Welcome to the new column from local osteopath Sarah-Jane Attias who will answer readers’ health concerns.
Q: I came to your clinic last year with my newborn baby, she was unsettled with reflux and I was suffering from exhaustion. Your gentle, effective treatments and take-home advice has really helped me and I’m now considered the font of knowledge amongst my girlfriends when it comes to ‘reflux’. Now I am finding that with lifting my baby in and out of cot and car seat I am suffering with constant lower back pain. Can you explain to me what’s going on, I’ve never had this problem before and please suggest a couple of simple exercises to relieve the pain and re-energise me? Emma & Sophie
A: I remember you and Sophie. This is a good and often-asked question. As you have discovered, motherhood is one of our most creative and miraculous events, it’s also an incredible physical achievement; you could compare it to a series of triathlons, with a Coast to Coast thrown in at the end! At Living Osteopathy we like to be part of your training crew at the many stages of motherhood. Obviously it is best to come into the clinic so we can give you a individual assessment and plans for you to take away for a full recovery. Here are a couple of relieving exercises for you.
Always try and reduce lifting and twisting to a minimum (hard, I know, with a baby and some mothers may have a toddler as well).
Don’t hold your breath. With pain we often hold our breath, anticipating pain. If possible, slow down and plan your movement before you move, breathing in to
prepare and breath out on the movement.
When at rest, either at night or during the day, use pillows to help keep your back neutral, ie, if lying on your side, place a pillow between your knees, if on your back place a pillow under your knees.
Your partner could use my favourite cream from Absolute Essential, Body Repair Cream, and while you are lying on your side, in your supported position, gently massage up and down the spine on one side and then turn over and do the other side, this can include the muscles of the buttocks and into the top of the arms. This is therapeutic for both partners. After you have had a baby, there is a change in your posture due to the extra weight being carried ‘out front’. There is softening of your ligaments relating to ribs and pelvis, to increase the space for your baby to grow into, and change in tone of your abdominal muscles, which are part of the support structure of your lower back.
When Sophie was born she was adored and so there are a lot of ‘looking down’ especially during breast feeding and also the added weight of milk supply placing a strain on your upper back. The ligaments of your body are slowly ‘firming’ up, however, there is still a lot more movement within the joints of your back and pelvis, which can create more instability, coupled with weaker abdominal tone. (SARAH-JANE ATTIAS)
Disclaimer: This article is for general information purposes only. If you have a specific health problem you should seek advise from an appropriate registered health care provider. Living Osteopathy is a Primary Health Care Provider registered with ACC and the OCNZ. Living Osteopathy does not accept any liability other than to its clients.
No comments so far!