This morning I have heard something interesting on smile904 fm. Your head weighs about 5kg and when looking down, it increases the strain on your neck to over 20kg!! That tingling feeling in your arms from the neck down is closely related to the strain on your neck caused by the position of your head. While breastfeeding you constantly look down at baby and you barely keep your head just looking in a forward position. That places tremendous strain on your neck muscles and often causes muscle spasms. I have found that I even struggle with neck stiffness and tingling arms while in a lying down nursing position. A good idea is to visit a physiotherapist to release some of the neck tension and spasms, but as you know...moms don't always have the luxury of time. Simply grab your partner every evening to help release some of the tension in your neck. Magnesium is also a good supplement to use for muscle aches, not just does it help in decreasing the pain, it also increases your energy. A win win situation! Pillows and more pillows are your friend. When you feel strain on your neck, you can improvise on your nursing position by adding some pillows to take the strain off your back. It is also advised to do some stretches after each nursing session. Stretches that may help includes, behind the back neck stretches, adjusting your posture to be correct, rolling your shoulders forwards and backwards, rolling your neck from side to side as well stretching against a wall.
