back pain from dealing w/ toddler?

[ktdelsur]

Anyone dealing with this?

I am almost embarrassed to complain, seeing as though I am a WOHM and am not even hauling my son around for the majority of my workday. But for the past 2 months or so, I've had really bad lower back pain (mostly on the right, since I carry him mostly on the left hip a lot) that will radiate down my right-side rear. It doesn't hurt CONSTANTLY, but only when I sit 'wrong', or get up from a sitting position - but it especially hurts after doing a lot of picking up/putting down/picking up of my close-to-22-lb son.

I just don't know if I should shut up and keep taking Ibuprofen all the time, or go to a doctor. I have to WOH, unfortunately (DH is a grad student), so I can't take a muscle relaxer that will leave me loopy at work, either.

Oh, it doesn't help that we are holding out until Christmas on our really crappy mattress (our parents are chipping in to help us buy a nice new mattress for Christmas).

Any suggestions/commiserations? :p

[bunny nose]

I feel for you! I only have 7 month old and my back is killing me. I just take a tylenol whenever I need it.

Karen

[anemone]

I've had quite bad back pain, as my DS is huge, and I injured my back picking him up from his cot one day in an awkward way.

My back pain is almost gone now (only when I'm really tired, or I've been holding him constantly during the day), and what I did was to go to the osteopath (combo of physio and chiro) who did some deep tissue massage, acupuncture and spine realignment. It was $ but worth it. Another thing I did was to go to Pilates classes, as it was core strength that really helped me to stop the pain. I did classes under private instruction for about 4 months, but could feel an effect almost immediately.

While you're obviously not in a position to have private classes, maybe try a pilates video - core strength really does help, as basic as it sounds. Also, definitely take pain killers, and try holding your DS on your other hip. While it feels a little strange, maybe it is overuse of one side that has caused the problem. Good luck, and I certainly sympathise :)

[Marisa]

The pain you're describing sounds like classic symptoms of sciatica (pain in lower back radiating down one leg). It's caused by pressure on a particular nerve, and it's common in women who are or have recently been pregnant due to all the shifting and re-shifting of body parts. :)

I began seeing a chiropractor in my second trimester and continued up until recently (and really, I should probably go back). When I was feeling bad I was going up to twice a week, but after I had my son and things started getting back to normal, I dropped down to every other week, then once a month.

The best part is that my insurance paid all but a small copay because they billed as physical therapy. It's definitely something to look into -- that kind of pain won't just 'get better' by itself, and motrin is just kind of a bandaid.

[NYN]

i have the same pain but my PT SIL told me that it wasn't sciatica. of course i can't remember the name of it right now. it is debilitating enough that if i bend over i can't get back up b/c of it or sometimes getting off the couch is difficult. i have been thinking about doing pilates as someone else mentioned.

[Medako]

I'm a SAHM and after carrying around my 9.5 month old (25.5 lbs) all day, my back is killing me too. I really haven't found any magic cure, even though I would love to. I hate taking any sort of pain reliever, so I've found that the heating pad is my best friend. In the evenings I can usually warm it up and lay on it for a little while before bed and it does HELP, although I don't think anything is going to make it all go away.

[cari2]

See the doctor. I had similar to what you describe and it turns out I had a bulging disk which lead to a complete herniated disk. It was a nightmare - - I was on the couch while the babies napped and could not get up. I had to call the paramedics to get me to the hospital because I couldn't move (thankfully the babies were in their cribs), I was in the hospital for four days.

If the ibuprofen takes the pain away it may just be back strain and strengthening, bending the correct way, etc will help. Or it could be more serious..

[mamax2]

Katie ~ don't you have some sort of previous back injury or something like that? I thought I remembered that from the Dec. thread... Anyway, I would say chiro or massage therapy both of which may be covered by insurance.

[jh124]

I would also suggest seeing a dr or chiropractor. Barring that, you may get some immediate relief from a heating pad and stretches.