Back Pain During Pregnancy
The most common complain made by women is generally the back pain during pregnancy. The obvious reason for this is gain in weight. The extra weight carried by a pregnant woman makes her walk in an imbalanced way which ultimately leads to backache. This problem being a normal one can be treated under proper guidance and care.
Usually back pain during pregnancy can be divided into two categories. The first kind of it is caused due to improper postures, bad lifting techniques and weak or tight muscles or injury. These causes are almost same to the back pain victims who are not pregnant. This back ache becomes severe if you have been standing for a long period of time because by this time, the body muscles are tired and the ligaments are stretched. In rare cases, a pregnant woman may suffer from sciatica where pressure from the back makes the sciatic nerve painful. Sciatica may exist with or without back pain and it can also shift the pain down to the back of the leg. However, it is not caused by the baby's pressure on nerves and one may have this problem irrespective of pregnancy.
Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) is the second category of back pain. Most pregnant women who are troubled of back pain during pregnancy actually have this type of pain. This pain needs to be managed very differently and standard treatments can be ineffective for this. Possibilities are there that the pain may worsen!
It is not that difficult to understand the actual reason of back pain. With the growth of the foetus inside the womb, the pregnant woman's body weight also increases shifting her frame. The spines have to bear this constant weight load and also adjust accordingly. This increases the burden on the back and makes the body uncomfortable thereby causing back pain. Sometimes, back pain during pregnancy includes experiencing of back labour closer to the would-be-mother's delivery date. Such pains need to be closely monitored by the health care practitioner. While some of these pains may be false, others can be associated with a real thing. So the pregnant women must consult their doctors in case they experience back labour pains.
Different doctors suggest different ways to tackle this problem. Some of those include using of a belly belt that supports the back and the abdomen, usage of body pillows at night that supports to sleep sideways, pregnancy massage, etc. Also, they can also be treated to a great extent simply by changing the life style and adopting some healthy ways. Doing simple regular exercises like walking, swimming, dancing, etc can be helpful in treating back pain during pregnancy. Practising good postures like standing tall, sitting straight, shoulders down, etc are also essential in this regard. Care must be taken while lifting things also. Trying to lift with bend knees rather than back is recommended. It is also advisable to wear flat and comfortable shoes so as to avoid back pain caused due to standing constantly for long periods. It is important to check the position during sleep as well. Sleeping on the back puts extra pressure on the back while sleeping sideways take off that extra pressure and checks back pain. Sleeping with a support pillow placed under the tummy can also reduce back pain. A gentle massage and a hot water bath can also reduce the back pain to some extent.
Usage of any kind of medicines or painkillers for reducing the back pain during pregnancy is strongly discouraged. Instead, acupressure can be preferred. It is a form of alternative medicine and needs to be treated only by professional practitioner. A practitioner is the right person to know how and where to apply the pressure on the woman's body so that she is relieved of the pain. Incorrect application of acupressure can cause serious problems. Other than acupressure, Chiropractic care can also be helpful in reducing back pain during pregnancy. The chiropractor can suggest some stretching exercises and back adjustment techniques that can be done at home. They can also help by massaging the muscles and joints. Care must be taken while doing this so that there would not be any pressure on the abdominal area.
Practising above mentioned tips are enough to check the back pain during pregnancy. If at all you experience the pain even after trying out all the options, then don't jump upon any medicine or painkiller in the counter; rather consult your doctor and go for prescribed medication.
