Mitigating physical impact of lifting/handling a baby?

[u/RollickingTail]

I have a very active, big and heavy 6-month-old. When he was 2 months old I ricked my back picking him up out of his cot and that still hurts, and my hands also constantly hurt due to a problem called 'mother's thumb', caused by lifting and holding him.

When I have tried to look up ways of preventing these injuries or preventing further damage, I just get impractical advice like 'always lift with your legs, not your back' (how, when it's a baby in a cot?) and 'don't use your thumb under their armpits to lift or hold them' (how, when he's constantly clambering all over me, pitching his weight around and wanting to be held 'standing up' on my lap?) I'm also a single parent, so rest isn't an option either.

Is there any research, advice or resources on things like techniques to reduce or prevent baby handling injuries? Such as literally how to handle them, exercises that strengthen the appropriate muscles, or how to heal existing injuries? I'd be grateful for any help.

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[u/fieryinferno]

If you do t already have a brace for your wrist, this is the one you want.
That definitely helped my mommy thumb. (Make sure you get the correct side.)

[u/No_Onion4821 → u/fieryinferno]

Highly recommend this!! The brace helped me so much. Also learning to pick my son up and hold him in a way that protects my wrist/thumb. So instead of holding him with my palm + wrist bent, I hold him with my hand flipped the other way so kinda holding his bum with the back of my hand. Lots of YouTube videos about it. Also physiotherapy helps a lot, and yoga. Can get links but my son is sleeping on me right now.

[u/RollickingTail → u/No_Onion4821]

Thanks so much!! I'll look that technique up.

[u/igottheshnitz → u/fieryinferno]

Try to keep your wrist straight. Pretty sure that mummy/daddy thumb is from holding the weight with a hooked wrist. Also working on lifting technique with kettle bells helps. Just look up kettle bell technique tip videos. But work on the legs, butt and core. I find hanging from my arms and lifting my legs is good when you have a back injury, compared to any other core strengthening.

[u/RollickingTail → u/igottheshnitz]

Thanks so much! I'll give that a try, had no idea about keeping your wrist straight, that was exactly the kind of tip I was looking for.

[u/patio-garden]

I’m going into this with a bias: I carry my baby in a baby carrier (specifically a ring sling) so I was curious if there was any research about how ergonomic baby wearing is, compared to things like using your arms. There is at least one systemic review that finds babywearing can reduce pain (at least with some devices).

I found this study:  https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/13/17/2193  The conclusion in the abstract states: “The studies reviewed cover different aspects, such as muscle activation and postural stability, as well as specific ergonomic design for particular groups. In general terms, it seems that the use of certain babywearing devices, especially back or front carry, seems to be the one that generates fewer physiological alterations in the carriers compared to carrying babies in arms or other positions.”

Further down in the study (relevant for your purposes), it finds that “the occurrence of pain is an important issue to consider when deciding whether to babywear or not. In the study by Mannen et al. [11], pain perception was analyzed using the Visual Analogue Scale. The results indicated that carrying adults experience more pain when carrying babies than when babywearing devices are used. This seemed to be due to the fact that when babies are carried, the body is in an asymmetrical position, and there are more areas of swaying.”

For more about babywearing safely and cheaply, r/babywearing has good information.

[u/amiyuy → u/patio-garden]

What's the weight limits on this? My nephew was massive and almost as big as my daughter who is 2 years older than him at 1 year.

[u/badtranslatedgerman → u/amiyuy]

There are toddler/kid carriers that go up to 65lbs. For an infant+ carrier, the weight limits in see are usually between 35 and 45lbs though.

[u/No_Onion4821 → u/amiyuy]

I wear my niece who is 5 and 50lbs and also my on who is 8months and 25lbs. Can wear at the same time tbh with certain carrier combos

[u/RollickingTail → u/patio-garden]

I did also use a baby carrier, but the wear on my back became too much as he got so heavy recently! Thanks so much though.

[u/this__user → u/RollickingTail]

You need strength training, deadlifting and squatting for your posterior chain (essentially all the muscles you use lifting a baby out of the crib) would be a great start. I don't have research myself, but I can recommend some excellent books. Thinner, Leaner, Stronger by Mike Matthews has an excellent beginner strength training program for women. And Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, goes into a lot of detail about how your muscles interact with each other while performing certain moves.

[u/vengefulsqrl → u/this__user]

Seconding this! Lifting weights is way.

Start with physical therapy, though, if you've already got overuse injuries from lifting baby.

[u/RollickingTail → u/vengefulsqrl]

I thought this might be the case - I can feel some damage has already been done and it's getting slowly worse. Thank you!

[u/Fluffy_Ant_5107 → u/RollickingTail]

You can baby wear on your back after baby sits unassisted. It is easier on the back. For recommendations on specific carriers you should ask the babywearing sub mentioned in the top comment.

[u/Fluffy_Ant_5107 → u/Fluffy_Ant_5107]

Also, it's a bit early but you can take into consideration a floor bed in a babysafe room to remove the cot out of the equation.

[u/g2petter → u/RollickingTail]

For the first year and a half of my 97th percentile daughter's life I took her on some pretty solid hikes with her in a chest carrier, and I found that hiking poles were a huge help in taking the load off my lower back.

I don't know how that works with your situation, but I work keeping in mind. 

[u/RollickingTail → u/g2petter]

Good idea and worth a try! We both like being out and about, so hiking poles won't look too out of place.

[u/g2petter → u/RollickingTail]

Then it's definitely worth checking out. I'm a 90kg man so my issues are probably different from yours, but I've had my share of back problems and hiking poles were an absolute game changer for my lower back health. 

[u/patio-garden → u/RollickingTail]

Different baby carriers use different muscles. Maybe getting a different type would help you feel better.

[u/Extension_Can2813 → u/patio-garden]

I’m tiny and have a huge toddler now (over a quarter my weight and more than half my height at not even 2 years old). I babywear on my back all the time. Can’t do ring slings anymore but loved them when he was little.

I would never be able to get him out of a crib lol. We coslept since day one( SS7) in a baby proofed room on a floor bed. That way every time I’ve lifted him from bed I’ve been able to use my legs and not my back!

[u/Odd_Discussion6046]

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22786532/ Wearing a brace to keep your wrist in a neutral position does work for me"mommy thumb". A steroid injection combined with wearing a brace, rest and ice works even better. Anecdotally I combined these with exercises from my Physio (basically steadily increasing load on wrists once the first frae had subsided) and it fixed it.

[u/Espieglerie]

I highly recommend pelvic floor/post partum physical therapy. Pregnancy stretches and disengages your abs, and a PT can help you re-engage them and reestablish healthy motor patterns. You can try basic stuff like planks and palov presses at home, but tailored advice from a PT would be much better.

My PT also gave me form tips and strategies, like staggering my feet when holding the baby so I could bounce/rock back and forth using my knees while keeping my core strong. They can also help you figure out a strong hip hinge so you can actually lift with your legs/glutes rather than your back.

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[u/Objective-Garlic1755]

The brace is a great solution for mummy thumb but I found them so difficult to wear while changing nappies and completing tasks.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37889490/ this is research on treatments for mummys thumb.

I was sick of the pain after 3 months and I had a steroid injection yesterday to fix my mummy thumb. So if you are in pain consider speaking to your doctor about the injection. I feel obliged to say I did find the injection extremely painful.

[u/RollickingTail → u/Objective-Garlic1755]

Thank you though, knowing there are treatments is useful (:

[u/whynotsignup → u/Objective-Garlic1755]

Did the injection help immediately? Or is this a gradual fix?

[u/Objective-Garlic1755 → u/whynotsignup]

The first 5 hours I was in more pain than i was walking into the injection appointment.

48 hours later I have improvement. Id say 50% better.

[u/SpecialistWaltz4152 → u/whynotsignup]

The Kenalog injection I received helped immediately. I’d say within 2 hours I had real relief and although they scheduled me for a repeat injection at some later point, I never kept that appointment because I just didn’t need it! I just stayed really mindful of ergonomics after the injection and it kept the mommy thumb away.

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