Shop 4 & 5
16 Maroubra Road
Maroubra, 2035 NSW
Give us a Call
(02) 9314 3888
Opening Hours
Mon, Wed and Fri:
8:30am - 3:30pm
Tues:
8:30am - 5:30pm
Thurs:
8:30am - 4:30pm

How To Prevent Neck & Back Pain. What Every New Mum Should Know..

Avoiding The Common Problems That Cause Neck And Back Pain For A New Mum

As a new mum, you may be vulnerable to experiencing low back, pelvic or neck pain.  Your body is still trying to recover from the changes it went through during your pregnancy.  These changes include fluid retention, ligament laxity, weight gain, changes to your centre of gravity and overstretching and shortening of postural muscles.

Up to 12 weeks after you have given birth you may continue to be at risk of joint hypermobility and ligament laxity due to the influence of hormones on your ligaments and connective tissue.

Tight neck and shoulder muscles and overstretched abdominal muscles combined with poor posture, interrupted sleep and increased lifting, loading and repetitive activities may put you at risk for developing neck and back problems.

Here are a few tips to help you prevent these issues from occurring:

When breastfeeding:

  • Always make sure you are sitting in a good supportive chair.
  • Make sure your back is supported.
  • Support your elbows on arm-rests or a pillow.
  • Maintain a neutral spine position for your neck and upper back while feeding.  Don’t bend your neck for prolonged periods. You could take regular breaks by looking at your baby’s reflection in the mirror.
  • Use a footrest if your feet don’t touch the ground.
  • Always look after your posture, especially during night feeding when you are exhausted.  Feeding in side lying may help.

When bathing your baby:

  • Look after your back and neck by kneeling rather than bending over the bath.
  • If you are using a portable baby bath, ensure that it is the correct height for you.
  • Use bath chairs to support your baby.

Most important of all, look after your mind and body by sleeping when the baby sleeps. Give yourself time to do exercise and stretches.  Your physiotherapist can advise you on the best exercises to do and help you with your posture.

Happy Mothers Day from the team at Maroubra Road Physiotherapy.

 

Back Pain – Common Misconceptions

Just over 80% of the population will experience back pain at some stage of their lives and most people don’t take the correct steps to manage their pain. There is a sea of information out there regarding back pain and navigating the waters is both daunting and intimidating. Here are some common misconceptions about your low back pain.

1. Resting Is Good For Me

Lying in bed or on the couch will cause your muscles and joints to stiffen, resulting in prolonged and possible persistent pain! It is important to keep moving muscles and joints as tolerated. A qualified physiotherapist will help you manage your symptoms and provide appropriate gentle stretches and exercises to help get you moving.

2. My Pain Is Tolerable, It Will Go Away If I Leave It

Pain is your brain telling you that something isn’t quite right. Sometimes pain is not indicative of the severity of the issue. The pain may increase over the course of days, weeks, or months. It is essential that you get checked out if you feel any pain that doesn’t readily settle.

The body always follows the path of least resistance. When you’re in pain, you may adopt alternate postures to protect your back, and you engage muscles and joints in a way they were not designed to be used, thus overloading them and causing further pain and dysfunction in other areas. This may cause you to present with a much more global picture of pain affecting multiple joints and muscles , than if you had addressed the problem sooner.

3. My MRI And XRAY Show Disc Damage Which Is Contributing To My Pain

Disc degeneration, prolapses, disc bulges and annular tears are highly prevalent in the pain free population. They are not strongly predictive of future low back pain and correlate poorly with levels of pain and disability. These changes are similar to getting grey hairs, a natural part of aging.  Therefore the findings on these investigative scans are only relevant if they correlate with your actual symptoms. The spine is one of the strongest and most robust structures in the body, and is designed to move!

 

Common Misconceptions About Your Low Back Pain