How Hip Tightness Affects Cognitive Development in Children
Many children, especially those with disabilities, experience hip tightness, but what if I told you that this could also be affecting their brain development? It might sound surprising, but yes, tight hips can have a big impact on how we grow cognitively. Here’s why:
Movement and Brain Development Go Hand in Hand
Early movements like crawling, rolling, and squatting are more than just physical milestones—they’re vital for brain development. These movements help integrate primitive reflexes and create neural connections that are the foundation for cognitive abilities. When the hips are tight, kids often move in unnatural ways to compensate, and this can interfere with brain development and how they process sensory information.
Hips Are Key to Balance and Body Awareness
Our hips play a crucial role in balance, posture, and how we’re aware of where our bodies are in space. When mobility is limited, kids miss out on important movement experiences that strengthen their vestibular (balance) and proprioceptive (body awareness) systems. Both are essential for focus, coordination, and learning. Without them, it's harder for kids to stay focused and keep up in school.
Tight Hips and Posture Can Affect Learning
When hips are tight, they often lead to poor core stability and bad posture. This can affect breathing, which in turn impacts oxygen flow to the brain. And as we all know, when the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen, it can be harder to pay attention, remember things, and think clearly.
The Stress Connection
Tight hips also create tension in the fascia—the connective tissue throughout the body—which can send stress signals to the nervous system. This keeps kids in a low-level fight-or-flight mode, making it harder for them to regulate their emotions, focus, and learn effectively.
Primitive Reflexes and Hip Mobility
If the hips aren’t moving properly, primitive reflexes—like the Asymmetrical Tonic Neck Reflex (ATNR) or Spinal Galant Reflex—might not integrate as they should. These reflexes are crucial for things like reading, writing, and focus. When they’re retained, kids often struggle with these skills.
In my work, I’ve found that freeing up the hips is often a shortcut to helping children integrate those reflexes. Once the hips open up, kids naturally return to developmental movements, like rolling and crawling, with much more ease. This doesn’t just help them move better—it helps them cognitively as well.
Why Do Tight Hips Happen?
There are a lot of reasons why kids develop tight hips. Some might not have had enough mobility opportunities early on, especially if they spent a lot of time in rockers, bouncers, or swaddles. Others might have experienced early trauma that impacted their movement. Unfortunately, once kids hit school age, the problem often gets worse. Most school-aged children spend a lot of time sitting at desks, which further limits hip movement.
As a society we want kids to do well academically, but true success goes beyond grades. Without proper movement patterns, kids can’t fully develop their cognitive and motor skills. That’s why it’s so important to focus on foundational movements, like hip rotation, that are essential for both learning and functioning in everyday life.
Imagine if we could change how school desks are set up—what if kids could do their work on the floor, allowing their hips to move freely and develop the way they need to? By prioritizing these movements and giving children the freedom to fully develop their hips, we can set them up for better cognitive growth and to literally thrive for the rest of their lives .
