Out of all the people I work on, there is one job that stands out. Motherhood. Not just being a mother, but more specifically, being a new mother. Caring for a baby is the most physically demanding job. Construction workers? Delivery people? Furniture moves? None come close...... The list of contorted positions a mother has to put herself in is endless. There is no ergonomic way to breastfeed, change diapers, lift your child, and place in and out of the car. Not to mention that all this is being done with a 15 pound infant. New mothers can acquire excruciating lower back pain from all of the lifting and turning, usually at the same time. This pain comes from low back muscles like the spinalis group (along the spine), quadratus laborum, and all of the many hip muscles. More common are upper body spasms in the shoulder, neck and arms. I have had clients flare up their Thoracic Outlet Syndrome while caring for their newborn (see blog on 2/3/09 for details on TOS).
Obviously massage can help alleviate all of the pain and discomfort due to these spasming muscles. Massage can also assuage the mother's emotions. Women go thru a whole gamete of feelings post partum and having the time and space to just be with oneself can help to relax and ground her during this time.
