Back pain advice for all parents
If you already suffer from back pain and are about to welcome a new baby and perhaps have younger children too, the back pain advice is to remember to take care of your back.
The British Chiropractic Association (BCA) has found that the strain of lifting and carrying babies and toddlers can cause severe pain to parents who already have back or neck pain.
Our team of chiropractors at Luck’s Yard Clinic see many new parents and their babies and can offer treatment and advice to keep your backs happy!
Nearly half of new parents found that their pain increased after having children, with 57% of women experiencing new aches and pains compared to 27% of men.
It appears that many sufferers do not consider that their pain may become worse by constant bending over such as placing babies in and out of cots and changing nappies. Carrying babies in one arm with a heavy changing back slung over one shoulder can exacerbate this situation.
BCA chiropractor, Tim Hutchful, said: “We understand new parents often may not see their own health as a priority but, it’s important they are aware of the toll that that back pain can have, and take simple steps to ensure their back and neck health doesn’t suffer.”
More than two thirds of parents did not receive any advice on how to look after their backs after having a child and were not made aware that situations such as disturbed sleep could also contribute to back and neck pain.
Tone Tellefsen Hughes from Luck’s Yard Clinic in Milford says: “it is absolutely crucial for new parents to be aware of the extra stresses on the body after having a new baby. Putting babies in and out of car seats and then into buggies require the body to contort into all sorts of unnatural positions – and yet we do these automatically without taking precautions.”
She goes on to advise: “simple strategies such as learning how to lift without strain on the lower back, stretching and strengthening exercises can make all the difference. When you are feeding your baby, either by breast or bottle, make sure you are sitting comfortably with good support. Walking to settle your baby can also cause a huge amount of strain on the lower lumbar region – a sleeping baby can be surprisingly heavy”.
The Luck’s Yard app – free from your app store: search for LUCKSYARDCLINIC – demonstrates lots of easy techniques to make sure you look after your back when looking after your little one.
For more information call Reception on 01483 527945 or visit our website: www.lucksyardclinic.com.
The BCA also has a number of simple tips current and future parents to ease the strain at: www.chiropractic-uk.co.uk/straightenup.
