This blog could almost have been titled 'oooohhhh, doesn't your back hurt?', but I wanted to make it a little more positive and constructive!!! I recently attended a CPD (continuous professional development) weekend with Slingababy. It was a great weekend where I got to learn lots of new things, and also meet lots of other sling consultants. The majority of the weekend was spent taking part in a workshop run by a lovely lady called Hayley Standell. She is a sling consultant, but also a very qualified and experienced physiotherapist. The aim of the workshop was to look at the anatomy of carrying. It really got me thinking about a lot of aspects of carrying, I have already put some of the things I learned into practice at our sling meet on Saturday! We learned about the anatomy of adults and how this changes (eg through pregnancy or throughout daily life), and we also learned about babies anatomy and how this develops from birth. We even did some amusing (but very revealing) practical exercises. It was really interesting being in a room with so many people who essentially spend a lot of their time assessing peoples posture in some way and learning together. It's quite common for people to contact me concerned about back pain, either that they already have back pain, or that the sling they are using, or the way they are using it, is causing back pain. The good news is that having back pain doesn't automatically mean that you can't carry your baby in a sling. When you have a back problem, we need to look at a number of different questions and in some respects, turn the question on it's head! Questions to ask/things to consider Firstly and most importantly, please note that I am not medically trained, and I would always advise that you seek medical advice for any pain/discomfort that you experience. What (if anything) makes your back pain worse? Think about your daily activities, are there things that you are doing that you can adjust/adapt? What is the alternative to using a sling? Carrying in arms, carrying around heavy car seats, or using pushchairs which may be heavy or at unusual angles, may ether make your back worse, or cause other problems. What sling have you been using and how have you been using it? We may be able to make some adjustments to make it more comfortable for you, you often find that as baby grows, you will need to make some adjustments to how you use your sling, and this is easy to forget. You may even need to try a different sling? One of the things we learned at CPD is that people have different body shapes, and hold themselves/stand in different ways. This will affect how a sling will 'sit' on your body. So it may be a case of working out the 'sweet spot' for making a particular sling comfy for you or that we can make the sling support you in a different way. How long have you been carrying the baby in the sling for? If you are new to using a sling, and go for a 2 hour walk, over rough ground, with your 1 year old, in a carrier you have never used before........ you might expect to feel some discomfort, in the same way as you would doing any new physical activity! Using a sling/carrier, will have the benefits of allowing you to get some gentle exercise, and help your core muscles but it's always important to listen to your body, and not push yourself too far. building up gradually will be more productive.
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AuthorHi, I'm Jo. This blog is all about Carlisle Sling Library. Archives
October 2017
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