Here’s the right way to push a stroller

Most parents walk casually when they are outdoors pushing the baby in the stroller. While there is no harm doing so, why not use that time to maintain the right posture? Maintaining good posture is important, in general, to avoid injury.

Strollers can be heavy equipment, and if its a double stroller or if you have attached a stroller board, it can become really heavy. And on top of that if the terrain is uneven or if there is an incline, it can be a pain to push a stroller.

Here are a few tips to maintain the right posture while pushing a stroller:

Keep Your Wrists Straight

You need to keep your wrists straight while pushing the stroller. With the incorrect form, you end up applying extra pressure on your wrists, depending on the incline, terrain and of course the stroller weight. This in turn could lead to wrist pain.

The solution is to keep the wrist straight when pushing the stroller.

Walk Close to the Stroller

Lower back pain is a common problem with several men and women. Why aggravate it further with a back posture? Back pain can easily be aggravated by pushing a heavy stroller, especially if you push a stroller with your head down and with your back hunched over.

A better posture to prevent potential injury to your back is to keep your hips close to the stroller (to the handles). When walking uphill, walking close to the stroller, the pressure is distributed on the back and the legs.

Several recent strollers come with height-adjustable handlebars to suit parents of different heights. Use one of these, if you could.

Also Read:

• Best baby strollers for tall parents
• Stroller handle extensions, extend the handle bars

In Summary

Wrist Straight, elbows bent
Hips close to pram, abs in and engage your core
Chest open and shoulders further away from you ears.

Walking with a pram with your little one can be a great workout. Maintaining the right form also avoids painful injuries such as muscle strains.

strollerboards

StrollerBoards is a family managed website with me (Ben) and my wife doing most of the work. We are proud parents of two wonderful kids and love reviewing baby travel gear. We have a firm but friendly “democratic parenting” style and offer several practical solutions backed by extensive research. Our own experience with raising two children prompted us to share our knowledge. Read more.