tense muscles

For many people, their first encounter with back pain is when they become parents. That was certainly true in my case, although, to be factually correct, I was a mom-to-be in the ninth month of my first pregnancy when a herniated disc brought me, literally, to my knees.

Why parents get back pain

You would be right in thinking that many aspects of parenting, be it sleep deprivation, exhaustion, hormonal disruption, or other stresses, contribute to back pain. But I notice in parents and grandparents who report new pain, or the worsening of old or existing pains, that there is one culprit that stands out above all others: round back bending.

Being alongside children and grandchildren can take a lot of bending. Our bending habits can hold the key to our back health and staying pain free.

Round back bending can be repeated endlessly in caring for babies and young children. We sit and cradle or nurse our babies for hours at a time; we interact with little people who live on the ground.  Then we have to lift them, carry them, and put them down again. We pick up innumerable toys and dropped food items. We get to carry the diapers, clothes, snacks, and bottles, and we also have to maneuver folded strollers and other baby furniture in awkward spaces.  

Why roundback bending does damage

Rounding the spine to bend compresses the front portions of the intervertebral discs, causing the contents to bulge towards the back. This distortion of their cylindrical shape can cause damage to the discs over time—wear and tear of the fibrous outer layers of the discs, and potentially posterior herniation of the shock-absorbing contents. Disc bulges and herniations are likely to impinge on the nerve roots which lie behind the discs, a frequent cause of severe pain. As discs deteriorate, they offer less protection to the vertebrae, which can result in degenerative conditions such as osteoarthritis, bone spurs, and spinal stenosis. 
Constantly pulling on the spinal ligaments while rounding the back will cause them to become overstretched and weakened, which not only leaves the spine vulnerable to damage, but encourages the back muscles to chronically tighten and/or spasm in an effort to stabilize the spine. Poor bending technique can cause all sorts of trouble, from immediate sharp pain, to frequent niggles, to silent wear and tear that takes years to show up.

Rounded bending initiates a cascade of degenerative and painful back conditions. This is more fully explained in my book, 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back.

Bending that’s good for you

Yet many populations bend frequently and report next to no back pain. Young children, our ancestors, and traditional and non-industrialized cultures throughout the world, largely maintain a straight spine as they bend. They bend using the hip joint, rather than the spine. This maintains optimal alignment and spacing in the spine, which preserves the spinal discs and the nerve roots. Other benefits include lengthened hamstrings and a strong inner corset. A spine that uses these baseline biomechanics can tolerate occasional flexion or extension when required. We teach all this posture know-how and more in our in-person Foundations course, one-day Pop-up course, our online Elements course, plus our Gokhale Active program. 

The place to begin is not to “learn bending,” but to train your back out of rounding. Start by stretchsitting, which will help you find a straighter, more lengthened lumbar spine, and to become familiar with this healthy arrangement. You can watch our free video on stretchsitting here.

Stretchsitting uses gentle traction while you sit to lengthen your spine and decompress your discs. 

Can wearable tech help your bending?

In the past decade wearable tech has come to market. Simple, relatively cheap posture devices consisting of a single sensor with an accelerometer are designed to tell you if you are slumping. They detect when your upper back leans relative to a horizontal plane, but cannot distinguish between round back bending and healthy straight back bending. When I developed a posture wearable, this distinction was the functionality we looked for to compliment the comprehensive education we give in healthy posture and how to get there. 

Our wearable system uses two sensors. The Gokhale PostureTracker™ tracks your bending via an app, and shows you exactly how you are bending in real time. PostureTracker both alerts you and visually shows you if you are rounding your back and heading toward doing mischief, so you can return to a healthy alignment. PostureTracker is an optional learning boost for any students taking either a Foundations or Elements course.

PostureTracker alerts you when you round your back to bend (left), helping you to reestablish a healthy straight back (right) and develop healthy posture habits.

Best next action steps 

If you would like help with your posture, get started by booking a consultation, online or in person, with one of our teachers.

Consider joining one of our FREE Online workshops below to learn more about the Gokhale Method®.