lower back pain with posture + numbness...

Body: 

Hi all,
I have another email to post with my general hello and what's up!
But rather briefly, I've just had baby no. 2 6 weeks ago, and 3 weeks later voila les prolapses!

I've started trying the posture and am finding that my lower back is hurting. I'm trying to just think of relaxing my stomach / lower spine over my pelvis, and pulling up the rest of my back over the spine.
I'm not doing it all day as I'm not comfortable enough with it, but am working on it whilst sitting (which is a lot of my day playing and feeding) and also whilst standing, and some whilst walking (though hard when concentrating on anything else...)

but I do find that rather quickly my lower back starts hurting...any thoughts?
I also don't feel like there is that much of a curve...is it really obvious, or quite subtle?

also, i've noticed in the last week that I've been getting numbness in my pelvis, I think from sitting in the car for any length of time...never had this before.
any thoughts on that ?

(i'm not exactly doing much, but we have had the odd car journey of about an hour to make...)

many many thanks!
K

For me it took about a week or two for that to go away.
I was used to standing with stomach sucked in and knees locked...it takes a while to get the back re-trained :)
Just make sure your head is in the proper postion too!
I haven't had numbness but I have had tailbone pains...I treat it like anything else--if it were to become persistant--constant I would see a Doc....comes and goes intermittenly I would chalk it up to shifting things and look at the day I had...did I do a lot that day or do anything out of the ordinary etc.

Take care!

Hi Kiki

I agree with Therese's comments re back pain, and also whether the numbness is always there, or comes and goes.

What exactly do you mean by numbness in the pelvis? Where do you feel it? Both sides of the spine? Is it followed by pins and needles? Were you getting it before you started the posture? Were you getting it before your prolapse appeared? It doesn't sound too good at all. Numbness means for me that there is a nerve pathway and/or blood circulation somewhere being blocked.

I think I would be getting it checked out professionally.

Re the curve, have a look at a good diagram of the lumbar region. The skin surface does not follow the same curve as the spine, so what you can see when you look in the mirror is not necessarily what is under the surface. When you look at other women it looks as if it is very variable, but all butts are different; all waists are different. Christine may be able to answer the question about variability of the curve when she gets back home again.

Another way to think about the posture is to pay less attention to the lumbar curve, and more attention to the upper spine. Mentally attach a string to the crown of your hair (not the top of your head) and another to the base of your breastbone, and tug both of them upwards. This will straighten the thoracic curve and the neck a bit and tuck your chin under slightly. Your breasts will lift too. It will also pull up the fascia (and organs) in your pelvis. It will also take some pressure off the lumbar area while your body learns to adjust.

Cheers

Louise

Do you have a new baby? If you do I think you got to give it time. Pregnancy does crazy things to the spine- and reinstating the lumbar cuve is a good thing- just go slow- I was sore for 2 weeks straight when I started this posture work. and I got some numbness too- in my lower back and butt- sitting in the car made it worse. but it is pretty much all resolved. I still get sore from time to time- my massage therapist wants me to go to a chiropractor to get adjusted (we were waiting to see if my pelvis would just slip back in after the birth but it hasn't happened yet) so maybe that is what you have going on - some alignment issues.
as to the lumbar curve- for me it is obvious- my butt is sticking out out out....if you stick your but way out and then get your upper body posture correct it will pull the lumbar curve into the exact right for you position.