Hello all you glowing pregnant ladies out there! Let me guess…you are either at the end of your second or in your third trimester experiencing lower back pain due to pregnancy? Not comfortable right?
Feeling lots of pressure in your pelvic region and your feet are swollen or even pain shooting down your leg? No worries, this is ALL VERY COMMON amongst preggers! As you have noticed, your body goes through so many drastic changes to accommodate that growing baby. For most women, the lower back pain, hip pain, the uncomfortable pressure in your pelvis, the swollen feet, etc will go away after you give birth! But for some, the lower back pain does not go away so let me explain.
During pregnancy there are LOTS of changes, physically, hormonally, emotionally, etc. as you may have experienced for yourself. BUT no worries there are things you CAN DO to help manage the pain in terms of exercises, sleeping positioning and sitting posture.
Exercises mainly focus on stretching of tight hip and lower back muscles, and gentle core stabilization to take some pressure off your lower back. Here are some exercises {COMING SOON} that may help!
Another great alternative to help your lower back pain during pregnancy is walking in water at the pool! The buoyancy of the water will take some pressure off you lower back and hips.
In regards to posture, listen up ladies! First thing is first. If you have not already, please invest in a good PREGNANCY body pillow to help you comfortably sleep through the night. The body pillow designed for pregnancy is better designed to support your body compared to the “non-pregancy” body pillow. If you don’t have a body pillow, let me show you how you can mimic the body pillow by using 3-4 regular pillows. Click here for the video link {COMING SOON.}
Second, when sitting a few things to remember. First, sitting on a hard surface will be more aggravating than soft surface so if you have to carry around a seat cushion (can be a folded fluffy bath towel or a bed pillow) so be it. Second, using a lumbar support in your chair will be your second best friend. My favorite lumbar roll is the McKenzie Lumbar Super Roll. Trust me you never sit the same after using this. I even strongly recommend this to my non-pregnany patients with lower back pain and they love it!
Another alternative to a lower back support while sitting, is using a bed pillow, nothing too fluffy and here is how. Make sure you are sitting with your hips slightly higher than you knees and you can adjust by the chair lever or sitting on a seat cushion and the pillow should be placed long way all the way you seat and you sit back upright to the chair back. Try adding a folded bath towel also in your lower back if you need more support. To see what I mean, check out this video {COMING SOON.}
SIDE NOTE: If you are experiencing sciatic nerve pain due to pregnancy, I wrote another blog about it so check it out!