Pregnancy Problems: Low Back Pain
At E and E, we're very passionate about bringing you valuable and FREE information. We want to help as many mamas-to-be as possible along their journey.
That is why we're going to keep the blog posts like this coming!
Pregnancy Low Back Pain
Why It Happens
Low back pain (LBP) during pregnancy is common, but doesn't have to be normal. It typically starts sometime during the second half of pregnancy and gets worse as pregnancy progresses. Two thirds of mamas experience back pain at some point during pregnancy and postpartum time periods, so this is VERY common. The primary reasons for pregnancy-related LBP are the postural and hormonal changes that your body goes through to grow a baby.
During pregnancy the abdominal muscles are s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d. Over-lengthened muscles are not able to do their job well. This leaves women much more vulnerable to injury because of the lack of stability in their core. The great news is there are a lot of things we can do to prevent and reverse this. The exercises in the pregnancy guide are strategically chosen to prevent this lower back pain!
We will let you in on an additional little secret: the pain may not be coming from the lower back!
Hip weakness and upper back tightness are large contributors to back pain. Women in pregnancy often increase their base of support by widening their stance by rotating their legs outward due to the demands of carrying the weight of the baby. This shortens muscles in the hip and functionally “locks out” the lower back. Muscles that are over-shortened are not able to do their job as well (just like muscles that are “lengthened”!). Too-short muscles lose their normal ability to powerfully stabilize. The lower back can get sort of “stuck” like the stagnant, unmoving waters of a swamp. The way to bring “clean” water in is to MOVE those joints. Movement produces synovial fluid in the joints which is the lubrication that keeps our joints happy. Additionally, upper back tightness puts more strain on the lower back because it increases the curvature of the spine. This leaves further our spines less able to absorb strain on the joints.
Hormonal changes that are prepping your body for labor and delivery are working against you at times while that sweet babe grows. Relaxin is a hormone the body produces to enable your pelvis to widen to accommodate the baby’s head exiting your body. Unfortunately, it does not work only on the pelvis at the time of delivery. Throughout your pregnancy, it makes every ligament and the joints your ligaments support progressively more “loosey-goosey”. This serves to decrease the stability in your joints and make your ligaments more prone to injury. Functionally, this makes you more unstable and can causes pain with walking, standing, sitting, rolling over in bed, getting in and out of chairs and lifting things. We cannot change this, but we can protect our bodies while it happens by increasing low and mid back flexibility and strengthening your hips and lower back. If you have pain in pregnancy, there are occasions where pain does magically go away when baby comes. If you are a veteran mom, you know that sadly this often is NOT the case and problems persist postpartum, and sometimes indefinitely if no corrective action is taken. It is also important to note that for as long as you are nursing/breastfeeding, hormone levels are similar to pregnancy and maintains your body in a semi-pregnancy state of ligamentous laxity.
Strength is SO important and the pain won’t get better without it!
Between increased instability in the ligaments and the discomfort created by weakened muscles, the body needs strength in the season of life more than it ever has before!!
The Expecting and Empowered guide is WRITTEN (by a physical therapist and personal trainer) to help you build the strength and flexibility you need to avoid and/or lessen your pregnancy lower back pain. You can buy your guide here.
Changes in Habit Can Help!
Avoid activities and positions that strain the joints of the pelvis and lower back such as crossing legs, excessive climbing stairs/stair stepper machines, standing with all of your weight on one leg, and sitting in an asymmetrical position (tucking a leg under your butt, aggressively shifted to one side).
When is lower back pain during pregnancy serious?
If your back pain lasts more than two weeks, it's time to contact your healthcare provider. Call your provider immediately if:
Your back pain is severe, gets progressively worse, or is caused by trauma.
Your back pain is accompanied by a fever, vaginal bleeding, or a burning sensation when you pee.
You've lost feeling in one or both legs, or you suddenly feel uncoordinated or weak.
You lose sensation in your buttocks, groin, genital area, or your bladder or anus. This could make it hard to pee or have a bowel movement, or, alternatively, cause incontinence.
You have lower back pain in the late second or third trimester. This can be a sign of premature labor especially if you didn't have back pain before that.
You have pain in your lower back or in your side just under your ribs, on one or both sides. This can be a sign of a kidney infection, especially if you have a fever, nausea, or blood in your urine.
We hope this helps and want to have YOUR back during pregnancy.
-Amy and Krystle