The Aches and Pains of Parenting: How to Lift Without Back Pain

[Guest]

by Erin Borcyk, PT, DPT, CAFS

As some of you may already know, I am returning to work from maternity leave after delivering my second baby boy in less than two years! I look back fondly on the excitement of the baby rolling or kicking in my belly. I remember the joy of seeing that cute little face on the ultrasound.

I also remember the not-so-pleasant reality of back pain.

Up to 90% of women have back pain during pregnancy

AND 30% continue having that pain postpartum.

I was jolted into that reality 3 weeks postpartum as I picked up my son from his bassinet. As a physical therapist, I know the best ways to hold my children. I know how to move and lift to avoid injury. I advise people on how to do this for a living!

But knowing it, and doing it at the 2 a.m. feeding after the midnight feeding and with the 4 a.m. feeding looming in my mind, were not synonymous. In my sleepy stupor…

I bent over AND twisted to pick up my little one!

Then I added the deadly final blow to my back.. I sneezed! It was a perfect storm. And the storm was in my back. I ended up lying on the floor in the middle of the night with excruciating back and buttock pain!

When your abdominal muscles and pelvic floor resemble a deflated balloon, the force of lifting even small babies cannot be absorbed. Luckily, between my knowledge and that of my colleagues, I was able to eliminate the pain in about two weeks and still care for my two boys. Now, in retrospect, I can see how, even in those sleep-deprived days, I could have prevented that storm.

When lifting your child or any load, certain techniques can be used to minimize risk of injury to your back. You may have heard advice on using your legs and not your back. 

But how do you do that?

What does using your legs and not your back really mean?

Specifically, you want to position yourself in a way so that you avoid excessive low back flexion (rounding), bending from your hips and knees instead.

The easiest way to achieve this is by keeping a slight arch to your back and sticking your butt back. This will allow you to use your back muscles’ best friends, the gluteals and hamstrings. Bending your knees will help to use your quadriceps and calf muscles, again taking some strain off your lower back.

They will all be much happier sharing the load!