New moms experience all different types of aches and pains as they care for their little ones. While often unexpected- pain in the wrist, hand and thumb-are very common for new moms.
Pain or ache in the wrist and hand come from repetitive lifting of the newborn, holding the head while nursing, carrying the car seat, and repetitive twisting of the hand and wrist.
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Learn how to help decrease stress on the wrist and hand
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Discover new stretches and activities to help relieve your wrist pain
Wrist pain
Wrist pain can start from poor carrying and lifting techniques as well as wrist posture when returning to workouts. Holding the car seat with one hand can really stress the wrist tendons and forearm muscles.
Instead of carrying the car seat with one hand with a bend at the wrist…
Try to carry the car seat with two hands. This will help keep your wrists in a neutral position.
If you are experiencing wrist pain but still want to return to exercise. Try to avoid wrist stress in the push-up position, and keep a neutral wrist to relax the tendons of the wrist and forearm. (Coach Cassandra has wrist-friendly modifications for exercises in AMC’s live-streaming prenatal / postnatal classes.)
If this position is painful for push-ups or planks…
Try this position with a closed fist to continue your workout with less wrist pain.
Carpal tunnel pain
Carpal tunnel pain (usually occurs along the middle of the wrist on the palm side and can cause numbness and tingling into your palm and fingers) does not always end when your baby arrives. It can linger into postpartum life and be very disruptive to the day to day with a newborn.
Experiment with these wrist and nerve stretches to relieve lingering carpal tunnel pain:
The New Momma Thumb (aka De Quervain’s syndrome)
The New Momma thumb (aka De Quervain’s syndrome) is a condition where the tendons along the thumb to the wrist become inflamed and can cause mild aches to severe pain on the thumb side of the wrist. The Mayo Clinic does a great job describing the pain if you are looking to see if you may have the condition.
The pain is located along the tendons of the thumb seen below.
New momma thumb pain usually starts from lifting the baby frequently and holding the head of the baby when nursing. Lifting the baby with the “L” shape of the thumb and hand under the baby’s arm stresses these tendons. Try picking the baby up with your thumb close to your hand and keep the thumb more neutral than strained.
Holding the head of the baby when nursing tires these tendons and can cause inflammation. Try using a pillow to rest your arm and support your hand while nursing.
Hand glides can help reduce hand and thumb pain if performed daily.
If thumb pain increases, try the use of ice to decrease pain and swelling: 15 minutes of ice on the thumb per each hour. Consult your physician about the use of a splint to help immobilize the thumb or if pain persists.
We know how SUPER busy you are and understand you cannot lift perfectly all the time. However, the more often you do lift correctly the less likely you are to injure yourself.
Are you a new mom ready to start your postnatal fitness but don’t how or where to begin? Active Moms’ Club and Coach C~ is here and can help guide you. Drop cassandra@activemomsclub.com an email, and I’ll personally respond back to help you out.