Noticed Involuntary Twisting Of Hands And Feet In Circular Motion. Should I Be Worried?

Posted on Thu, 21 Nov 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 Answered on

Wed, 11 Dec 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : Dear Doctor, Our baby is 1 week shy of 10 months old. He is a very happy, well behaved toddler. However he has this habit of twisting his hands and feet in a circular motion from the wrist and the ankle. I believe this is involuntary at his end. It stops only when he concentrates on something intently, when that concentration stops his hands and feet are moving just about nonstop. He also rocks his body back and forth when he is sitting up. He is slightly behind schedule as regards to sitting up and crawling. He cannot sit up on his own, but when we sit him up he plays like that for hours happily. He also doesn’t crawl just yet. When he is on the ground he reaches for toys and can move around in a stationary circle without actually crawling. He seems very smart, has a good sense of humor and is very talkative. No issues with eating or sleeping. Should we be worried about these involuntary movements? Thank you very much in advance. Regards,

Answered by Dr. Chobufo Ditah (-4 hours later)

Brief Answer: NO there is no need to get concerned. Detailed Answer: Hi and thank you so much for this query. I can see you are a very concerned and caring mom. keep up. I have reviewed the information you have posted about your 10years old son. These circular movements fro wrists and ankles, though not typical, do not represent any pathology or pathological processes. As we grow up, we tend to execute some repetitive movements that have just no real significance. This is probably what is going on with your son right now. The fact that these movements stop whenever he gets involved into doing some other stuffs makes it more likely to be non pathological. I don't really have any worries about his neurological development grossly. I just think he has not been going through the exact same steps as many other children but, grossly he is normal. Able to walk around a stationary circle play with toys, maintaining the head up right, being a talkative at 10months, etc make great sense for his age and puts him right on track There is just no reason to get worried now about these movements. unless there are other unreported symptoms, your child is doing just fine and would develop normally. Thank you for using our services. i wish your son a continued good development. Feel free to ask for further clarifications if need be.I also wish you well and encourage you to continue taking good care of your son. Dr. Ditah, MD.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar