stroller issues

Submitted by oh_mum on September 1, 2010 - 12:29pm
Body: 

I need help figuring this out.

My baby is getting too big and heavy for me to carry him for long periods of time, so I'd really like to be able to use the stroller.

Anytime I use the stroller though, I get bad POP symptoms.

I seem to be fine pushing him and a bunch of groceries around in a shopping cart, so I can't figure out the problem is.

During the stroller shopping experience (while I was still pregnant and didn't have a clue about POP) I tried to find the stroller with the highest possible handles since I'm really tall (6'-0"). I measured my waist to be at 44" while the stroller handle at the highest position is 42". (Haven't measured a shopping cart... perhaps they are taller??)

What is going on???

I can't even take him to the park without driving a car. I hate driving when I don't have to! I used to walk EVERYWHERE!!! And so it's especially frustration. I'm feeling tons better POP-wise in general, but this stroller thing is totally cramping my style.

I've watched the DVD and read the book. Is there something I'm missing???

Please, if anyone has any input, I would be so grateful.

kiki

September 1, 2010 - 2:41pm

just wondering how you are standing? what angle is the stroller at from your body? i try to stand very close to it, so i can stay upright and really pull up. no leaning forward, which lots of people do (think this is on the DVD).
i can't push up big hills, but on the flat i'm fine. however, i did have to get a new stroller when DS got bigger, a super light 3 wheeler that is only 7kg, super light for a three wheeler, and front can lock (ie to get on trains) or swivel (day to day). made a huge huge difference...so be sure the stroller you have goes easily, is well oiled, etc...

louiseds

September 2, 2010 - 1:50am

Hi Oh-mum

I will give you an answer that is probably counter to what you have been thinking. I mow lawn and push shopping trolleys around, as well as wheel barrows and bag trolleys, though it is about 20 years since I pushed a stroller regularly.

I have a few principles that seem to work for me.

1 Keep close to whatever you are pushing.

2 *The height of your hands should be as close as possible to the height of your hip joints,* which is quite close to the height of your centre of gravity. I am a long legged 5'7" model, so that is about 36" or 90cm high. If I push something higher than that I have to use my abs a lot. Lower than that and I have to slouch over which tilts my pelvis the wrong way. If I have to push something heavy along the ground or the floor I will sit on the floor if need be, with my back/butt to the object, root my feet to the floor and push it along with my thigh muscles. The lower I can get, the better. Likewise I will shift a wardrobe the same way, with my legs bent and my feet about 500mm away from it, and my back/blutt up against it while standing.

I think it is all about pushing something along, not downwards and along. Therefore the contact point should be at my centre of gravity, and at, or below the centre of gravity of whatever you are shifting/pushing. Wheels make a lot of difference. Being able to relax your shoulders is also useful, so ensure that your arms are straight if it is a wheelbarrow type of load. Let your legs do the work.

If I am pulling the stroller, eg up a slope, I would pull low, with well-bent knees, and even perhaps put a strap around my butt, so I would be pulling with my legs, not my upper body.

I know your question was specifically about strollers, but the principles are the same. Use your lower body in preference to your upper body and push at the height of your centre of gravity, keep it close, bend your knees, and use your thigh muscles. Make some sense?

Louise

granolamom

September 2, 2010 - 10:36pm

for walking, I have a mountain buggy, its a three wheeled jogging type stroller. the handlebar adjusts, I keep it almost as high as it will go (I am 5ft5in) and my husband adjusts it to its highest position and only slouches a bit (he is 6ft4in). anyway, when I am pushing the thing, my elbows are pretty much at a right angle and it doesnt bother my prolapse at all.
I think it helps that this model is made for walking, you know? it doesn't fold all cute and little and heaven help me if I have to get it into the car. but a little push and it just coasts along (as long as theres plenty of air in the tires). I live in suburbia so I really do have to drive almost everywhere necessitating another stroller for the car, one that does not have such big wheels and no adjustable handle, but that one doesn't bother me either. 'course I don't use it for long stretches.
I have seen in those 'everything you never knew you needed type' baby catalogs attachments for stroller handlebars to make them even higher. and yes, shopping carts are higher than the typical stroller. at least where I shop : )

just another thought.....are you sure its the pushing the stroller that's bothering you? could it be lifting it up and down stairs or curbs that's doing you in? or putting the baby into the seat? lifting him out? usually a shopping cart is indoors so the terrain is even and flat and smooth and the seat is higher up and easier to get the child into/out of.

oh_mum

September 5, 2010 - 1:56pm

what brand of stroller do you have?

gardengirl

September 6, 2010 - 12:59am

This is some very valid and practical advice which really could do with some pictures to help remind us, jog our slothful brains (or at least my slothful brain).
I suspect that wheelbarrow pushing heavy loads using my abs and upper body has been one source of grief for me.

Now I engage thigh muscles then push. I have reduced how much of a load I will push. Gone are the days of being superwoman.

I like Louise's comment to remember the center of gravity and to keep my hands closer to the hip joints.

This post by Louise also reminded me that when I push my grandchildren around in the pram, I again must engage thigh muscles. I noticed that I had been using abs not thighs.