Aside from the joy of having another life growing inside of you, along comes the side effects and body changes along the way. During pregnancy, your uterus or pelvis will be leaning forward, which could cause back pain, also commonly referred to as pelvic girdle pain (PGB). Naturally, when this happens, pregnant women tend to lean backwards which in return, causes a slight curve on their lower back that leads to back pain. On the bright side, there are several ways to prevent this from happening, or to be more precise, treat the aches and find relief.
1. Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy
One of the reasons why back pain occurs during pregnancy is due to tight pelvic muscles. A professional physiotherapist specializing in pelvic floor physiotherapy could help provide the necessary treatment to work your internal muscles through rehab and exercises techniques. The physiotherapist will give you an assessment based on your diaphragm and your transverse abdominis, which is a muscle located in your lower back. In a way, it is like massaging your pelvic muscles by performing exercises with your vagina. Doing these exercises could also help to reduce the tearing while delivering your baby and provide better recovery once the baby is born.
2. Approach A Chiropractor
Chiropractors are known to twist your neck and body, which can be quite terrifying for mothers-to-be. There are chiropractors that are specialized in providing chiropractic care for pregnant and postpartum women. These specially trained chiropractors would have a special table just for pregnant women to align the bones and their pelvis. A few key treatments an experienced chiropractor would do are joint manipulation, nerve compression, prescribed exercises to prevent the feeling of muscular tightness, soft tissue work, and joint misalignment.
3. Go For A Spa or Massage
Most spa centres offer pre and postnatal massages to bring quick relief for backaches. Regular prenatal massage is essential to help relieve pain as well as aid during moments where depression and anxiety take over during pregnancy. One of the best massages for pregnant women would be Swedish massage, known to be extremely soothing and gentle on the body. Glutes contribute the most to back pain due to the pelvis shifting and having their tailbones tucked underneath, tightening the muscles. An experienced massage therapist would help to loosen the tightness. However, the massages offered may not be suitable for all pregnant women, hence, it’s best to consult your doctor before going for any massage.
4. Use A Maternity Belt
A maternity belt may be useful when you experience pain around your middle lower back and hips, which is known as pelvic girdle pain. The maternity belt should not be worn too often as it stops your muscles from working, which is needed after you deliver your baby. It is recommended to be worn during strenuous activities such as lifting, walking, bending or standing. Take note; if you wear it too tightly, it could cause pelvic organ prolapse.
5. Exercise Your Pain Away
When it comes to exercises, most pregnant women tend to shy away from them since they think it could be extremely tiring. Yoga, being the popular option among pregnant women, provides multiple benefits to the body and mind. There are prenatal and postnatal yoga exercises to help relieve back pain and loosen the muscles, joints, backs and nerves. Prenatal yoga helps to improve your posture while toning your body in preparation to deliver the baby. Yoga comes with breathing exercises as well, which could make pregnant women feel calmer and sleep better at night, along with relaxing their muscles and mind. While hormones are constantly changing during pregnancy, yoga helps to regulate these hormones and naturally puts you in a better mood. You can also consider downloading eBooks that offer back pain relief tailored programs such as the Back in Action Program if you don’t feel comfortable joining a public class and prefer to exercise by yourself.
6. Practice Meditation
Meditation is a technique that can be performed anywhere. Even though prenatal yoga classes offer breathing techniques, meditation does not require any movement in regard to the body. All you need is a quiet place to focus on your own breathing, inhaling and exhaling deeply while listening to calming music or simply without any audio or sound playing in the background. Based on research, meditation is also known to stimulate the brain and release stress hormones, also called cortisol. Through meditation, your pain tolerance level could increase as well when it comes to labour pain and backaches.
