bad back and buggy

[lilyofvalley]

hi
Has anyone found a buggy that they would recommend for mum suffering from bad back please?
Cheers

What sort of bad back do you have? I used to get lower back problems with the wrong buggies and I found that one with a high handle worked best. Also large-ish wheels make it smoother and less likely to jar your back.

With DS I used a Mothercare Urban Detour and I loved it to bits, but it's much too heavy to put into the car on a regular basis if you have a bad back. It was a delight to push though, and it was stable enough to support myself on it a little.

With DD I am currently using a Baby Jogger Mini City which has a lovely high handle so I can stand straight. It's easy to push, but not quite as smooth as the Urban Detour because it has solid tyres not air. The best thing about it is that it's less than 8kg and super easy to fold and unfold so it's fine for putting in the car.

If bending to put the child into the buggy is a problem then perhaps you would be better with that one that looks like a bar stool (I forget the name at the moment).

you need one very easy & light to push, I have a bad back (upper) and my top ones are:

bugaboo frog (not cameleon!)
BOB revolution 3 wheeler
XTS twister (older style better than latest one)
Mountain Buggy urban

Baby Jogger Mini City should be good, had one but never got to use it out and about to compare

Nipper 360 should be good too.

avoid your usual maclaren type buggy too much strain.

I have problems down one side and I second bran: big wheels with air tyres, stable and an adjustable height handle. I would also say have an accross bar type handle and not two seperate ones if you see what I mean.

I had mamas and papas pramette and I would not recommend that if you have a bad back. I now have phil n teds vibe and that is fab.

phil & teds is quite heavy a MB urban or Bob is lighter/easier to push and probably the nipper 360 too.

I love my urban detour, it is really comfy to push.

My P+T sport is driving me up the wall since we put the back seat on, the handle is too low and I can only take little dolly steps.

Yes, definitely one handle and not two. With two handles there is really on one position that you can walk in so there is no way of changing position to give your back a break. With one handle you can push with either hand or with both and just changing position can give your back a bit of relief.

I found the stokke xplory a godsend - for me the 'killer app' was that the child sits much higher up - they get a better view (people and things to see rather than legs, shopping bags and exhaust pipes) and you spend an awful lot less time bending over fiddling with straps etc. I used to cry with pain when bending down to mess about with car seat clips and buggy fastenings, lost hats etc..

It isnt the best to go in and out of the car too often - but for height adjustability (handle as well as child), ease of walking (no crossbar to kick) etc it is wonderful. For me this all outweighed the fiddly minute of clipping it together 100 times. It is even very easy to go up and down stairs with - it converts into a 2 wheeler which is much easier to deal with. Several of the 'back product' shops sell them. I cannot tell you enough how wonderful and easy to use this thing is. I gave mine away to someone who also had a really bad back.

Xplory! That's the bar stool buggy I was thinking of.

depends what your back problem is, what you are currently pushing and how old the child is?

if you are tall and pushing a low handled buggy that will hurt your back.

i have a nipper 360 and it is fab as its so light, air tyres but not an adjustable handle so may be uncomfortable if you are tall. i wish i'd bought a nipper soon, i really love it and thats saying something as im a pramaholic!

Stokke Xplory. Stokke actually design things for back probles - which is why Back In Action (shop dedicated to products to help back sufferers) sell them.

I had terrible SPD, slowly improving thank God, and for the first few months after ds was born my Xplory was my walking frame. It was a damn sight easier to walk with it than without.

If you can stretch to it (Ebay, or asking shops for ex-display) Stokke sell a change table that is safe for the baby and lets you change them straight-backed. Also a total godsend when bending is hell, but the mucky bums just keep appearing. I didn't get mine until I actually used one when ds was 4 months old. Wish I had realised sooner. They have a big surface with decent side bars too, so they're usable a decent length of time.

I have a Silver Cross 3D, it moves nicely so doesn't put pressure on my back but I can't use my crutches with a pushchair so sometimes I think it moves a little too well! If you're not on crutches though I think it's brilliant.

Cheers all