HOW TO END

POST NATAL
BACK PAIN
WITHOUT TAKING MORE PAINKILLERS
OR HAVING TO GO AND
SEE THE MIDWIFE (AGAIN!)
GUIDE BY ARKASH JAYANANDAN
WWW.360PHYSIOREVESBY.COM.AU

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2016 360 PHYSIO REVESBY

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360 Physio Revesby
Suite 2 Level 1
Ekera Medical
Cnr Macarthur Avenue and Brett Street
Revesby NSW 2212
www.360physiorevesby.com.au

02.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ARKASH JAYANANDAN

Arkash Jayanandan is a Physiotherapist, and an Expert

at the leading edge of Specialist Postnatal care, in the
South-West Sydney region.
As well as a graduate degree in physiotherapy, Arkash
has undertaken additional training in the field of pelvic
floor rehabilitation and postnatal health concerns, as well
as being highly skilled in exercise therapy and prescription to aid in lower back pain rehabilitation.
He is asked regularly to talk at seminars on this topic and
is one of the most popular and in demand physios at 360
Physio Revesby and regularly crafts and designs some of
the most sought after postnatal fitness and exercise
programs aimed at winning back health and strength for
new Mums.
More, Arkash has had numerous How To... guides printed and published including ways to improve flexibility and
how to strengthen the lower back to prevent life-long pain
and stiffness
On top of all of that, Arkash runs his own Pilates (...with a
touch of Yoga) exercise classes, each regularly attended
by new Mums wanting a speedy return to pre-pregnancy
health, strength and energy.

03.

INTRODUCTION

In this Exclusive Special Report prepared for Mums suffering with Back Pain, I share with you 9 ways that can
reduce the amount of pain and stiffness youve been feeling since being pregnant, and or giving birth.
The first thing I want you to know is that you are not alone. As you will have likely discovered by now and
contrary to what your midwife will have told you, post natal back pain does not just all of a sudden go away
on its own.
I offer these tips to my patients every day in clinic and Im letting you have them for free. They are in no
particular order, and they all have one thing in common:
They all work.
Theres a great saying that goes: Small hinges swing big doors. And its often the simplest advice that wins in
the end.
Truth is, without knowing you or your medical history intimately, I cannot tell you which of these will work best
for you. And even if I did know the root cause of your postnatal health concerns, there are no guarantees
that any one single strategy will work.
But over the last few years, Ive been able to narrow down what really does and doesnt work when it comes
to finding the fastest route possible back to pre-pregnancy health and strength and a life without back pain.
And the 9 principles youre about to read are included in that.
But imagine this... how great it would be if you try just one of my strategies every day for a few weeks...within
a few months you could have all 9 of these incredibly powerful strategies for easing back pain, SPD, pelvic
girdle, hip and groin pain, in play and working for you giving you back the active and healthy lifestyle that
youve lost.
So heres my challenge to you, now that you have this knowledge in your hands, take time every day to try
out at least one of these 9 strategies.
It really wont take long and most of them wont cost you anything but a few minutes of your time. I think youll
be pleasantly surprised by how much better, fitter and healthier you will feel.

04.

OKAY...HERES HOW
TO SETTLE
POSTNATAL BACK PAIN
WITHOUT BOTHERING
THE MIDWIFE
OR HAVING TO CALL
AND SEE YOUR GP.

05.

IMPROVE YOUR CORE MUSCLES

(INCLUDING YOUR PELVIC FLOOR!)
If youre suffering from lower back pain, SPD, groin, hip or pelvic girdle pain (PGP),
then without having this Core group of muscles working, youre very unlikely to
be able to get back to your pre-pregnancy condition.
If, when you lean forwards to pick up your own baby, or when youre out for a walk
and after only a few minutes you find you need to lean on your babys push chair
for support because your back aches, or you try to go for a jog but can only
manage a few minutes until your back hurts, then youve got a problem with your
core muscle group that needs fixing fast.
Pilates style exercises are included in this group of exercises and I strongly urge
you to consider them.

01

06.

MAKE A CHANGE
TO
THE WAY THAT
YOU SLEEP

02

Sleep with one pillow only.

Anything more will bend your neck more than it should be and means the muscles in your back,
neck and shoulders are stretched dangerously more than they are designed to do so.
If you do like two pillows, great, the second is best placed between your knees whilst lying on
your side. This will stop your hips rotating and will help ease back, hip, groin, SPD and pelvic
girdle pain.

07.

WHEN POSSIBLE,
AVOID SITTING FOR LONGER
THAN 20 MINUTES

03

After 9 months of carrying around a baby, AND a pool of water, you will have a weakness in
your back.
And if you sit for more than 20 minutes, youre stressing your muscles way more than they
can cope. These muscles are the core group mentioned in principle number one, and if you
havent done anything to retrain them or make them strong again, youre adding to your
own back problem.
If youre breast-feeding, try a pillow or cushion in the small of your back for maximum comfort and support. This is a great temporary fix, but only retraining your core muscle group will
allow you to sit safely for more than 20 minutes.

08.

TONE UP AND EASE PAIN

WITH PILATES

04

Possibly the best way I know how to improve your core strength, is
through regular Pilates done at home or in a weekly class (preferably
both).
Ideally, look for a specialist postnatal Pilates class or follow exercises
designed by a specialist postnatal physio who is an expert in this field.
This is even more important if your 30+ and have had a second child
recently or thinking of having one sometime soon.
If in doubt about the suitability of a class near you, get in touch with
me and Id be happy to advise business@360physiorevesby (att:
Arkash)

09.

REGULAR
EXERCISE
IS VITAL

05
Time might be a problem right now, but there is always time to add a
simple daily exercise routine to your life.
A child friendly swimming pool is an ideal way to begin your return to
pre-pregnancy better health offering a fun, aerobic, no impact work
out that can also keep your new born at the centre of your world.
Swimming is a very effective way to begin your recovery from lower
back pain and is also a proven way to begin the release of the feel
good chemicals your body holds back if youre not exercising, these
are known as endorphins.
They can also really help you de-stress.
If you do have lower back, hip, groin, SPD or pelvic girdle pain, then
please be very wary about starting an impact type (running, step class
etc) of exercise plan immediately.
This can be highly dangerous as youre likely to have locked, stiff and
even stuck joints that will not release no matter how much exercise
you try to do.
These types of problems will only be eased with hands-on physio.

09.

GET PHYSICAL
WITH
AN EXPERT
PHYSIO

06
Easily the fastest way to settle back pain is to have it done for you by hand. Most of the time, and
on their own, exercises just arent enough to unlock the problem. If you have joints that have
become locked, stiff or stuck during pregnancy, there is only one way for them to become loose
and thats by hand.
The muscles that surround your lower back, pelvic girdle, groin and hip area will now be very tight
and tense. So, deep therapeutic massage would be required to relax them. And then these joints
are likely to be much easier to unlock by the right techniques. After these joints re unlocked, you
will feel much more free, looser, more relaxed and much more like your old active self.
The techniques that a specialist postnatal physio will use prepares the body to be able to work out
and exercises, meaning you are going to be much safer, have more movement, feel stronger and
get your energy back fast.
And if you can achieve this, you can safely put an end to your worry or problems with leaning over
to pick up your own baby.

11.

GET THE PRAM AT THE RIGHT HEIGHT

07
If you have the handle bar at a height that is below your elbow height,
then youre adding to your troubles and prolonging ill health.
At this height, it means that you constantly have to lean forwards. And
this is without doubt the worst position that you could ever be in when
it comes to maintaining a healthy spine.
When you stand (or walk) and lean forwards, there is no other position
that adds more stress to your spine. You might be tempted to use the
pram as support, but this will only help for the first few minutes.
And if you havent got your core muscles working like they should, this
is one of the reasons youre likely to suffer long-term problems.

12.

PICK UP AND CARRY

YOUR BABY CORRECTLY

08
One thing I need you NOT to do is to
carry your baby on one hip. Dont even
fall into the temptation of thinking that its
ok to swap hips from time to time.
You will be adding untold amounts of
pressure to your hip, groin, pelvic girdle
and pubis symphysis problems.
You need to evenly distribute the weight
of your baby as best you can. And often
the best way to do this is with a professional carrier or sling.

13.

WEAR THE RIGHT SIZED BRA

If youve jumped from a B cup to a DD, or even bigger, its important to visit and get fitted
in a specialist underwear shop.
Getting the right bra size is important; you need to eliminate as much as possible the
stress on your lower and mid back regions.

14.

#01

BONUS SECTION
BONUS TIP 1. AVOID HIGH HEELS
This is a really common mistake recently new Mums make. Wanting to look and feel great
again after your 9 month term, can sometimes lead to the temptation of heading for the
shoe cupboard and straight to the high heel section.
Worst thing you can do.

#02

When you wear a pair of high heels, youre asking an already weak lower back to work 25x
harder than in comparison to wearing a pair of flat supportive shoes.

BONUS TIP 2. ADJUST THE COT HEIGHT

Lifting your baby with a weak back is a nightmare for some ladies. Lifting from a low-cot is
even worse.
If you ever find yourself in a conversation that comments how heavy your baby is becoming, its even more important to be aware of the way that you lift him or her out of things like
a cot, pram or car seat.
The core muscle group being strong is an absolute must, but you also need to consider the
height of the cot. Can you adjust it? And if not, can you position yourself so that when you
do lift, your legs arent completely straight.
If they are, your spine is doing all of the work and long-term back problems are guaranteed!

15.

#03

BONUS SECTION
BONUS TIP 3. SIMPLE LOWER BACK STRETCHES EVERY DAY
This one is really important.
But might take a bit of discipline. If you can get into the routine or good habits of doing
simple stretches and strengthening of your lower back muscles, you will benefit no end.
In the same way that you brush your teeth twice per day to keep them clean and avoid pain,
you need to look at working on your back in a similar way.

#04

Doing something as simple as following a routine prepared for you by an expert postnatal
physio 15-20 minutes per day will make a big difference and help you win back your health.

BONUS TIP 4. GOOD POSTURE HABITS

If you have to sit, try to sit up straight. 80% of the people who visit a physio aged 35-64 do
so because of a really poor posture that leads to inevitable problems.
If youre in that group, or fast approaching it, these problems await. So, the last thing that
you want to be doing is adding to them by sitting, or slouching, and putting too much pressure on your back.
Which, day after day, week after week, causes a problem. And will undoubtedly slow down
your recovery from this problem, not to mention leading to another more inevitable one
much sooner than you would hope.

16.

CONCLUSION

So, there you have it: 9 things (plus some bonuses) you can begin do
TODAY to quickly settle postnatal back pain as well as, groin, hip, SPD
or pelvic girdle pain.
Theres obviously so much more to do, and I could go much more
in-depth on ways to claim back your health, than just the principles Ive
given you here, but these fundamentals, if you apply them rigorously
and are disciplined, will make a huge difference to the quality of your
life.
For more help and advice you can contact me directly:
Call: 9774 2530
Email: business@360physiorevesby.com.au
Dedicated to Restoring Your Health,
Arkash
Arkash Jayanandan
Expert Postnatal Physio.
360 Physio Revesby

17.

HEALTH ADVICE DISCLAIMER

We make every effort to ensure that we accurately represent the injury advice
and prognosis displayed throughout this guide.
However, examples of injuries and their prognosis are based on typical representations of those injuries that we commonly see in our physiotherapy clinics. The information given is not intended as representations of every individuals potential injury.
As with any injury, each persons symptoms can vary widely and each persons
recovery from injury can also vary depending upon background, genetics, previous
medical history, application of exercises, posture, motivation to follow physio advice
and various other physical factors.
It is impossible to give a 100% complete accurate diagnosis and prognosis without a
thorough physical examination and likewise the advice given for management of an
injury cannot be deemed fully accurate in the absence of this examination from one
of the Physiotherapists at 360 Physio Revesby.
We are able to offer you this service at a standard charge. Significant injury risk is
possible if you do not follow due diligence and seek suitable professional advice
about your injury. No guarantees of specific results are expressly made or implied in
this report.

18.