What some women find useful for backache
Treatments for a strained back
Backache is a part of many women's pregnancies. Around 50-75% of pregnant women will complain of backache at some stage of their pregnancy and about 33% will find it a problem, inhibiting their lifestyle. The pain can be felt in the upper or lower back, or both. It can also start after the birth and may be temporarily aggravated by having an
epidural; you may wish to read
backache after the birth.
Backache can sometimes be complicated by sciatica, a shooting nerve pain down the buttock and back of one leg (pronounced sye-at-ee-ca). This is when the back and pelvis are out of alignment and pinch the nerve where the bones are joined at the
sacrum by relaxed ligaments.
The common causes of backache and sciatica are as follows:
Pregnancy hormones
Weakened abdominal muscles
Incorrect posture
Rib flaring
The position of the baby
Incorrect lifting
Pregnancy hormones
The pregnancy hormones of progesterone and relaxin soften and relax the ligaments that connect the pelvis to the lower back at the 'sacroiliac joints'. They also soften the ligaments holding the pelvis together at the front, sometimes causing
symphysis pubis pain. The affect of these hormones can make the ligaments become somewhat 'elastic', causing the pelvis to be very pliable. (This gives the pelvis the ability to move and expand to make room for the baby during birth.)
Image 1-13 shows the back of the female pelvis and lower spine with the connecting ligaments
While this is a great design feature by Mother Nature, it unfortunately makes your pelvis somewhat unstable and can contribute to lower backache, sciatica, symphysis pubis pain and the characteristic 'waddle' many women get in the last few weeks of pregnancy.
Weakened abdominal muscles
The abdominal muscles are weakened in pregnancy as they stretch with the growing baby.