Back Arching and Flat Head

Exercise program for babies from four weeks of age who show signs of back arching. The program contains the same exercises as the program Tummy Time and Rolling and important additions and variations focusing on correcting the back arching, suppress skydiver position, and correct a flat back of the head.

  • Prioritized, simple exercises
  • Designed for busy families
  • Illustrated with pictures & videos
  • Instant & perpetual access
  • Secure payment with QuickPay

on Trustpilot

Available languages

299,00 DKK

(inclusive of all taxes, VAT and fees)

Klarna

Program description

Back arching, or back dominance, is a harmless muscular imbalance in babies that can challenge motor development and in some cases lead to a flat back of the head. Back dominance shows through typical signs, which you can read more about in an overview further down on this page. Sometimes only a few of these signs are present, and sometimes almost all of them. Back dominance develops because the extensor muscles along the back of the body are working harder (are more easily activated) than the flexor and rotation muscles on the front and sides of the trunk.

Back dominance can hamper the child’s rotational movements, which are important for building good quality, strength, and endurance in the subsequent milestones. In order to reach the next motor milestones reliably and with good quality, the child thus needs to develop a better balance between the back muscles and the flexor/rotation muscles.

At first, back dominance shows up very concretely as tummy time being difficult and rolling from back to tummy being delayed, or happening with the head thrown back into extension. When a baby is lying correctly on their tummy, pushing up from the floor through their arms and lifting their head against gravity, the muscles of the body are gradually strengthened, on the front, the back, and the sides of the body. When the slightly overactive back extensor muscles make it hard to keep the arms and bottom on the floor, the head quickly feels very heavy and tummy time becomes hard work.

In this program, you will learn how to support your baby in tummy time so they can find the right support points, and how to strengthen the flexor and rotation muscles with simple exercises, both as part of everyday play and through small, easy changes in the way you lift and carry your baby. You will also learn how to relieve pressure on the back of the head as effectively as possible if a flat back of the head (brachycephaly) has already developed.

Note: If your child can already roll from back to tummy, please choose this program instead: Belly Crawling.

This program is one of several in the category Tummy Time and Rolling – read about the differences in the program overview. Please find answers to frequently asked questions below. If you are still unsure which program is the right one for your child, you are very welcome to send an email to maria@develobaby.com.

  • Visible improvement in just couple weeks

    We live in another country, but I stumbled upon Maria’s profile while we were waiting for our physiotherapist appointment and bought arching back course and tummy time course, thinking it couldn’t hurt to try something while we wait. I was amazed by improvement in just a couple of weeks, baby was visibly less arching, even non-family members noticed the difference! Videos are short, simple and without sound (great when you only get the time to go through them when the baby is asleep), with just the right amount of written explanation. Its great that exercises are so short and mundane, we can do them at home or on the go, which allowed us to practice them frequently. They are also in priority order so I feel we get the benefit even on days when the baby is fussy so we only get to do a couple of exercises. Keep up the good work!
    Petra, Trustpilot

  • We purchased Maria’s back arching…

    We purchased Maria’s back arching program and we love it. The exercises are clear, easy to follow and fun. I also want to recommend Maria’s Instagram page (DevelopBaby) where she regularly posts great content. I am a first time mom always seeking ways to support my baby’s development and in my experience Maria’s programs are the absolute best there is out there.
    Maria – thank you for everything you do.
    To all parents or anyone interested in baby’s development: Maria’s programs and Instagram page are the best there is!
    Caterina, Trustpilot

  • love at first reel!

    I discovered Develobaby’s profile on Instagram and loved it since the first reel! Maria makes it really easy to integrate fun and useful exercises to help our babies in their development. I got the Back-Arching program and I can see my little boy gaining strength day by day. Thank you Maria!
    Giulia, Trustpilot

  • Back Arching Exercises Are Very Effective

    The back arching exercise package was very helpful for my baby. Better than any other in- person manual therapy she had received. I highly recommend!
    Nelie, Trustpilot

The most common signs of back arching?

  • The baby overextends the back and neck, e.g. when they are held close in a hug or during breastfeeding.
  • The baby rolls (tips over) from tummy to back early and involuntarily.
  • Flat head in the middle of the skull (brachycephaly). Often, back arching babies prefer to sleep with their head in a central position.
  • The baby has difficulty with tummy time and quickly becomes tired and restless when lying on their tummy.
Back Arching FAQ
  • The baby does “The Skydiver” in the prone position. They lift their arms up and extend them backwards.
  • The baby often lifts the bottom up in the supine position and may push themselves back.
  • When sitting, the baby will extend the arms back opening the chest and bringing the shoulder blades together.
  • The baby likes to stand up from an early age (<6 months).
  • The baby rolls from back to tummy with an overextended neck.
Back Arching FAQ Skydiver Position
  • The baby does straight sit-ups from the supine position.
  • Later in development, back arching babies will often use what’s called a “centered belly crawl” using both arms and legs at the same time (without crossing movements). Here I would recommend my Belly Crawling exercise program, which also has a strong focus on rotational activation.
  • Many babies who belly crawl without cross movements will later sit themselves up and bum scoot forward in a centered movement.
Back Arching FAQ Flat Head

Frequently asked questions to Back Arching and Flat Head

Back arching occurs because there is more firing (activity) in the muscles that stretch the joints of the body and in the muscles that work in the center of the body, i.e. straight movements, than in the muscles that create rotational movements. This may be a bit complicated to understand if you don’t have an in-depth knowledge of the human body, but it means that the child is too active in the extensor muscles and therefore has more difficulty with movements that require rotation and lateral coordination (tummy time, rolling, pivoting, crawling, and scooting).

Back arching is not dangerous! It’s not a medical diagnosis, and it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with your baby. Rather, back arching is a functional diagnosis that can challenge and delay your baby’s motor development. So it makes sense to work with back arching to give your baby the best possible foundation for development.

Some children will eventually outgrow their back arching if they are given enough tummy time and are motivated to do lots of rolling and other cross-coordination. The back arching exercises in this program just make it more likely that the lack of rotation won’t interfere with crawling and motor development in general. But you should never feel like a bad parent if you choose not to do this. Every priority needs to fit the bigger picture of your whole family, and motor development isn’t always at the top of the priority list.

No! The exercises are normal strengthening exercises in the anatomically normal muscle pattern. This means that even children who do not arche their backs at all can do these exercises and achieve a stronger body. The worst thing that will happen is that you will be supporting your baby’s motor development.

Because I know that many families find it overwhelming to do exercises in their daily lives, I have organized the exercises in order of priority. The most important exercises are at the top, so if you’re short on time, those are the ones you can focus on.
By doing specific exercises as part of all the little things you do with your baby throughout the day, you can usually break back dominance fairly quickly and get your baby back on the motor track.

There is a whole section in the program with additional exercises and measures if your child has a flat back of the head due to back arching.

The exercises are general, targeted strength training designed to free your baby from the involuntary back arching. The exercises are based on best medical practices and are not an alternative treatment. However, there are some children who need a more individualized exercise program. This is usually the case with children who have a strong involuntary tendency to arche their backs or special circumstances surrounding the baby. However, strength training for back arching will work for the vast majority.

Frequently asked questions to exercise programs

After completing the purchase process successfully, you can access your exercise program here on the develobaby.com. During payment, enter your email address and password. After successful payment, you will see an additional heading in the menu called “My Programs”, including links to all the exercise programs you have purchased access to. You could be reading your first program in under 60 seconds from purchasing. When you come back to DeveloBaby.com after a few days, the system will have logged you out automatically. Then simply log in again with your email address as your username and the password you chose during the checkout process.

My exercise programs are accessible online here on DeveloBaby.com. As the programs contain video clips that couldn’t be played in PDF or other types of print, there is no downloadable or hard copy version. That said, using a PC/Mac you can in fact print the exercise programs you have purchased by pressing Ctrl+P on Windows and Command+P on MacOS when you are on the exercise program page. However, the programs are not specifically set up for this purpose, so it’s much nicer and more user-friendly to view it directly on your mobile, tablet or computer.

You have perpetual access. However, I am obliged to adhere to certain privacy data regulations (such as GDPR), which state that I cannot store customer data longer than necessary. Therefore, the system limits your access to one year at a time. When a year is about to expire, the system will automatically send you an email so you can easily extend your access if you want to keep it.

No, this would be against the terms & conditions. You purchase access for yourself and the people living in your household. If you, however, buy an exercise program as a grandparent, you can of course share the access with the person you bought it for. In contrast, if you are a manager in an institution and want to procure access to one or more exercise programs for your employees, please write to me so we can work out an agreement on multiple licenses. For contact details and more, please see my Terms and Conditions.

Current legislation states that the usual 14-day right of withdrawal does not apply to digital products. The reason for this is that it is virtually impossible to argue that you haven’t used digital products once you’ve logged in. Therefore, I do not generally offer refunds. Please read more about my return policy under Terms and Conditions.

Yes, I’ve gone to great lengths to explain each exercise in layman’s terms so that everyone can follow. There are also pictures and videos to accompany the exercises, where I perform the exercises on a real baby.

No, certainly not. In my exercise programs, I have put the exercises in prioritized order. There are a lot of exercises in each program, so in principle you can spend your whole day doing exercises if you find it enjoyable, but you can also choose to do the top three or top five, and therefore the most important ones. This makes the exercise programs suitable for everyone, no matter how much time and energy you have to spare.

The exercises are basically just strength training, just like when you go to the gym. They are designed to strengthen your child muscles wrt the exercise programs’ purpose, e.g. addressing back arching. Therefore, exercises will always make your child stronger. Whether your child achieves each milestone with good quality using the exercises depends, of course, on the starting conditions and whether there are any special conditions that would require a individually tailored approach. But no matter what, helping your child build a stronger body will never be in vain. For the vast majority, standardized exercises, as presented in my exercise programs, will help the child move on to the next milestone well and strongly.

Related programs

Note: when purchasing two or more programs, a 10% discount is automatically applied. ❤

  • Asymmetrical Belly Crawling

    Exercise program for children who belly crawl using only one side of the body and are not yet able to crawl forward on all fours. The program contains the same exercises as the program Crawling on All Fours and important additions and variations focusing on correcting one-sided belly crawling.

  • Crawling on All Fours

    Exercise program for babies who are already able to belly crawl, either with a normal cross-over pattern or by moving both arms and legs at the same time. The program contains best-practice home exercises to reliably move on to strong crawling on all fours. The exercises strengthen the skills needed to pass through the motor milestones well and can be used both as cosy everyday play inspiration and in cases of motor development delay.

  • DeveloBaby Sleep

    Exercise program for babies and very young children from 4 weeks up to 2 years who find it difficult to calm down, surrender to sleep, or stay asleep due to motor restlessness or other sensory seeking behaviour. DeveloBaby Sleep also includes a wide range of concrete regulating sensory exercises as well as best-practice knowledge about baby sleep and sleep hygiene.

  • Preferred Side and Flat Head

    Exercise program for babies from four weeks of age who show signs of a preferred side. The program contains the same exercises as the program Tummy Time and Rolling and important additions and variations focusing on correcting a preferred side, the C-shape (banana shape), and a asymmetrical back of the head.

  • Tarzan Crawling and Bottom Scooting

    Exercise program for children who crawl on one knee and one foot (Tarzan crawling) or move forward by bottom scooting and are not yet able to walk without support. The program contains the same exercises as the program for Walking, plus important additions and variations focusing on correcting the movement patterns that lead to Tarzan crawling and bottom scooting.

  • Sensory Integration

    Exercise program for children from 2 years to around 12 years who show signs of sensory integration issues, whether your child finds certain types of sensory input overwhelming or has a strong need for specific kinds of sensory stimulation. Sensory Integration includes a wide range of concrete sensory-stimulating exercises as well as sensorimotor games and activities that help create better balance in everyday life.

  • Tummy Time

    Exercise program for babies from 4 weeks of age with simple and effective best-practice exercises for strong tummy time and rolling from back to tummy. The exercises support the gross motor foundation by strengthening the skills needed to pass through the motor milestones in the best possible way. They can be used both as cosy everyday play inspiration and in cases of mild motor delay.

  • Belly Crawling

    Exercise program for babies who can already roll from back to tummy. The program contains simple and effective best-practice exercises to support the next step toward strong belly crawling. The exercises strengthen the skills that are important for reaching later motor milestones and can be used both as cosy everyday play inspiration and in cases of motor development delay.

  • Walking

    Exercise program for children who can already crawl on all fours. The program contains best-practice home exercises to support the next step toward strong and stable walking. The exercises strengthen the motor foundation by promoting the skills that are important for moving well through the motor milestones, and can be used both as cosy everyday play inspiration and in cases of motor development delay.

The latest on Instagram

Follow me on Instagram @develobaby, where I share evidence based motor development knowledge and fun! ❤

Disclaimer

All content on DeveloBaby.com is based on recognized professional standards in Denmark, and you can expect them to be in line with the advice you receive in the public health system. If you find that your child has pronounced sleep or motor challenges, or that there is a lack of effect from the general exercises, I recommend that you make an appointment with me, either in person or online, so that I can customize the program for your child. If your child is unwell, please always contact your health care provider or physician. Read full disclaimer…