Life Hacks for Everyday Activities

Life Hacks for Everyday activities

Do everyday activities like sweeping, loading the dishwasher, or picking up your children hurt your back, hips, knees, etc?  Well you are not alone!!!!  But, the good news is we can most likely resolve these aches and pains by looking at proper mechanics, and a little strengthening.

Let’s look at why these aches and pains arise.  Overtime we develop weaknesses in the body due to improper posture, injuries, pregnancy, etc.  When one area of the body is weak then other areas of the body “step up” to try to compensate for the weakness.  Instead, the compensators become tight and over worked which can cause pain.  Many times we don’t even realize that we are compensating in one way or another.

Let’s look at a few examples.

Bending Over Mechanics

If your back hurts every time you bend over to pick up your kids or load the dishwasher, lets look at how you are bending over.  Are you rounding your back?  Are you arching your back? Are you engaging your abs before you bend? Are you bearing down?  Are you engaging your glutes as you return to standing?  A simple way to check is to watch yourself in the mirror or video yourself.

Now I am going to talk you through how to properly bend over which is called a hip hinge.  Stand about six inches to a foot away from a wall.  Think about keeping your back neutral (not arched or rounded) and core engaged.  Place your hands on the crease where your thigh and pelvis meet and hinge at your hips trying to pinch your hand between your thigh and pelvis.  The goal is to reach your glutes to the wall behind you.  As you return out of the hinge, your back is neutral and you want to squeeze your glutes to return to standing.

Lifting Mechanics

What happens when you are lifting your kids or grabbing the groceries out of the car?  Do you brace and then lift or do you put too much pressure down?  The easiest way to get strength is to bear down which can create a lot of issues for your core and pelvic floor.  If you are not careful it can lead to diastasis, prolapse, or incontinence.

When you go to lift you want to think about bracing first.  Try this, take a nice deep breath in letting your breath fill your back, sides, belly, and pelvic floor.  As you exhale, think about zipping your core up from the bottom up and maintain this core engagement while lifting that cute kiddo.  Your core should feel like it would if someone were about to punch you.

Carrying Mechanics

How do you carry things (or little people)?  Do you always carry your kids or purse on the same side?  How do you place your carrier on your hips?  How do you push the stroller or cart?  If you always are things on a certain hip or shoulder it can create imbalances between your left and right sides.  It will feel awkward at first, but start switching it up.

Next lets look at how to wear your baby.  The hip strap should be low and tight.  Midback strap should be fairly tight so it holds your shoulders back and in place.  Make sure your glutes are not tucked under and that you are not leaning back excessively.

Strengthening is GREAT for helping with aches and pains. However,  if you are doing a strengthening program an hour a day and the remaining hours in the day you are moving improperly it is goes to take much longer to resolve your issues.