Back pain during pregnancy period is quite common among several pregnant women. With the good news coming along, one has also to endure the discomforts and uneasiness in this phase. This situation is quite typical from the second trimester of pregnancy and is caused due to a range of factors. While keeping up with the pain is very difficult, worry not! Today we will tell you the best tips and treatment methods on how best to overcome and get rid of backache during pregnancy. These are easy to do home remedies which can even give instant relief most of the time! Let’s get started!
Back Pain While Pregnant – When Does it Start and End?
If you are experiencing mild to severe backache while pregnant, worry not! You are not alone. It is said that around 50-70% of pregnant women experience this common condition. While some women experience this pain from the onset of pregnancy, most of us usually come across this condition from the second trimester. There are cases where pregnant women from as early as 8 weeks also experience the backache.
However, this condition of back pain is normal in pregnancy and can be treated with natural home remedies and medicines with the help of a medical professional. It can be put to an end or be reduced with its severity with the right treatment.
Causes of Back Pain During Pregnancy:
Every woman face having back pain problem during pregnancy. The most common types of back pain and symptoms for it is mild to striking pain in the lower and upper back fora pregnant lady. This can be caused due to a range of factors, and it is essential to know the reasons first for understanding the treatment methods and prevention tips. Here are a few common causes.
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First Trimester:
The most common reason for back pain in early pregnancy is as follows.
1. Stress:
Emotional stress can source muscle tension in the back that may be felt as back pain before back spasms. You might find that you experience backache throughout stressful periods of your pregnancy. Try and keep yourself calm, and you may be shocked to see the ease from within.
2. Hormone Changes:
Throughout pregnancy, your body’s hormonal changes lead to ligaments in the pelvic area to unwind and the joints to turn looser in training for the birth process. A similar hormone can cause ligaments that hold up the spine to loosen, leading to unsteadiness plus pain. Hormone changes also lead to back pain during early pregnancy.
Second and Third Trimesters:
When coming to the second and third trimester in pregnancy, back pain can be caused due to,
1. Muscle Separation:
Like the uterus expand, two parallel sheets of muscles (the rectal abdominis muscles), that run from the rib cage to the pubic bone, might separate along the center seam. This division may worsen back pain.
2. Weight Gain:
During a healthy pregnancy, women typically gain between 25 and 35 pounds. The spine has to support that weight. That can cause lower back pain. The weight of the growing baby and uterus also puts pressure on the blood vessels and nerves in the pelvis and back. This is one of the main causes of back pain during pregnancy.
3. Posture Changes:
Pregnancy shifts your center of gravity. As a result, you might gradually get still without noticing and start to adjust your posture and the way you go. This might result in back pain, or otherwise strain. The form of your standing position also reason for back pain in early pregnancy and onwards.
4. Center Of Gravity:
One of the essential causes of back pain during pregnancy is the change in your center of gravity. With the growing belly bump, you will notice that the center of gravity should and does move forward. To keep that in mind and work on your posture accordingly is the right thing to do.
However, most often, it so happens that you become so conscious about the safety of your baby, you forget about the position. This keeps building up muscle tension and eventually leads to a growing backache that is hard to reduce throughout the pregnancy.
5. Malfunction of The Sacroiliac Joint:
The joint has a significant role to play during pregnancy, and its dysfunction is one of the most common causes of your situation. This joint forms the pelvis – well, most of it anyway. It is the joint that allows the alternative movement when you walk. Now, with pregnancy, the ligaments get strained, and there is instability in the joint, leading to all the pain.
It can get excruciating, but the good news is this cause of back pain in pregnancy is very treatable with specific treatments. The best part that comes out of it is a better delivery promise for your baby. This is a common reason for back pain during the 9th month and last month of pregnancy.
6. Strenuous Work:
Any strenuous work in the later months of pregnancy, like bending down to pick up a bucket or so can lead to a terrible backache eventually, leaving you bedridden. You most certainly do not want to let this one take over and then question yourself why you have back pain during pregnancy. During the late pregnancy months, that is by the advent of the third trimester, limit every single activity on your logbook and focus on the rest you get and try to make the most out of it.
7. Dress and Fashion:
With Maternity clothes doing the rounds, why would you possibly choose anything else as your pregnancy outfit, even when you know anything elastic, will leave you feeling sore for the rest of the day? Your belly is having a hard time dealing with the changes around and below it in the uterus. With the growing size, you need to watch your heels since that makes it more challenging to adjust the center of gravity. Next comes the dress you pick to step out. Avoid belts and elastics entirely.
Maternity dresses are your friend, and there’s a reason to be mothers adhere to those. It’s your time to go shopping. Else, you will soon find those shoes becoming a reason for your lower backache because of the ligament strains they pose.
Relief from Back Pain in Pregnancy:
Relief and treatment methods to get rid of back pain for expectant mothers may not always be demanding as you may assume. There is a range of treatment options one can choose from, depending on the doctor’s suggestion and severity of back pain. These include home remedies, medicinal treatment, yoga and exercise, massages and physiotherapy way to reduce the back pain during pregnancy.
See More: Health Problems While Pregnancy
Home Remedies and Lifestyle Changes:
There is nothing easy and simple home remedies to treat back pain during the time of pregnancy. Here are a few leads.
1. Take Breaks:
Walk otherwise stand plus stretch as a minimum once an hour. Session too long can create your back hurt still more. Attempt not to stand too long, either. Uncertainly, you work on your feet; attempt to place one foot on a low stool to get some pressure off your lesser back.
2. Use A Firm Mattress:
In this condition, you can choose to have a firm mattress for the duration of your pregnancy. A body pillow (as a minimum 5 feet long) can also assist you in finding stress-minimizing sleeping positions.
3. Heat Plus Cold:
Using heat plus cold to your back might help. Uncertainly your health care provider agrees; make by putting cold compresses (for example, a bag of ice otherwise frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel) on the tender area for equal to 20 minutes several times a day. Later than two otherwise three days, change to heat — put a heating pad otherwise hot water bottle on the sore area. Beware not to relate heat to your abdomen in pregnancy.
4. Maternity Belt:
You can easily buy maternity belts online or any shopping line that expertise in the same. It is essentially a supporting undergarment that holds your belly in place and makes sure that your pelvic girdle isn’t stressed. So, in case your belly is now pronouncing its way forward, you can allow the belt to work as a good substitute for the core muscles of your belly.
5. Nutritious Diet:
If you want a healthy pregnancy minus all of that pain, you need to make sure your diet is in place, and all the carbohydrates, fat and proteins are stacked in using fruits and vegetables. Exclude caffeine since it is one of the most contributing factors to backache during pregnancy.
6. Recover Your Posture:
Slouch strains your spine. Use proper posture while working, sit, otherwise sleeping is a superior move. For instance, sleeping on your side by a pillow stuck between the knees will get the stress off your back. When sitting at a small table, put a rolled-up towel at the end your back for the holdup; relax your feet on a load of books otherwise stool and sit up without straight, by your shoulders back.
7. Massage:
Gentle massage can relieve backache, however, the effects are inclined to be temporary. If your partner offers you a massage, avid massage intensely in the dimples moreover side of your lower spine. These are acupuncture points that might inspire contractions.
8. Exercise and Yoga:
Yoga is a good stretch exercise that helps increase flexibility and allows a quick and easy delivery. Prenatal yoga, kegel exercises, and stretching are some of the good ones to indulge in. From sore back to building muscle tension, it’ll all be released in no time. So, don’t let those disadvantages of the growing belly take you down, instead choose to be active and healthy with these pregnancy back pain exercises.
Here are some tips for gentle exercise, which can help a great deal,
- Work on prenatal yoga and aqua natal classes to help build muscles and get better support of the back.
- Sit on a box position with knees under hips, hands under shoulders, and stomach muscles upward, keeping back straight. Raise back up near the ceiling and let bum relax gently. Slowly return to the box position again. Do this slowly to make your muscles feel relaxed.
9. Help from Doctor:
You can also get to take medical treatment from a doctor. These may include oral medicines and physiotherapy for back pain during pregnancy, as suggested by a certified health care professionals.
10. Acupuncture:
Acupuncture is a type of Chinese medicine in that thin needles are inserted into your skin at specific locations. Studies have exposed that acupuncture can be efficient in relieving low back pain during pregnancy. Confirm with your doctor if you are concerned about trying it.
11. Physiotherapy:
Doctor’s may also recommend you to go for physiotherapy sessions in case of severe pain. Do not work on this yourself without a certified professional.
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Tips for Back Pain During Pregnancy:
Besides knowing the causes and remedies, one must also note some tips which can help prevent getting back pain altogether!
- Do not wear heels. Wear only shoes with excellent support,
- Do not wholly bend from the waist to pick up things. Squat, bend knees and make sure to keep back straight.
- Sit straight on chairs. Always keep a pillow to support the lower back.
- When you sleep, try to lay down on sides and place pillows under the abdomen for support.
- Use a firm mattress only. This can help to provide excellent support for back during pregnancy time.
- Keep a check on how you stand, move, and sit. Do not be in a bent position.
When to Consult a Doctor for Back Pain When Pregnant:
Here is when one must talk and consult to doctor when suffering from severe back spasms when pregnant,
- If your back pain is powerful and you are in the second or third trimester.
- You also have a fever and bleeding from the vagina with pain during urinating.
- If you have pain in your sides (under ribs).
- You lose any feeling or sensation in your legs or bum.
Suffering from back pain during pregnancy can be quite a daunting task, and with these tips and remedies, hope you can have a relaxed pregnancy. Make sure to always be in touch with regular checkups from your family doctor, besides these home tips.
Never treat back pain all by yourself. This guide only gives you a glimpse of the general scenario and how to overcome the backache when pregnant. Make sure to consult your health care provider for the best tips and treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions and Answers:
Q1. Is back pain an early sign of pregnancy?
Ans: Back pain is often noticed during late pregnancy than in early times. Hence it is not a major and significant sign of being pregnant at initial stages.
Q2. Is it safe to use a pregnancy belt for back pain?
Ans: Maternity help can help reduce lower back pain issues which are commonly caused due to bad posture. However, it must be worn only for a few hours in the day and not for the whole day. There are also cases recorded that the belt may increase weight, causing more back pain. Consult your doctor for the best advice as per your body type.
Q3. How to cope back pain while sleeping during pregnancy?
Ans: The severe back pain is a common case in many expectant mothers, especially while sleeping. Always make sure to use a firm and broad mattress only while sleeping. Further, you can place a pillow near both legs and under the abdomen to reduce back pain while sleeping on the side.
