Why a Baby Can Crawl Without Developing Knee Pain

As parents, watching an infant grow from baby to toddler is an exciting time. For many parents, the sudden growth is astonishing and frightening all at the same time. Witnessing the child development as a baby begins to crawl, marks a period in which the child moves into a new dimension of independence. While, as adults, crawling is virtually an impossible task, due to unexplainable knee pain, our children, miraculously, crawl endlessly as we chase and guide them into safe play areas.

Human knees are a complex part of the body involving not only bones but ligaments and tendons. Within this lies a complex integral structure which allows for a variety of flexion and extension motions. While most human knees are limited to specific range of motion, many individuals work hard to improve the structure, strength and endurance of the knees. For some, this perseverance in knee health began as young as infancy with proper child growth and child development.

As infants, learning to crawl is a natural childhood development of fine and gross motor skills which generally begins around six months of age. Using a forward momentum, as children, we learn to evenly balance weight on both hands as well as both knees. With further practice, a child learns to navigate and balance this same weight and momentum onto two opposing extremities while the other two extremities maintain the infant's crawling process. With practice, as infants, we learn to slowly crawl and, before long, our environment becomes more intriguing as we then develop an ability to walk. Crawling, for infants, is a natural child development progress and should not, therefore, be impeded by parent or caretaker. Without proper crawling skills, a child may suffer a delay in child development of further gross and fine motor skills, including the delayed ability to walk.