Are you one of those new mom and dad with back pain which does not seem to go away . Everyday you cuddle with your newborn , hold them and move around, and day by day you get to notice that your back pain is increasing and becoming frustrating .

If you are one of those new parents being burdened with back  pain each day , then make sure you read this important blog to ensure you aren’t making it worse .

 

Low back pain is a very common problem . We all go through this pain and we do tend to avoid it until it becomes really worse . Also someone with no history of back pain, can also  easily get a back pain if you are doing repetitive bending and lifting.

 This can be easily related to new parents who have developed back pain until they notice that lifting and holding their newborn became  very challenging and uncomfortable .Well if you are a new parent ! Then this is for you . You don’t want to miss this.

When your baby is a few days old you may not even notice the pain . However , as they start growing you will notice that your pain is more obvious than you can imagine .Interestingly, new born babies are somewhere between 7-10 lb and can easily  weigh  upto 15 to 30 lbs just within less than a year . You may not even imagine you would get a back pain holding them . The fact is yes ! You can easily get back pain if you don’t have correct biomechanics and enough strength and endurance on your back and core .

Now let’s see what are the common mistakes we make and how we can correct our body mechanics and enjoy parenthood and have fun at the same time.

 

Avoid bending your back while Holding and lifting 

Your baby is the most precious thing and you are constantly around them. Feeding and nursing them, lifting and changing diapers are some constant routines you will be doing . Firstly , avoid bending forward and sustaining that forward bend position for long . Instead of using your spine to bend forward use your hip and knees to off load your spine . Gently bend your hips and knees , tighten your tummy to build that little corset around and see for yourself how easy this can be .Also while handling the stroller , make sure you are not pushing it leaning forward .Make sure you are standing not too close and not to far while pushing the stroller to find that balance on your spine to avoid exertion and pain .

 

Stay close while lifting and avoid twisting your supine.

It’s so exciting to be a new mom and dad ,and forget about how you are maintaining your body mechanics while holding your bundle of joy. Position yourself as close as possible while lifting them so that you avoid exerting your back muscles from over working and getting sore and tight. Stay close and avoid lifting while standing if your baby is resting on the lower levels like on the floor . You can choose to kneel and sit on your legs allowing your hip to bend while you are lifting them on your arms .  Now another important thing is while holding the car seat, be mindful if you are leaning more on one side and over compensating for weak and sore muscles . This will trigger more pain if not right away may be at the end of the day .

Remember when you are transporting your baby in and out of the car make sure you are not bending and leaning way forward , avoid twisting and again use your hips and knees to avoid loading your spine . 

 

Avoid holding your baby’s on your waist /hip 

Sometimes, we like multitasking , say you are in a kitchen and need an extra hand , or say you have to answer a phone and you do not want your baby or toddler on the floor . What is the most easy thing to do ?. Hold them on your hips ! This habit might actually create a huge muscle imbalance of those deep muscles just above your pelvis  and can trigger muscle spasm and tightness. These deep muscles are very responsive and  are constantly working to hold your spine upright . Instead, try using the  body strap that holds your baby on the front .

 

  Avoid  repetitive handling and give yourself a break .

As a new parent , the most important factor that triggers your back pain is repetitive and sustained  routines you do. Pace yourself and give your muscles enough time to relax before you get into another  routine . I know it’s difficult to even think about all this while you are in front of them , however this is important that you are aware of this fact.

Your muscles are in constant strain during repetitive tasks and may not even heal back enough repeating the cycle of never ending on going cycle of pain.

 

Start exercising and avoid being sedentary 

When I say start exercising , I am referring to specific exercises that help strengthen your back and core.  In terms of exercise, It’s always recommended  to have an expert assess you as we all are different in terms of our strength and endurance . Some of the exercises can be categorized as core stability exercises which is recommended mostly for 8 weeks. Sitting and not finding time for a walk also triggers back pain . Our body is designed to move and if we move them correctly we can always avoid back pain .There might be few things that cannot be avoided at times but having a  regular strengthening Exs does balance it out and makes a great difference 

 

 You don’t have to put up with low back pain . We hear from our patients that they have put up with the pain , changed their lives and relied on medication and injections for nothing more than short term relief if they are lucky.  We have been successfully helping our patients with low back pain and we get great results. Our patients feel confident and happy to get back into enjoying  time with their newborn babies and toddlers by avoiding few simple mistakes they do .

If you need further help for your ongoing back pain then click HERE to book an appointment or give us a call at 905-457-7475 so we can get you back to doing what you want to do and what you love. 

I honestly want you to get rid of this pain and back to doing the things you love.

Robert Kappes, Registered Physiotherapist

Click HERE to view our video on this topic on Facebook

*Blog written by Bimala Odari

Have you been working from home and feeling you are gradually getting more stiff and sore, is it affecting your ability to concentrate and making you irritable?  Are you suffering from more headaches than usual and difficulty sleeping?  If so then keep reading as I will be going over my top 5 tips to help you avoid pain when working from home.

 

So working from home is not a new challenge it just seems to be now the majority of people are doing so.  I have seen unimaginable setups from people laying in their bed to those sitting on their couch to a full out ergonomic setup with adjustable chair and desk.  What I have learned is that home workstation setups are unique to the individual.  

 

So the problem with a poor workstation setup is that over time your muscles will begin to complain.  It usually starts slowly and progressively gets worse.  It will eventually get to the point where you can’t ignore it anymore and you start to question why you are getting this pain.  Pain rarely comes out of the blue and it is usually due to using poor body mechanics day in and day out.  A poor workstation setup can result in using the body incorrectly for a long period of time and is a recipe for pain.  This pain is not only annoying but it can take over your day to day life, causing you to lose focus and concentration and be more irritable. So now we know the problem with workstation setup but how can we fix it?  Read on to learn about my top 5 tips to help you avoid this pain when working from home. 

 

Tip #1 Don’t sit too close to your screen 

Sitting too close to your screen causes you to slouch and poke your head/chin forward.  What this does is causes immense tension in the muscles beneath your skull.  These muscles when held under tension will eventually lead to your tension headaches.  So if you ever feel pressure behind your eyes or at the front of your head, this is likely due to these muscles being tight.  To make sure you are sitting at the proper height, reach your arm straight out in front of you and the tips of the fingers should reach the screen.  Any closer and you will eventually start feeling the strain. 

 

Tip #2 Sit at 90 degree angles

Picture the able Lincoln memorial.  You essentially want to position yourself like Abe.  You want to be sitting at the back of your chair, feet flat on the floor with your arms and legs at 90degress.  Make sure that you check your posture every hour so that you can readjust if needed

 

Tip #3 Use a back roll

Here is a secret that I teach my clients when using a back roll.  Traditionally most people put the back roll across their low back.  What I have found with our testing is that by placing the roll vertically up and down your spine and sitting at the back of the seat this allows you to maintain a proper pelvis position and provide more support to your spine. 

 

Tip # 4 Use a standing desk/tray 

We know that changing positions is necessary to avoid strains in our muscles.  Moving is our medicine.  Now not many people have adjustable desks but on amazon,you can purchase an adjustable table top that you can put your computer on.  It has hydrolics that lets you easily lift your entire workstation up so that you can alternate between sitting and standing helping reduce joint stiffness. 

 

Tip #5 Be mindful of your lighting

Screen brightness when exposed to it for prolonged periods actually can cause eye strain.  This eye strain can lead to the tightening of those muscles beneath your skull and lead to tension headaches.  Check your computer settings and set your screen brightness to a lower setting. Some displays even allow you to adjust to a warmer display.  This is more favourable for long term viewing.

 

We understand and have experienced first hand the challenges and the pain associated with working from home.  Here at Action Physiotherapy, we are proud to say we have helped many people take control of their workstations.  After implementing our recommendations, patients are working from home pain free and feeling less tension at the end of the day and an increase in their energy levels.  

 

If you would like us to evaluate your home workstation setup and achieve similar results to our patients, click HERE to book an appointment or give us a call at 905-457-7475 so we can get you back to doing what you want to do and what you love. 

I honestly want you to get rid of this pain and back to doing the things you love.

Robert Kappes, Registered Physiotherapist

Click HERE to view our video on this topic on Facebook

Do you have shoulder pain while driving ? Do you struggle to relax your shoulder ?

Does your shoulder pain distract you from driving ? Do you feel like you can no longer hold your hand into that steering wheel anymore? If so , you are not alone !

I am here to let you know how you can put an end to this . Now make sure you read this important blog to ensure you are not making it worse .

Shoulder pain is a very common problem . It basically affects everything that we do on our normal day and most importantly “driving “.

It could be very debilitating being in pain everyday when driving to work or one of those days you plan out for a long drive as a family trip and you are worried about the pain .It could be very frustrating to be in pain and discomfort  every time you drive . So let’s get into it and work it out !

Our shoulder is surrounded  by 4 different muscles that are called rotator cuff and we use them all the time , especially when holding our arm and forearm in the air.If your job requires you to constantly lift your hands or if you are using them frequently at home , these muscles tend to be inflamed causing shoulder pain  . If these muscles are overused they change their texture , become more hard and then eventually tear 

These groups of muscles when inflamed or injured need more rest to avoid further injury .So , let’s learn how not to make it worse and give them a break .

1 Do not slouch forward, while you are on the driving seat.

While you sit on the driving seat make sure , you relax your shoulder .Avoid the tension building up on your shoulders by bringing your shoulder slightly down and then pulling it gently back.This position helps to rotate your shoulder joint outward . Slouching makes your shoulder rotate inward which makes it uncomfortable and painful to hold your shoulder all a long while you drive.

 

2 Stop placing your both hands on the upper part of the steering wheel.

The steering wheel is the most important aspect here. It’s very important you keep your arm close to your body so that your shoulder does not have to work lifting the arm, placing your hand on the lower part of the steering wheel provides great relief to your shoulder . It’s important to know how your arm position affects your rotator cuff .You could choose to place the affected arm lower and the good side arm slightly higher on the wheel.

 

3 Stop reaching forward and holding your arm in awkward position.

Stop reaching forward while your arm is up in the air  and away from your trunk . You can easily do this while you try to grab car keys while getting out of the car or try doing and undoing the seat belt buckle .Use the good side hand while pulling those seat belts down. The important aspect here is to keep your arm down and let your rotator cuff rest while they are recovering.

You don’t have to put up with pain while driving . We hear from our patients that they have put up with the pain , changed their lives and relied on medication and injections for nothing more than short term relief if they are lucky .I have been successfully helping my patient out with shoulder pain and we get great results .Our patients are very happy to get back to work and enjoy recreation routine without having shoulder pain.

If you’d like to get these results too then click Click HERE to book an appointment or give us a call at 905-457-7475 so we can get you back to doing what you want to do and what you love. 

I honestly want you to get rid of this pain and back to doing the things you love.

Robert Kappes, Registered Physiotherapist

Click HERE to view our video on this topic on Facebook

* Blog post written by Bimala Odari