The The association of infant carriage altered posture and musculoskeletal pain: A narrative review

Abstract

Infant carriage in rural Africa is daily activity for the impoverish residents. The empirical evidence of the effect of infant carriage on the health and well-being of caregivers is limited. This novel literature summary will present the effect of infant carriage associated with musculoskeletal pain. An electronic literature surveillance employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews, using NCBI, PubMed, Bookshelf, Google Scholar search engines, was completed (2013-2023). Key descriptors were chosen as “infant carriage, musculoskeletal pain, injury”. The merit of the papers was assessed using a modified Downs and Black Appraisal Scale. Scientific papers (n=2033) were preliminary identified which was reduced to seven empirical studies. A total of 843 participants were described across the seven empirical investigations. Their mean age was 29.27 ±4.06 years, body mass (65.51±4.97 kg), height (1.62±0.08 m) and infant mass (12.81±3.99 kg). Four studies reported that infant carrying is associated with altered posture, which produces musculoskeletal pain. Six studies described the association between infant carriage and musculoskeletal pain to the caregiver. Literature confirmed that infant carrying methods do alter caregiver’s posture with front infant carriage producing excessive lumbar lordosis and thoracic kyphosis, coercing the caregiver to adopt a kypholordotic posture. In order to maintain an upright posture, the caregiver had to hyper-extend the lumbar vertebrae adopting an excessive lordotic posture. The caregiver adopted a kypholordotic posture to ensure that the caregiver’s body and infant center of mass is within their base of support. The literature surveillance further identified an association between infant carriage and a high occurrence of musculoskeletal pain. The vulnerable anatomical sites include the lower back, upper back, and shoulders. This review examined the effects of Nigerian and the South African cultural method of infant carrying on the caregiver’s health and wellbeing.