Anyone Get Tendonitis From Lifting Your Child?

[lml41981]

I am pretty sure I have developed tendonitis in my wrist from lifting and carrying DD. I know the cure for tendonitis is to stop using the affected area, but I can't do that.

Anybody else experienced this? Does it sound like I am lifting her wrong? FWIW, she weighs almost 21 pounds and I lift her and carry her the majority of the day.

[Allegra]

have you tried a sling? might help on the carrying part. I know a number of moms using the car seat baby carriers to schlep their kids around that have gotten tendonitis...

[lml41981]

have you tried a sling? might help on the carrying part. I know a number of moms using the car seat baby carriers to schlep their kids around that have gotten tendonitis...

Yup...I already use the Maya Wrap when I have to carry her while we're out. It doesn't make sense to use it in the house, though, because she is up and down (typical one-year old).

[kmack]

yes, i had it in both wrists. i was told it was from being pregnant and was caused by hormones that make tendons/ligaments weak. the pain was so bad i could barely lift DD out of her crib. i wore braces/splints that kept my thumb from moving but they were a PITA b/c it's hard not to bend your wrist when you are caring for a baby!! i also went to physical therapy for it and only noticed a slight improvement. eventually i got a cortisone shot in one of the wrists b/c the pain was so bad and it really helped. the drs. told me that it would go away when i stopped breastfeeding and the hormones weren't produced anymore. basically i just lived with the pain until i started weaning around 10 mos. and then it finally went away. it sucked though! the dr. said it was extremely common in new moms...

also, you should not stop using your wrist, they told me the opposite - keep moving it and massage it often (hold your palm out like you are going to shake someone's hand, then fold your thumb into your palm, close your fingers over the thumb, then bend your wrist down to the ground. massage the tendon that runs over your wrist bone and up to your thumb.).

ETA: it's weird that you are developing it now, the drs. made it sound like it usually hits right after childbirth. maybe it's something different than what i had...

[JustVita]

I developed it in both wrists around my 35th wk of pregnancy, but it was initially worse in my right one. 7 months later and they're still not great. The right one was so bad at one point, it hurt to sign my name. I've had a cortisone shot in the right one, but though it's better, the pain hasn't gone away. The left has gotten worse, I think and overall is much worse in the mornings. The Dr. did say this is common in new mothers because you begin to use your hands differently and extending the hands open to lift the baby is what if usually the culprit. I'm assuming that though I developed this in pregnancy and was told it would go away after my DD's birth, that maybe it's still hanging on because of the new mother activity. Hope yours gets better, not worse. :)

[PinkBeary]

Mine started in my right hand around my last month of pregnancy. It was the worst right after DC was born. It hurts the most after waking up in the mornings or after naps. I think that the way I'm sleeping is affecting it.

Thank you kmack for the stretching tip. It feels good to stretch it.

[junkinmytrunk]

yes, i had it in both wrists. i was told it was from being pregnant and was caused by hormones that make tendons/ligaments weak. the pain was so bad i could barely lift DD out of her crib. i wore braces/splints that kept my thumb from moving but they were a PITA b/c it's hard not to bend your wrist when you are caring for a baby!!

..........ditto for me.

Also, mine happened right after DS was born and has pretty much cleared up by now.

Maybe have it checked out?

[cgmom313]

I didnt get it in my wrist, I got Tendonitis in my left shoulder. It started when DD was about 18 weeks and I could barely lift her or feed her it hurt so bad. My Dr, said it probably was all the new strain of picking her up, etc. He gave me a cortizone shot and some anit - inflamatory drugs and I swear within a day I could move my entire arm again. He also sent me to Physical Therapy once a week for 6 weeks. I also think that really helped me as well to gain strengh back in my arm.

I would suggest you go see your dr to evaluate how developed the pain is and the problem. My friend let her wrist problem go to long and her only option to correct it was surgery.

Good Luck!!

[oshannon]

I had/have it in both wrists, too. IIRC, it really started when DS was about 5 months. He's now almost 10 months, and it still flares up on me. I saw my doc, who had splints made for me. I agree with the PP who said that the splints are a PITA...how can you change diapers, etc. with a wrist you can't bend? I don't want to go the cortisone shot route, b/c i'm afraid to mask the pain and not deal with the problem.

[QT Pie]

I developed tendonitis a few weeks after DD was born and it was sooooo painful. I wore a brace but it really didn't help. I saw a doctor, who prescribed some extra strength Motrin. That also was useless. It's been a few weeks now and I notice that the pain is getting less. Hang in there!

[snoopy30]

Not sure if it was tendonitis but a few months ago my right wrist started to hurt alot. I know it was from holding DS and lifting him. Eventually it just went away. I really don't know how to avoid all the aches and pains from lifting them!

Right now I have a bad back which I must have hurt at some point. But I can't rest it which I know is the only cure :rolleyes:

Anyone else also have a hurt back??

[moderngal]

yup, I had it. lucky for me, I'm an OT so I fixed myself. ;) there are specific exercises you should do for it. you can PM me if you'd like me to send some to you.

[Cali_Katy]

I got it when DS was about seven or eight months old. I remember the pain from turning things, like the key to start the car, was particularly excruciating. My doctor gave me a wrist brace which I wore for awhile, and eventually the pain went away, after maybe a month or so.

I agree that it was really hard to wear the wrist splints and be able to do all the motions necessary to take care of an infant. I ended up compromising by wearing them whenever DS was napping or down for the night.

[Jenyfer9]

I also had/have it. It started when ds was probably about 7-8 months old, but it got REALLY bad when he got to be 10-11 months old. I ended up going to see an orthopaedist about it, and got a cortizone shot (which hurt like HELL). It came back again one more time after that and I had to get another one, but then it went away. I can't remember the exact name for it (pp tendonitis), but my doc told me it was VERY common among pp women.

[usafwife]

I developed a problem with my shoulder earlier this year. It had been bothering me for a while but I finally went to the doctor had tests done. Turns out I had a severe problem and it could have been much worse if I hadn't done anything (meaning that it would have required major surgery on my shoulder). I also have severe carpal tunnel syndrome in my wrists (one is worse than the other). It will require surgery very soon (as in within the next year). It makes picking up DD very hard.

For my shoulder it required a few months of physical therapy. I also had exercises to do at home. I still do them to help make my shoulder stronger.

[kmack]

i was cleaning off my desk and found a sheet the dr. gave me and it says this:

...de Quervains tendonitis is caused by an irritation of the tendons at the base of the thumb, usually caused by taking up a new, repetitive activity. New mothers are especially prone to this type of tendonitis: caring for an infant often creates awkward hand positioning, and hormonal fluctuations associated with pregnancy and nursing further contribute to its occurence. A wrist fracture can also predispose a patient to it b/c of increased stresses across the tendons.

treatment: the goal is to relieve the pain caused by the irritation and swelling. your doctor may recommend resting the thumb and wrist by wearing a splint. oral anti-inflammatory medication may be recommended. a cortisone-type of steroid may be injected into the tendon compartment as another treatment option. each of these non-operative treatments help reduce the swelling, which typically relieves pain over time. when symptoms are severe or do not improve, surgery may be recommended...

[Jenyfer9]

de Quervains tendonitis: YEP! That's what I had!