Locomotor skills involve bodily movements that generate overall body movement through space. Walking, running, jumping, and hopping are essential for normal development. Effective implementation requires awareness of surroundings and social considerations. Physical therapy can help those with disabilities or injuries, while athletes can improve through deliberate practice.
Locomotor skills are skills related to bodily movements that generate a global movement of the body through space. Waving the arms in the air is not an example of locomotor skill – although motor skill is involved, no overall body movement is generated. Walking and jumping forward, on the other hand, are considered locomotor skills, as the body is moved through space. Learning locomotion skills such as walking, running, jumping, and hopping is an essential part of the normal development of many different animals, including humans. A locomotor disability is a type of physical or neurological problem that inhibits an individual’s ability to propel themselves through space.
Walking is widely considered to be one of the simplest locomotion skills and is a major milestone in the development of a child’s motor skills. Despite its apparent simplicity, walking is a complex act that includes many different components. Balance, pace, stride length, and coordination with the arms and the rest of the body are all important aspects of walking. During early development, a child’s gait tends to develop from an uneven, flat-footed progression to a more confident and balanced heel-to-toe walk. Other locomotor skills, such as running and jumping, go through a similarly complex development pattern over time.
Effective development of the physical components of locomotor skills is only one aspect of their safe and effective implementation. An individual, learning to run, for example, must also develop the skill and finesse necessary to avoid obstacles and remain aware of their surroundings. At all times, an individual must be aware of possible barriers that prevent the safe implementation of his locomotion skills. There may also be social considerations about proper locomotor movement, such as maintaining an adequate degree of space between oneself and others.
Although most primary locomotor skills are acquired in the course of normal development and do not require much correction or intentional improvement, some people, by choice or necessity, work to improve those skills. Individuals who suffer from neurological or physical disabilities or who sustain injuries affecting locomotor function often need to undergo physical therapy to re-develop their locomotor skills. Others, especially athletes, may work to hone their skills through deliberate practice or work with personal trainers. Runners, for example, often learn to run incorrectly and can benefit greatly from consciously working to make even small improvements in their strides.
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