Muscles Vs. Movement
Dec 16, 2025
Compensation Uses Muscles. Development Uses Movement.
Compensation relies on whatever the system can access quickly — and the fastest, simplest resource is muscle. Muscle tightens, braces, pushes, and holds. It can create the appearance of competence. A child can prop themselves into sitting. A child can stiffen through the legs and bounce into standing. A child can lock the arms to prevent falling. A child can use momentum to mask instability. A child can pull to stand because they cannot rotate to stand.
These strategies work in the moment.
But they do not teach the nervous system anything new.
Development, on the other hand, is about movement, not muscle. Movement must be able to rotate, transfer, cross midline, change planes, and adapt to gravity. Movement teaches the brain how to predict, recover, and explore. Movement builds diagonal strength, efficient momentum, perceptual awareness, and sensory regulation.
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Compensation can make a child look strong.
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Development makes a child organized.
Does your child have issues with neuromuscular compensation?
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