Dear Neetu,
Postpartum back pain is caused by a number of factors. During pregnancy, your expanding uterus weakened your abdominal muscles and altered your posture, putting a strain on your back. So your back may continue to ache until your stomach muscles regain their strength and tone.
It's common to have some back pain for the first few months after giving birth. How long the pain persists depends on such factors as whether you have a history of back problems, whether you're overweight, and how soon you start to exercise and strengthen your abdominal muscles.
• Take walks. This gentle form of exercise can help ease back pain and is safe to start almost immediately after either a vaginal birth or a c-section. Take it slowly and keep walks short in the first few weeks.
• Pay attention to your posture and stand up straight. It's also really important to sit up straight when feeding your baby, whether you're nursing or bottle-feeding. If you have low back pain, try using a footstool to keep your feet slightly raised off the floor. Choose a comfortable chair with armrests and use lots of pillows to lend extra support to your back and arms. Learn how to position yourself properly while nursing, and always bring your baby to your breast, rather than the other way around. Also try different breastfeeding positions. If you have tense shoulders and upper back pain, the side-lying position may be more comfortable.
• Always bend from your knees and lift objects and children from a crouching position to minimize the stress on your back. Let someone else lift heavy objects; this isn't the time to risk throwing your back out. (If you've had a c-section, you shouldn't be lifting anything heavier than your baby for at least eight weeks.)
• Treat yourself to a massage. It won't address the underlying source of your back pain, but it will help you relax and can temporarily soothe pulled muscles, tense shoulders, and lower back pain. If paying for a massage will strain your finances, try to enlist your partner or a friend to give you a rubdown.
• Take a warm bath to ease soreness and tension.
• Wrap a heating pad or hot pack around the affected area, or try a cold pack if heat doesn't work for you. (In either case, cover it to protect your skin.)
• When your caregiver has given you the go-ahead to exercise, gradually start doing strengthening exercises for your back and abdominal muscles, and make pelvic tilts a part of your daily routine. Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Inhale and allow your belly to expand with your breath. Exhale and lift your tailbone toward your belly button while keeping your hips on the floor. At the top of the tilt, tighten your butt, then release. Repeat eight to ten times. (Note: If you've had a c-section, wait at least six to eight weeks to start exercises like this.)
• Listen to your body. If a particular position or activity causes you discomfort, then stop. If your back pain is severe or you notice that you've also lost feeling in your legs, butt, groin, genital area, bladder, or anus — or you feel suddenly uncoordinated or weak — call your caregiver immediately.
Regards,
SaNa
MHO- "The Voice of Millions"
From: neetu sachdeva <netu_sachdeva2006@yahoo.co.in>
Subject: {M:H:O} PLEASE ELP ME OUT
To: MumbaiHangOut@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, 4 February, 2010, 10:42 AM
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