist and abdomen will tighten, and when you exhale, your belly will collapse, and you will feel your belly rise and fall with your breathing.

③ Choose the appropriate crawling difficulty according to your own situation . In addition to baby crawling, high-position crawling is also used in sports - crawling without the knees touching the ground. Common crawling methods include spider crawling, crocodile crawling, bear crawling, etc. Generally speaking, the greater the range of motion of the body, the greater the difficulty, the more upper and lower limb strength is required for crawling, and the more energy is consumed during crawling. For example, when a crocodile crawls, the knees do not touch the ground, and the height of the body from the ground is very low. When crawling, the hands and feet need to be supported with force, and the strength of the trunk stabilizing muscles can reach several times that of a baby crawling.

④ The crawling speed should be gradually increased . The faster you crawl, the stronger the trunk strength and coordination are required. When you first start to practice crawling, you must not crawl too fast, otherwise it is easy to cause shoulder injuries.

⑤ Increase the fun . You can add games to the crawling process, and if conditions permit, you can add small props such as small balls, hurdles, and training circles.

Precautions for crawling exercise

In addition to the above precautions, there are some other things we need to pay attention to, such as:

① Wear gloves and knee pads . When crawling, the palms and the front of the knees repeatedly contact the ground and bear the body's gravity. If you practice frequently, you can wear gloves to reduce pressure. Choose gloves with support on the palms. Cycling gloves are a good choice. You need to wear knee pads for training to avoid friction in front of the knees and reduce the impact on the knee ligaments. There is one situation that requires special attention. Some friends have a prominent tibial tubercle (trochanter) under the knee. When these friends crawl with their knees on the ground, the stress of the ground will have a continuous impact on the posterior cruciate ligament inside the knee joint, which can easily cause damage to the posterior cruciate ligament of the knee joint. Avoid crawling on hard ground. It is best to crawl on grass.

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② People with chronic diseases such as hypertension should use it with caution . When crawling, the muscles of the head, neck and upper limbs exert force, which increases the peripheral resistance of the blood vessels. In addition, some people lack strength in the upper and lower limbs, which can easily lead to breath holding and increase blood pressure. At the same time, when crawling, you should try to keep your head higher than the chest to avoid excessive intracranial blood pressure and cerebrovascular accidents. Other people who are not suitable for this include: people with osteoporosis, people with bleeding tendency, and diabetic patients with uncontrolled blood sugar.

③Crawling training should be conducted in an open, spacious, and unobstructed area to avoid accidental sports injuries caused by unsafe factors in the area.

References:

[1] Geng Xiaoyan. Study on the effects of 8-week crawling training on limb strength and core stability of college students[D]. Zhejiang Normal University, 2016.

[2] Wang Yingxia. Biomechanical study of four crawling movements of healthy adult males[D]. Hebei Normal University, 2019.

[3] Sun Yanqiu. Analysis of kinematic characteristics of upper and lower limbs in infants and young children during knee crawling[D]. Chongqing University, 2018.

[4] Meng Huanhuan, Zhou Zhexiao, Bai Rui, Tian Zhongming, Zhao Huanbin. Kinematic characteristics of crawling in adults at different center of gravity heights[J]. Sports Science, 2017, 37(11): 30-39. DOI: 10.16469/j.css.201711004.

[5] Ni Ning. Development of a quadruped bionic crawling robot[D]. Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2012.

[6] He Zhonghui, Pang Jian, Zhu Yong, Li Haixia. Research on the practice of functional training in youth physical fitness courses[J]. Physical Education, 2019, 39(07): 40-42.

[7] Yao Ning. Research on the kinematics and dynamics of tree frogs and other quadrupeds[D]. Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2013.

Author: Xie Siyuan

Review | Lu Wei, Associate Professor, School of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Beijing Sport University

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