Movement = life 

I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant. And I'm now visiting the doctor every week to check on the baby. Starting at 28 weeks, I was told to start counting kicks. Basically, to choose an hour during the day that the baby is active, and count for 10 distinct movements. The doctors use this as a sign of vitality in the pregnancy. Every single visit since that 28 weeks, the first question each doctor asked me before they have barely stepped into the room is "how is the baby moving?” 

And we have been very fortunate that the answer has always been, "great ". For me as a physical therapist and future mom, it is the most amazing thing in the entire world. It is nothing short of a miracle.

What's interesting to me is that the movement question appears to be the absolute most important question that our doctor asks about us before we're born. 

And I will imagine that at her first year and a half of pediatrician visits, they will be checking for her motor milestones along the way. And maybe at four or five years old they'll ask if she's riding a bike yet, or able to skip. But at 10 years old, I'm not so sure they'll ask about any motor milestones.

And by 15 or 17 years old, I'm certain they won't ask about any motor patterns or movements that she consistently does. And I know that as an adult in my 30s, my doctor has never even sniffed at my movement patterns, maybe, with the exception of looking at me and deciding ‘oh, she must exercise regularly’. 

Hey again, it's interesting to me as a physical therapist, and a mom, that the most important question before we’re born has to do with moving patterns, but after we're born, and really, after our first two years of life, that question doesn't get asked anymore. 

Could you imagine if it was? Could you imagine that if that every physical you ever had, your doctor made you stand up from the floor without using your hands? Your doctor made you crawl in the hallway? Your doctor had you pull yourself up using a chair or table, or do a push up from the floor? The doctor had you roll over from side to side? The doctor checked how effectively you can climb stairs?

Could you do those things now? 

If your doctor asked you to move, significantly, 10 times in an hour, every single day, like my doctor is asking of my baby, would you pass? I know most people who work desk jobs or are retired wouldn’t. And that’s of concern. 

In my experience, if everyone had the mentality that they should move significantly, for at least one hour every day, in positions that we were born to move in, like, squatting, lodging, bending, twisting, climbing, pushing, pulling, and walking or running, we would see a dramatic, dramatic, decrease in orthopedic conditions and needs for surgery.

So, we continue the mission of movement. We continue to encourage EVERYONE to move in whatever capacity they’re able.