What it is really like to be a new mum in lockdown!
2020, what a year! A global pandemic which led to an economic standstill, many people working from home and a baby boom!!
I am one of the many lockdown new mums and have experienced a pandemic pregnancy. What stood out for me was the loneliness and not having other mums-to-be to connect with in the absence of face to face antenatal groups (I frankly have had enough of Zoom and MS teams!)
Talia-Rose arrived end of January and I have never before felt such joy. She is absolutely gorgeous but unfortunately there is no manual to being a new mum and little did I know that there are after effects of pregnancy too!!
Let me share my postnatal journey from a musculoskeletal perspective.
Before being discharged from hospital one of the women’s health physios came to tell me about the importance of pelvic floor exercises. I was handed a piece of paper with a website address where I could access demo videos on pelvic floor exercises. Unfortunately, once I got home and tried to access the website my computer said ‘url not found’ simply put the computer said no!!
I became busy with mummy duties until I noticed I was having the urge to pee more often…. I recalled the need for pelvic floor exercises and decided to check out some videos on YouTube in search for decent Kegel exercises.
I have always been hopeless at DIY and there were just way too many videos to choose from…. I will sum it up as a sea of confusion.
My post pregnancy aches have been the gift that kept on giving. As the weeks progressed I noticed I was getting pain in my ankles and the bottom of my feet. I initially put it down to being on my feet most of the day, however the problem didn’t go away and I started taking paracetamol at bedtime.
I called my GP as I was now having back pain and wrist pain shooting into my shoulder. He recommended taking an anti-inflammatory i.e. Ibuprofen. I did not want to continue taking pain killers as I was not keen on masking the symptoms; I wanted to deal with the underlying cause of the pain.
I eventually booked in an assessment session at the clinic and it’s the best thing I ever did. My core was in a mess, I had developed poor posture and I found out that the pelvic exercises I had been doing were outdated. I am having ongoing maintenance sessions and no longer need pain killers, phew!
Perhaps you are like me, a new mum or working from home and struggling with back pain, wrist pain from repetitive tasks. Consider booking in for an assessment, a good chat with the lovely guys at T4 Physio and a chance to say goodbye to pain killers that you are relying on.
How can you live with less back pain?
If you have back pain you will be glad to know you are not alone as we have treated a lot of clients with the same issue and they have fully recovered. Most of the clients do admit that they thought the pain would go away with painkillers and without treatment but the pain got worse and they got frustrated even more. Does this sound like you? With you in mind, we have put together a Free Back Pain Report below to help you with your back pain.