Sensory Processing and Heavy Work Activities

'Heavy work' activities are activities that engage the large joints and muscle groups of the body. These activities allow the joint capsule to compress or expand providing increased proprioceptive input from the receptors located in muscles and ligaments. These activities are organizing for the body because the input provided allows the brain to map out where you are in space.
With these heavy work activities, the quality of the movement is very important. You don't want your child using momentum to complete the activity (this decreases the input to the proprioceptive receptors) and you don't want them to lock their joints. Locking of the joints provides stability without engagement of the muscles and is often seen when low tone is present.
Some examples of heavy work activities include:

• jumping (jumping down from somewhere will provide more input than just jumping from the ground)
• animal walks that incorporate weightbearing through the shoulder girdle (such as crab walks or bear walks) or wheelbarrow walks
• Tug of War (this can be played with a sheet, parachute, or cloth tunnel)
• propelling a scooterboard with arms or legs
• pushing a full laundry basket room to room (taking large handfuls of laundry from hamper to basket would also be heavy work)
• play activities that incorporate running and jumping such as soccer, football, basketball or kickball
• digging in the sand box
• pushing around a toy bin to clean up at the end of the day or before meals
• Climbing playground equipment
• swimming
• oral motor activities such as eating chewy or crunchy snacks and chewing gum
• Hammering pegs
• push ups or wall push ups
  

These are just a few examples of a seemingly endless list of heavy work activities. It is important to consider your child's interests when helping him/her pick activities. If they enjoy the activity, they will be motivated to participate. It is also important to take into consideration the environment the child is in when choosing an activity (jumping up and down when in the classroom may be a distraction to other children, but pulling on a resistive exercise band attached to the desk may be acceptable). Heavy work activities should be incorporated throughout your child's day to improve sensory modulation. It is usually a good idea for a child to participate in heavy work before a seated task or a task that will be challenging. Your occupational therapist can help you develop an individualized daily plan that works for you and your child.