Back Pain in Pregnancy

Back pain is very common among pregnant women. Typical root causes are improper posture while sleeping, constant sitting down and standing up from toilet bowl, lifting considerably heavy objects and children, added weight, walking, running, taking up long stairs, drastic change in center of tendency of the whole body, and prolonged poses among others. On a general note, back pain during pregnancy is more of an activity-driven illness.

As an added burden to the difficulty of pregnancy itself, back pain during pregnancy (and right after it) should be treated immediately. This should not add, as much as possible, to the pain usually experienced during labor stage. Women, having back pain prior to being pregnant, are more likely to have back pain during pregnancy. Chronic back pain at pregnancy is, more likely, an indicator of back pain to continue until after giving birth.

There are two common types of back pain during pregnancy. Back pain in the pelvis is the more common. The pain is felt below or around the waistline and, oftentimes, goes right down to the buttocks. The other form is the lumbar back pain or the back pain at the lower back. Inflammation is likely to be felt around the muscles in the spine. Lumbar back pain is usually felt between fifth and seventh month of pregnancy.

Unlike other groups of people, pregnant women are up for conservative approaches of dealing with back pain. Other treatments and relief are not safe to be applied, especially those that require surgery, drugs, and extensive physical exercises. Yoga, another approach to treating back pain, is not advisable for pregnant women. These constraints are what making back pain during pregnancy thrice as difficult. Given that the discomfort is thrice as much, the actions that can possibly be taken to treat the case are thrice as limited. Nonetheless, immediate actions should be done. Otherwise, the pain can even be carried out to postnatal stage. Conservative ways of handling back pain during pregnancy include appropriate, light exercise and proper body postures. If extensive body exercise is required, the physical therapist should religiously assist the pregnant woman. Basic treatments such as placing a pillow in between knees while sleeping, wearing low-heeled sandals, wearing maternity support belt, having enough bed rest (given proper posture in bed), receiving light back massage, and proper diet can help. Typical recommendations to solving back pain during pregnancy include observing proper posture, handling immobilization techniques, and carrying out only can-do household chores. As for the prevention part, constant prenatal check-up should be observed, so as to carefully monitor the imminent difficulty and find ways, as early as possibly. Most of the studied cases showed that back pain does not end in pregnancy but gets carried on after delivery. This case may lead to the possibility of the pain to become chronic, if not treated accordingly.

If back pain persists long after the delivery, non-conservative treatments may be necessary (upon doctor’s approval).