Whether it’s Mother’s Day or any other day of the year, mums are superheroes in more ways than one. But all this being super can take a toll on the body. Here’s a piece Dr James wrote about what and how being a mum can affect you physically:
What being a Mum does to your body
The early days
It is amazing what mums can do. A lot of mums are not particularly strong before having a child. But suddenly, you can carry a sleeping child, with a pushchair hooked over the shoulder and a nappy bag and day pack. This will often have to be carefully balanced in order to not wake said child, whilst navigating pathways, gates, doors and stairs. How many of you ladies out there can relate to this?
Or what about city living. Lifting the pushchair with the baby in it, along with the bags of things attached to the pushchair and carry it upstairs at tube stations and onto buses. At least at Eastbourne station stairs are not a problem!
Then there are the hours of holding your child when they are tiny, often in a very uncomfortable position, not daring to move in case they wake. Then the bending over putting them in cots or changing their nappies on counters that are too low.
All of these things put a lot of strain on your back and lead to lower back pain, or mid back pain. Does this sound like you? Consider chiropractic care with us in Eastbourne.
Toddler years
It changes as they get bigger. That’s when you start to do everything one handed whilst you carry a child around on one hip. That hip for most is always the same one, and is hoiked out to the side in order to counterbalance the weight.
It gets somewhat easier as they begin to walk, but it is amazing for how many years your kids still want to be picked up and carried. Or carried from the car into the house when they have fallen asleep on a journey. Does this all sound familiar?
It is no wonder many mums start to get lower back pain or other aches and pains. Are you at this stage? Could we help you at our chiropractic clinic in Eastbourne?
What can you do to avoid these problems?
Well I think as a mum you do what you have to do even when you know better! Our kids come first. For years mums are seen shoving their pelvis out to one side, causing their lower spines to curve, and then carrying heavy weight on one side. It is no wonder that many of new mums get problems. For many women, this is not immediate, so they don’t always relate theses problems to that issue.
How can we change this one might ask? Well, there are various contraptions that allow you to carry your child strapped to the front of the body. Or, when you can, you could try hold our kids to the centre of our body as much as possible. But let’s be honest, this is not always feasible. Possibly the best option here is to try and at least alternate the hips and become a bit more ambidextrous.
The other thing to think of, when picking up your child and all your baby gear, is to be mindful of bending your knees and using your legs to help with the lifting instead of always straining your back. Getting a backpack for your gear instead of a shoulder bag could help to prevent twisting your body to carry things.
Pushchairs for Mum
Another thing to consider is pushchairs; finding one that has handles that are high enough for your height so you are not slouched over whilst pushing your little one around. I think the pushchairs that have bigger wheels are easier to steer and the ones with one handle across the middle always seem much more comfortable to use as you can change your hand position to stay comfortable.
How do we treat women with this problem.
When we get women in complaining of these problems, we must find out which joints are causing pain, and what muscles are in spasm that we can release. Acupuncture in this area seems to help alleviate the back pain quite quickly on a short-term basis. We can recommend some muscle strengthening exercises that you can do at home to help aid the recovery process.
Do any of these things ring true for you? Are you in pain and feel like there is nothing that can be done for you? Have you been living with this for a long time? Please ring us and book in for a consultation. Click here for contact details. We can assess you and see if chiropractic is the way forward for you too. And if you are a new mother, I hope this blog gives you a little sensible advice on how to help look after yourself when becoming a new mum.
James Revell
Eastbourne Chiropractor
Want to find out more?
If you’ve found this blog helpful and would like to find out more, then please check out one of our other mum-related blogs below, or use the search tool HERE to search for other topics that may be relevant to you.
Chiropractic Advice for Women Suffering Back Ache
A Parent’s Guide to Chiropractic
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