how to ease back pain in pregnancy
We all know that when you become pregnant your body changes. It’s a huge sacrifice (but hopefully a joyous one) to grow a little human inside of you. There are many physical changes you will undergo, but one of the most common is back pain. Back pain is so common in pregnancy because while the baby grows they throw of your center of gravity. This causes your pelvis to compensate by shifting forward. We’ve all seen a movie or TV show where the pregnant woman is walking pelvis first and supporting her back with her hand. If you’ve found yourself doing this, this blog post is for you!
1) I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: do some prenatal yoga! Exercise is probably one of the last things you want to do when you’re experiencing back pain, but I promise it will help! Any exercise that you feel comfortable doing will help, it’s just so important to move your body while you’re pregnant. Parental yoga, swimming, and walking are all great options because they are gentle on your body, but still get the blood pumping. Sitting for long periods of time certainly doesn’t help with you back pain, so get up and move!
2) Overly tight pelvic muscles are a huge contributor to back pain, and sometimes you don’t even know you have tight pelvic muscles! A pelvic floor therapist is what you need for this situation. As a doula, I have a list of resources for you, and an excellent pelvic floor therapist is one of them!
3) Working on your posture is also a great way to reduce your back pain. Pay attention to where you feel the weight in your feet. If you feel your weight in the ball mount of your feet you are leaning too far forward. Try to evenly distribute that weight by rocking some weight back into your heels as well. This is a very mindful shift, but with practice you will do it without thinking! If you already have children also be very mindful about how you’re picking up your other children. ALWAYS lift with your legs, not your back, no matter if you’re pregnant or not.
4) See a chiropractor or a massage therapist. Chiropractors are experts in their field on all things back related, so seeing on is pretty much a “no-brainer.” And who wouldn’t want to go see a massage therapist at any point?! Again, as your doula I would give you examples of who to get these services from that are experts in perinatal massage and chiropractic care.
5) If you know you’re going to be doing a lot of strenuous activity in a day, wearing a maternity belt or wrapping a rebozo around you is super helpful. Both of those are just extra supports for your back and help relieve some of that pressure around your abdomen. However, they shouldn’t be worn every day to ensure that those muscles don’t get dependent on those aids. But every once and a while, go for it! There are lots of youtube tutorials like this one that can show you how!
That’s all for today’s blog post! How many of you experienced lower back pain in your pregnancy, and what did you do to relieve it?