As a father of two small children—a 26-month-old
daughter and a 6-month-old son—I’ve had my share of new-parent body pain (minus
the actual giving birth part). Sometimes you get so used to being in pain from
holding your kids all day that you’re actually surprised when your body isn’t
lingering from soreness. One of the most common complaints I hear about
(particularly from my wife) is low back pain.
Now, there are many different types and causes
of low pack pain, and all of them have a specific mechanism in which they need
to be treated. But overall, low back pain is usually an issue of two things:
posture and repetitive stress.
When lifting your cute little heavy
potato sack of a baby, it’s important to be mindful of your posture and to have
your hips, knees and legs do most of the lifting (kind of like when you’re
doing a squat or lunge). This means keeping your back aligned above your pelvis
and not having it so rounded—and always engaging the “core”.
What’s this word “core” that I’m throwing out
here? I tell my wife all the time to contract her core. Contrary to what she
may think, your core is not just your belly or your abs. The core is actually a
group of muscles that stabilize the spine and pelvis. These muscles contract
together to prevent unnecessary movement of the spine during simple activities
like picking up your child.
So how does one correctly contract the core?
Most people end up just holding their breath or contracting their abs—wrong!
This kind of contraction doesn’t really engage the entire core and won’t
protect your spine the way it needs to. The proper way to assess whether
you’re doing it the right way is to feel it with your fingers. Place your
fingers just outside of your ab muscles—yes, we all have them, even though
some people's may be hidden—and dig your fingers in around belly button level (see below for a visual reference). Keeping
your fingers there, I tell my patients to pull their belly button in and up (kind of like when you're sucking in your stomach, but without holding your breath).
If you are able to feel hardening or your fingers pushing back out a little bit, then you are contracting your core the right
way.
Another way to prevent low back pain is to
always keep your child as close to your body when picking him or her up. Unless
your child’s just pooped himself up the back (in which case you may want to
hold him away from your body), pick your child up in close body contact to
reduce the amount of force on your back. Think about picking up a big sack of
rice. You probably wouldn’t try picking it up with your arms held out, right?
In similar fashion, when picking up your child, it’s important to be in proper
position: shoulder kept back, core engaged, legs and shoulders aligned with
your hips. And also make sure that your shoulders aren’t extended out too much
in front of your body.
These
basic steps—along with some nightly massages from the loving husband—can help in
reducing your risk of injury and could even decrease the amount of pain you’re
currently in. But of course we recommend that low back pain sufferers always consult
with a physical therapist to discuss the best plan of care for your specific
condition and needs.
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