Do You Have Postpartum Mid Back Pain? Try These!
For starters… if you have postpartum mid back pain- you’re not alone!
Here’s the deal- there is no “perfect posture” when you’re holding your little at 2am trying to feed them and get them back to sleep so you may too have a glimpse of shut eye. The MAJORITY of my postpartum mommas are coming to me because of discomfort in the neck and mid back from feeding, holding and carrying their new tiny humans. So, since there typically isn’t an abundance of spare time for new parents to spend stretching and strengthening for hours on end, here are a few quick and easy things you can do WHILE still keeping an eye on that little bundle of joy!
Since the hunched over position is “a new normal” during the postpartum period we need to open up the midback in every direction we can and focus on breathing into those ribs and getting them to expand! Those ribs attach to your spine and during this period of our lives we are typically rounded forward, breathing with our chest and shoulders and not mobilizing our mid back. This, my friends, is how tension and discomfort start creeping up! So, movement side to side, forward and backwards and in everyway comfortably possible is ideal. Foam rolling is great, yes. Almost everyone knows how to roll up and down on a roller, so keep that guy in your toolbox, but here are a few more options you can pull out as well. If these don’t look and feel magical to you, contact me and we’ll figure out what’s going on! If these stretches make you feel like a new human and you want more, feel free to contact me as well! Stretches for mid back pain are great, but the combo of adjusting, dry needling and stability exercises are even better!
Check out my favorite postpartum stretches:
Seated Rotation
Place your arms behind your head and try to keep your “sits bones” attached to the seat below you through the entire stretch. For extra stability, place a ball between the knees and squeeze as you move through the motion. Rotate as far as you can (comfortably) to one side. At the end of the range take a big breath in and then exhale. Then, rotate to the other side and repeat. Hold on each side for 1-2 breaths and then switch to the other side!
Couch Lat Stretch
Kneel in front of a couch and place your arms behind your head (note that it’s never really a great idea to force your head forward with any type of exercise so please keep that noggin neutral). Place your elbows on the couch and sit back and down to get a great stretch through the back of the arm/armpit and into the side. Don’t hang out for a long time here, make it an active stretch- 5 seconds on, 5 seconds off!
Couch Pec Stretch
Kneeling in front of a couch, place your arms up and out like airplane wings and focus on tucking those shoulder blades back and down as you place your hands on the couch and LIGHTLY press your torso towards the ground. Please make sure you feel the stretch in your chest and not in the shoulder joint itself. This should feel like a wonderful stretch for the chest. It should NOT feel like your shoulder is on fire or like it might be trying to make an escape from the socket! Don’t hang out for a long time here, make it an active stretch- 5 seconds on, 5 seconds off!
Thread the Needle
On all fours, sit back into the heels and reach one arm up in the air as though you are trying to touch the ceiling. Then, lower down to reach through the opposite arm and leg. This, once again, is best as an active stretch- 5 seconds on, 5 seconds off!
As always, it’s worth bringing up that it’s kind to support our core and pelvic floor. Breathing in during the easy parts of well, anything and everything, and then exhaling and bracing the core slightly during the difficult parts can help prevent pressures from going down into the pelvic floor and out into core. These tissues are still healing and this breathing technique can carry over into SO many aspects of your daily life and make a huge difference in healing!
*A friendly little reminder that these are generic stretches that I find beneficial for new parents. They are not specifically designed for you as I am unaware of your birth story, current status and any other medical concerns. This is not medical advice.
I’m Dr. Dani and my passion is working with mommas and babies through pregnancy, postpartum and beyond. I created Balance Chiro and Rehab to help empower families and help people realize that there is an option for better health and it can, in fact, be convenient and individualized! Read more HERE.
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