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I am pregnant! And what now? First I must tell you, that I, like mother of two sons, don't have words good enough to explain what does being pregnant exactly means. It is a hole new world. A world of new emotions like, disbelief, acceptance, joy, fears. Try not to be frighten, even though at no other time in your life you'll face as many physical, emotional and social changes as during the time that you are pregnant. It is really a wonderful experience! It results with birth of another human being. Your daughter or your son! As a physical therapist I would like to worn you on different causes of back pain during pregnancy. Lumbar pain during pregnancy can stem from multiple sites, most commonly the facet joints, paraspinal muscles, supporting ligaments, or discogenic sources.
There some causes on which you can't have influence, like for example, hormones. The hormone relaxin, which allows pelvic expansion to accommodate the enlarging uterus, increases tenfold, reaching its peak at the 14th week. Joint laxity is most notable in the lumbar spine and the sacroiliac joints. As static supports in the lumbar spine become more lax the pain from the facet joints may increase.
You may feel pain in the pelvis. In the pelvis, joint laxity is most prominent in the symphysis pubis and the sacroiliac joints. The symphysis pubis widens throughout pregnancy. With widening comes the possibility of vertical displacement of the pubis and rotatory stress on the sacroiliac joints.
You may have influence on your weight, but only partial. During third trimester, a weight of baby is forcing pregnant woman to lean backward. That, and ligaments laxity cause extreme pressure on muscles, weakness of spine and pain. Increase of amniotic fluid and development of child will add to your weight. This causes your pelvis to tip forward, which increases the curve behind your waist and puts Increase of amniotic fluid and development of child will add to your weight. This causes your pelvis to tip forward, which increases the curve behind your waist and puts a strain on the back of your pelvis.
Nocturnal pain it's also something on which you can't have influence. There are many theories about why night pain develops. One theory is that muscle fatigue accumulates throughout the day and culminates in back pain at night. Another is that biomechanical stress from sacroiliac dysfunction produces symptoms in the evening. Circulatory changes during pregnancy may also contribute to low-back pain at night.
Seems like there is nothing that you can do, but yes you can! Control your weight, no matter how hard that could be, and follow these recommendations. My ladies, forget high-heeled shoes for a while! They can cause you a pain. Pregnant women should avoid wearing high-heeled shoes that accentuate lumbar lordosis and increase shearing stress on the lower back and sacrum. Standing for long periods can increase any swelling in the ankles and cause back pain. So try to avoid it. It is important to visit the doctor as soon as you suspect you are pregnant. At each visit the doctor will examine you. This examination includes: monitoring weight gain or loss, blood pressure, circumference of the abdomen, position of the fetus and fetal heartbeat. Such variables are going to be closely followed during the course of your pregnancy.
Most important: Be happy, be healthy, exercise and enjoy yourself in this unique and special time in your life! |