Dealing With Back Pain During Pregnancy- Helpful Tips

Pregnancy is a unique experience for most women. At the end of the day, a bundle of joy is brought into the world. However, it is not all roses for women as they have to go through several unpleasant experiences including back pain due to the many changes their bodies undergo.

There are several reasons why women suffer from back pains, and they include.

• Increase in weight: With pregnancy comes an increase in weight. Not only is the woman adding weight, but the weight of the baby also increases with time and ultimately puts more load on the spine – causing lower back pain.

• Change in posture: Pregnancy causes a change in your body’s center of gravity.Adjustment to this change affects the way you move, resulting in back strain.

• Changes in hormones: Another way to describe pregnancy is hormonal changes. Hormones like relaxin, which is secreted by the body to help relax the joints, can eventually lead to pressure on the ligament causing pain and instability.

• Stress: Physical and emotional stress always results in tension, which translates to back pain. This is often prevalent during certain times of the pregnancy.

• Muscle separation: Muscle separation, which occurs depending on the uterine expansion, will always result in pain, especially in the back region.

Nine months is such a long time to bear such “joyous burdens” in the form of pains. It then begs the question, what can be done, or how can one deal with back pain during pregnancy?

To answer these questions, we have highlighted several tips that can be carried out by mothers to alleviate back pain at any point during pregnancy.

1) Use A Back Massager:

Using a back massager to relieve back pains is very common these days. You can research online to find the back massagers with the latest technologies to have a long term solution to your severe back pain. Vibrating back massager is the most effective available around. So, watch some YouTube reviews and read about the safest technologies to use to relieve back pains.

2) Exercise

Contrary to many claims, pregnancy is the best time a woman must take her exercise seriously even if she has such discomfiting back pains.

With so much stress on the spine, guided exercise will help boost flexibility and strengthen the muscles of the body.

Your doctor will likely recommend exercises that will improve your back and pelvis including exercises like cycling on a spot, swimming, and walking.

3) Heat and Cold Application

Back pain could be severe but it shouldn’t bother you. Depending on the severity of your body pain, here is another trusted and tested tip to alleviate the severity of such pains to your back.

Provided your physician is in the know, a cold compress might be all you need.

At intervals of twenty minutes a day, put a bag of ice or frozen vegetables on the affected area until the pain subsides, you can switch to a heating pad or a heated water bottle after two or three days.

Caution should be observed regarding the temperature, as extreme temperatures can affect the baby.

4) Visit a chiropractor

Chiropractors can manipulate the spine during pregnancy; read more here. If your doctor approves or even recommends one for you, you can undergo chiropractic manipulation of your spine to alleviate the pain.

5) Acupuncture

It’s a procedure that emanated from China, but it is used everywhere and anywhere now.

Acupuncture is a form of treatment in which needles are inserted into the skin of different parts.Not only is it very effective for curing several ailments, it is effective for severe back pains.

Provided you get a nod from the physician; you can always use acupuncture to relieve lower back pain.

6) Visit a counselor

Your spouse, a family member or a friend might be of greater help to you during pain periods than a medical practitioner. As such, you can always talk to them about how you feel.

Aside from therapy, there are several ways a pregnant women can act or modify her lifestyle to effectively manage back pains. These include:

• Squatting instead of bending when picking little or large objects from the ground.

• Keeping away from platform shoes and other high-heeled shoes and sticking to flats.

• Sleep on your side and not your back.

• Ask your doctor about support hose and wear it for comfort sakes.

When experiencing severe pain, ask your physician before you use painkillers.

Only painkillers like Acetaminophen (Tylenol) are perfect for pregnant women, others like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) are not advisable.

Finally, instead of self- medicating or employing any of these approaches, reach out to your doctor whenever you feel the following.

• Cramps

• Sudden onset of intense pain

• Difficulty in urinating.