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Managing Back Pain With Children

As many of you know looking after babies and small children can be hazardous for the back as all of the bending, lifting and straining places extra tension on the spine. Although, there is little option to avoid these stresses there are ways you can adjust your daily activities to limit their impact on your spinal health.

Picking them up

Always bend from the knees, keeping the weight of the child as close to your body as possible. Never twist round when you’re in a bent position as this is one of the quickest and easiest ways to damage the back. Remember to keep your head up and use your leg power for leverage. When carrying infants many mothers make the mistake of hitching the infant over one hip which may, in the long term, cause imbalance and strain. To avoid this, remember to switch sides regularly to balance the strain.

Tidying up

As many of you know picking up after the children can be never ending and all the bending to pick up toys and washing can add extra strain to your back. When picking up items off the floor, squat rather than bend down. If you’re tidying up a lot of toys, make sure you kneel rather than stoop as this will take a lot of the pressure off your back.

Baby Care

When looking after an infant there is a lot of bending that is necessary for daily activities. However this can be minimised with the right tools. When shopping for a cot look for one that has a drop side and is of a reasonable height so that you don’t have to bend over it. If necessary , blocks or telephone books can be used to create the right height.

Also, When buying a pram ensure that you maintain good posture while pushing. Furthermore when bathing the baby, place the baby bath on a table that is at an appropriate height so that you are not having to bend awkwardly for that extended period of time. Also when emptying the babies bath water ensure that you don’t empty it all out in one go without help.


Furthermore, Back pain in the children themselves is increasing as their lifestyle becomes more and more sedentary. Here are a few tips to help you  manage your child’s back pain....

Slouching in front of the TV or the computer is not doing a child’s health any good. The best way to ensure that your child is maintained is to limit these passive pursuits to a maximum of 2 hours a day. Also encouraging outdoor games which strengthen and stretch their muscles will be beneficial. Also buying your children a port or backpack with two shoulder straps will promote good spinal health as research has shown that heavy school bags slung over one shoulder are causing back problems in children.

Adapted from the No nonsense guide to a healthy back

 

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