Back contractures from holding children: Can they be avoided? 2026

The back usually adds to bad posture. If we also have children, holding them for too long or doing it inappropriately can overload our lumbar or cervical spine, among other parts of the spine. In order to continue enjoying and cuddling our little ones with as few ailments as possible, we spoke with Pablo Delgado de la Serna, physiotherapist at Fisioterapia de la Serna (Madrid).

How do we have to hold the baby?

As the expert explains, the most appropriate way to hold a baby is always holding his head, since he is not yet able to hold it on his own, and putting an arm under his back so that it remains firm, reaching our hand at head height and not removing it until we leave him on a firm surface with his head supported. If we have to leave him in the crib, we can put one hand on his head and the other holding the lower part of his back to place him carefully.

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The key is to always make delicate and smooth movements. If we are not sure, we can wrap him in a cloth or muslin and ball him up.

Facing our back, depending on where the child is lying or sitting, we can force one or another part of our body when picking him up. "If it is in low areas such as a bathtub, the floor or a lounger, we must always bend our knees so as not to put excessive strain on our lumbar part. In addition, we must try to hold it with the distributed weight. For example, if we carry the baby and a bag, try not to carry everything on the same side," says Pablo Delgado de la Serna.

Can we give him a piggyback ride?

Carrying your child on a piggyback or on your shoulders doesn't have to be bad. You simply have to take into account their age, so that they know how to hold on and avoid falls or injuries. "That is, we should not do it as long as he is not able to hold on, at least while sitting," says the expert. It also warns of the importance of assessing our child's weight to take care of our back. "It seems silly, sometimes it is a short time and the child enjoys it so much and is so happy, that we do not think about the possible damage we can do to our cervical spine and the muscles involved. In the consultation we very often see parents who carry their children on a piggyback: it is not bad, but respecting the child's holding capacity and the relationship of their weight with our back."

Be careful with being overweight

Having a few extra kilos increases joint pain because they are the final support of our body: the joints are the part that provides support and the muscles move them. "In addition, in the muscle we have a part of fat and another part of muscle mass. The more overweight we are, the proportion of fat is greater than that of muscle mass and that muscle will need much more work to act, when on top of that it has to support more weight, entering a pernicious vicious circle," warns de la Serna.

The importance of physical activity

Exercising daily is very important. "I always say that ten minutes is better than zero, and twenty is better than ten. Sometimes we don't do anything because we don't have an hour and if we did less, we would do more," explains the expert.

You can walk, stretch, swim... Whatever you like the most. If you have a baby, pilates and swimming, which work a lot of the back muscles, are very suitable.

How to avoid contracture or act if you already have it

Our expert says that to prevent contractures, the ideal is to take care of your posture. If we do not respect them, which in the end no one usually does, we must compensate for it with physical activity and stretching.

If contractures have already appeared, deep heat can help a lot. The ThermaCare patches, which provide us with deep heat for up to eight hours, are very suitable. In the event that we do not improve with the patches, we should go to a physiotherapist.