This car seat hack is going viral—but does it actually work?

Carrying a car seat is no easy feat. They can be heavy, bulky and nearly unmanageable with a heavy baby in tow. You can try to lug it with both hands or scoop it up with one arm—but neither are ideal for your posture, says a chiropractor whose car seat hack has gone viral.

Mom and chiropractor Emily Puente of Bridge Family Chiropractic in Mansfield, TX, has stepped in to rescue you from the aches and pains of carrying a car seat with a clever hack. In a video posted on Facebook by the chiropractic clinic, Puente demonstrates how to carry a baby in a car seat to minimize strain on the body parts (specifically the shoulders, upper back and hips) that are being overworked to compensate for the weight of the carrier.

The hack is simple: With the baby in the car seat facing toward you, slide your hand through the handle as if reaching for the bottom of the carseat, and then twist your wrist to lift it from the bottom. That way when you lift the carrier, it sits right against your side—rather than balancing the handle in the crook of your forearm, a technique that has been widely adopted by parents and caregivers alike. Since posting this video, it's been shared over 54,000 times on Facebook and viewed over 4 million times.

Puente promises that this hack will be life-changing, solving the many obstacles that parents face when juggling a car seat and other tasks, or children. "It’s not going to hurt your shoulder, it’s not going to hurt your hip, and you’re not going to have to use your knee to swing like I had to do with my two [kids]," she says in the video. "Someone taught me this before and it’s been the greatest thing."

Facebook is loving this parenting hack, with many users wishing that they had known about it when their kids were babies. In response to one viewer that experienced discomfort when trying out the method, Puente said that this is not a one-size-fits-all hack and may not work for all car seats. In an update to the post, Puente suggested trying this technique at your own discretion, based on your level of fitness and in conjunction with your doctor's approval or recommendation. She goes on to point out that car seats aren't the ideal mode for transporting babies (when not in a car, of course) and suggests carrying them in your arms, sporting baby wear or using a dependable stroller for your trip to the zoo, if possible, to minimize the chances of discomfort.

We decided to try this hack for ourselves. Here's what we thought:

Most people here at the office didn't find the technique comfortable and didn't think they'd carry a baby like this in real life. However, like Puente said, your level of comfort will probably depend on your physique, level of fitness and if you've had any previous injuries.

Will you be trying out this car seat hack?

Read more: Are you using your car seat properly? 1 in 5 kids killed in car accidents don't have proper restraints 7 car seat mistakes you’re probably making There's a decent chance your kid's car seat is installed wrong