Lisa came into the clinic 15 months post-partum with a new incidence of thoracic pain concentrated on the left side of her spine. Being the mum of a 15 month old toddler, and having recently returned to work, Lisa was constantly on the go and performing a lot of manual handling tasks. During questioning, we were unable to pinpoint any specific trauma or incident that caused Lisa’s pain, it just seemed to appear suddenly and randomly! However, further questioning into the way Lisa performs her manual handling tasks showed that she was constantly carrying her child on one side, lifting her out of the car
from the same side every single time, and using the same side of the body to pick her child up and swing her around in the air. We finally had an answer, repetitive loading concentrated to one side of Lisa’s body was causing some local irritation and stiffness in her thoracic spine.
Throughout her physiotherapy sessions, we provided Lisa with some advice and education on how best to alter her posture and positions so that she wasn’t repetitively loading her sore side. This included switching between left and right sides when carrying her baby, reducing the distance between her body and the car seat when getting her baby out of the car, and utilising a pillow to support her baby whilst breastfeeding to offload any extra pressure on her thoracic spine.
We also focused a lot on addressing muscle imbalances and joint stiffness by various strengthening exercises designed to improve posture, combined with some foam rolling to help with flexibility. By the end of our treatment cycle, Lisa was feeling confident in being able to manage on her own, and was ready to begin return to exercise regime which included pole fitness and swimming.
At Wellness Embodied, we pride ourselves on providing a holistic treatment plan that addresses your needs as well as fits in with your lifestyle. We look at the whole person, not just at the problem. If you would like more information on the services that we provide, please click here.
