May

How can you protect your muscles and back while being a mom? Besides just doing our regular jobs and running a household, we often need to lug around toddlers, kindergartners and car seat carriers. It’s a recipe for disaster and has a sore back and pulled muscles written all over it.

Did you know that 80% of the general population will have a back problem at some point in their lives? Or that back aches and pains are the second most common reason to visit the doctor’s office? As moms we are constantly overlooking our health and fulfilling the needs of our family. Let’s look at some easy ways that we can help protect ourselves from having a problem in the first place.

What we need to address is something called ergonomics. If you work in an office or if you ever worked for a company doing manual labor you may have heard of this rather fancy sounding term. Ergonomics is simply adjusting what you are doing to fit your body best. It is meant to protect you from straining yourself. You may have even seen some elaborate keyboards for your computer that can help reduce carpal tunnel, or desk chairs that offer special back support. These are all great things that have really expanded into the workplace. But what about your workplace at home with the kids?

Let’s start with the basics, lifting. Lifting seems easy enough. You probably lift your children 50 times a day. The golden rule when lifting your kids or lifting anything is to lift with your knees. For one reason or another, people ignore this rule, so let’s change it. When you need to pick your child up off the ground, just get down close to them on the ground, hug them and stand up. It’s that easy to be safe. Once you get close to your child, either by doing a squat or kneeling, you will be forced to lift with your legs and not your back. The other important step is that you hold them close to you. Holding something close to you is the easiest and most effective way to pick up anything heavy. The thing you really want to avoid here is bending at the waist with your knees straight and picking up anything. Even when you are picking up toys, or all the cheerios your two-year-old just decided to throw all over your living room. Get close to what you are picking up, it will save you that aching feeling in your back at bedtime.

Carrying your kids can also cause you some aches and pains. You may have noticed that some moms , who always seem to have a kid on their hip, develop a funny posture. A lot of right-handed moms put their kids on their left hip and walk around doing various things with a free right hand. They develop a high left hip, it might even stick out. All those muscles on the left side of her back get tight and knotted from holding up a child. Ultimately, she gets back pain from one side of her body being strengthened and the other side being stretched. When it comes to your body, symmetry and balance are everything. The simple solution to this is to remember to switch up sides. This may require you to become a bit ambidextrous, but it will keep you a better functioning mom for your children.

Baby carriers that hold the child to your body, can also cause some strain. The best way to prevent a problem is to follow the instructions that came with the carrier first and foremost. You also want to be picky about the carrier you use. Two shoulder straps are always better than one. Don’t buy one that seems so complicated that you can’t make sure the straps are adjusted to fit you and your baby best every time you use it. Ideally, don’t carry a child that is more then 10 to 15% of your body weight in a carrier. Lastly, if you are carrying the child on your back, make sure that they are snug against the middle of your back and not sagging down towards your low back.

You might agree that trying to carry an infant car seat with your child in it is the biggest assault on our backs. The easy solution? Make the baby’s father carry it! You carried the baby for over 9 months, it’s only fair, right? Unfortunately, that isn’t always an option. When you have to carry such a heavy and awkward load, try using two hands and hold the carrier close to your chest. If you are out shopping, instead of parking up front, park near the cart return so you can grab a cart and wheel the kids into the store.

If you do hurt yourself, don’t ignore it. The best thing you can do is use ice for 20min at a time, 3 times a day and call your primary doctor or chiropractor and get checked out. Keeping yourself in good health is the best thing you can do for your kids. Remember to make sure you are taking care of you while you take care of them.

Heather Mahley, D.C.

www.gasportchiropractic.com