(Written By Expert Postnatal Physio, Samantha Dakers…)
…There’s a little joke and giggle I share with new mum in the clinic how come to see me to end their postnatal back pain.
As they lie on the bed, somewhat enjoying the massage to easy the tense muscles, their baby starts to cry (Not uncommon!).
At that point you’d usually here them joke something like…
‘Don’t you start crying, it’s your fault I’m hear in the first place!’
Yes we have a giggle, and a few wiggles of a teddy and its all smiles again. But the real fact is, it’s actually not their fault you’re suffering from back pain.
Take a minute to think back. Before your pregnancy how well did you look after your back?
Things we’re nearly all guilty of is sitting waaay to much.
Ask you’re self now:
Do you drive, to and from work?
Sit down at work? Or even just do the same thing day after day?
Sit on the sofa and catch up with the soaps when you get home?
………
Ok some of these things make be unavoidable. How many hours a day do you spend sitting? And did you know, when your sitting there can be up to 10 times more stress placed through your back. Ouch!
Now take another minute to think back. What are we doing to protect our backs?
Do you walk regularly during the day?
Pilates? (← that’s a biggy!)
Yoga?
Keep an eye on how you’re sitting?
And if this isn’t your first pregnancy, how much time did you spend getting the right muscles strong after your first?
………
Ok. So its now time to so behind the scene of what’s really been happening to your back for years leading up to pregnancy (if you haven’t guessed it already).
There’s a good change that before your pregnancy you didn’t suffer from back pain, maybe just a niggle here and there that quickly eased once you’ve got moving again.
But the fact of the matter is this: these muscles around your back and pelvis have been getting weaker and weaker for years. Long before little’n came along.
All the baby has done is actually a huge favour to you by letting you know your back is weak and vunerable.
So what I say back to the new mums goes like this..
Yes it is you baby’s fault you’re here in the treatment room with me now.
And you should give him a big hug and thank you for it.
If you didn’t have children, these a good chance you’d still be in the treatment room with me, just not for another 10+ years. And by that time there’s years more of stress and damage potentially done to your back. More than just weak muscles.
So to new mums reading this now, suffering with stiff aching backs. Take a minute to actually thank your child your for letting you know your back is not safe so you can do something about it now before the damage is done.
Speak soon,
Sammy xxx
Specialist Physio Clinics: Darlington – Durham – Guisborough – Hartlepool
Tel: 01429 866771
PS. I do actually love new mum bringing their baby’s along to the clinic. We even have trained baby sitters working on the desk, Vicki, Becky and even sometimes Paul himself. Ask them about their children ☺
And if you’d like to get FREE access to Postnatal Specialist help, please take a look here: www.paulgoughphysio.com/postnatal-back-pain… there is a free special report waiting for you to look at and download with LOTS of self help tips.
You might know Paul as an expert Columnist who writes weekly health articles for TWO of the North East's biggest daily Newspapers, The Northern Echo And The Hartlepool Mail, he is a regular Speaker at Industry Seminars around the globe and a Radio Personality, often heard on the BBC. Paul has been an expert guest on dozens of Radio shows and regularly interviewed in newspapers, magazines and trade journals all over the world, including the Guardian.
Paul’s background included working extensively in the Premier League with a Top Professional Football Team, and since quitting his job in Professional Football in 2007, his Physio Practice has become the fastest growing in the UK and biggest in the North East. So successful, that companies like BUPA, ASDA, The Vela Group And Coast & Country, repeatedly retain his Physio company's services to keep healthy their own staff and workforce. Paul Gough Physio Rooms is now a large multi-physio, multi clinic speciality practice in Darlington, Durham, Guisborough and Hartlepool.
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