WAG How do you correct "banana back" or "watermelon belly"?

[JoyAvenueMom]

DD is almost 9 yo. She is not fat, not thin, just right. Her rib cage shows when she stretches, and when she holds herself correctly and "sucks in", she has beautiful lines. (IMO) However, she has a postural issue of frequently standing with her belly out. Her previous coach commented on her "natural arch" in her back and reminded her constantly. I have seen a few posts here about gym time not being sufficient to correct a posture problem. So, how can you tackle it as a parent? Or, is this something she is likely to grow out of as her core strength increases and she spends more time in the gym?

 

[skschlag]

My ds has a horrible banana back. He does handstands against the wall with nose, chest and toes touching only. COach also reminds him alot. The coach says as his back strengthens to match his stomach, it will improve. For now, we just do lots of reminders so I am interested in any responses too!!!

 

[gymgal]

Dd had this for the longest time. We even took her to an ortho to make sure there was nothing structurally wrong because it was so prominent. Over the years, it has gotten better, though the sway back is still there a little bit. The protruding abdomen is gone though. She is 12 now and the increased hours and conditioning over the the last 2 years helped tremendously .

 

[cbone]

All this talk is making me hungry!

You said it- CORE STRENGTH!

 

[Cosmos]

That results from overworking the iliopsoas muscles, particularly the psoas major -which comes from doing a lot of hip flexion- and NOT working the anterior abdominal wall enough. Both the iliacus and the psoas major move the femor with respect to the hip, but while the iliacus originates form the iliac crest which is rigid, the psoas major originates on the lumbar spine, which is flexible. Thus, as the psoas major gets stronger, it pulls the lumbar spine forward, increasing the lumbar lordosis. The solution for this is to do exercises that isolate the anterior abdominal wall (rectus abdominis and obliques) as much as possible and remove the load from the iliopsoas muscles. So, for example, your DD should NOT do leg lifts with straight legs from a high bar, but instead should do crunches on the floor. If she does lifts of the hips while hanging from the bar, they should be only in a tucked position (knees bent), and with someone holding her back in place, so that the pelvis moves up with respect to the chest. This can be done better with the kind of bar that's against the wall and a back rest. In either case, she should feel it in the anterior abdominal wall and that should be what is sore the next day.

 

[BlairBob]

A lot of hollow holds. Until she hates them. Then more.

 

[gwenmom]

Ballet might help

 

[BlairBob]

Yep, they will get her to tuck her hips under or else.

 

[wallflower]

DD has the "belly out, sway back" when she is standing around, chalking up, etc. But she doesn't do it when she is doing gymnastics. Her coach will sometimes tell her to stand like a gymnast. She tells me she is just relaxing when she stands around.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

you can't change the body.

 

[skschlag]

I agree dunno. But I actually had a judge tell me that he deducts .5 from my son's routine the minute he salutes because he has too much arch. Not sure if he actually does it or not but I was still a little frustrated by that.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

then the judge is an idiot. stupid is as stupid does. and there is no such deduction. doesn't surprise me, though.

 

[skschlag]

I didn't think so. But it was still frustrating. Looking at his scores I was pretty sure that he wasn't doing it but it definitely made us much more aware of his "swayback"

 

[Deleted member D3987]

and bringing attention to something on someone's body that is irrelevant and can't be changed. and then later, everyone wonders why kids have so many problems about body image. geesh.

 

[skschlag]

Fortunately, my son doesn't care! LOL! he just works hard to make sure his "shapes" are good, and listens to his coach!

 

[Kiwi]

If her butt is sticking out she may have a forward pelvic rotation, which can be caused by muscle imbalances that pull the pelvis forward. Gymnasts tend to do a lot of strengthening of the quads and hip flexors which can cause these muscles to shorten and pull the pelvis forward. It can be corrected by lots of stretching the quads and hip flexors, and strengthening the hamstrings and glutes. If you're really worried take her to see a St John neuromuscular therapist, they are great at sorting out this kind of stuff.

 

[stargazer]

I have this issue too, and I still accidentally stand with a swayback from time to time when I forget. My back naturally arches much more than most people's, but the main issue was my posture. It wasn't until I was 13 and my mum told me that I was standing with my stomach out that I became aware and worked to fix it. It probably took about 3 years for it to become a habit. She always told me to 'stand tall' and imagine there was a string tied to my head that was pulling me taller, and when I find myself slouching that's still the image that pops up when I correct my posture. There were some little girls who did the swayback/watermelon belly thing, but it seemed to correct itself as they progressed in gymnastics and got stronger. I'm not sure if that was advice exactly, but there's my two cents!

 

[BlairBob]

In my experience, you'll see this in more in the younger children though sometimes in the older ones (especially if they start late in gymnastics). I remember one of my 10 or 11 yo saying she preferred it because she liked to stick her little booty.

Like anything, it has to do with posture and being mindful of it. I'm not really sure how my posture was before I was in High School and as a child but I'm quite sure between my Gunny and my sensei that proper posture was maintained (or there would have been hell to pay).

 

[profmom]

Interesting -- both of mine are Gumby gymnasts, and DD's relaxed posture has a distinct arch in her back. But she mentioned to me this morning that her coaches like it when she wears a leo that has a solid stripe up her right and left sides from hip to armpit because they can see in an instant if she's too swaybacked.

(I'm a terrible sloucher, probably because I had a huge growth spurt around the same time I had my first real boyfriend and suddenly found myself an inch taller than him. One of many moments when I wish my adult self could go back and talk some sense into my teenage self!)

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

Talk about differing views! Dd has had this "posture" since she was about 3yo, so I don't think it is related to gym conditioning. If anything, It seems to have gotten better over the past couple of years as she has gotten taller and thinner and spends more time in the gym. I am encouraged by the comments that this tends to be a bigger issue with little ones, and that it seems to improve as they get older. Dunno, I think you are right to a certain extent.. she obviously has a bigger curve in her spine naturally. However, I know she can correct it when she pays attention or is told to "suck it in". I just would like to make her more conscious of her posture without impacting her body image.. I think I will try some of the "posture reminders"...stand straight, sit straight, etc., but leave any more serious exercises in the gym.