Baby-Growing Aches and Pains: A Guide to Muscle Pain During Pregnancy
Pregnancy brings with it many different ailments that women may not have experienced previously. Extreme headaches, food aversions and nausea, pregnancy rhinitis, bleeding gums, a weakened immune system, and muscle aches and pains are all common during pregnancy. Muscle aches can really put a damper on enjoying your pregnancy and keep you from doing many of the things you are used to doing. The good news is that you don’t have to suffer through them for nine months. Muscle pain during pregnancy can often be treated with rest and stretching and when at-home treatments aren’t cutting it, a chiropractor can help.
Read on to learn more.
Lower Back Pain
This is one of the most common types of pregnancy muscle pains. The weight that you gain during pregnancy combined with a shifting center of gravity due to your growing abdomen puts stress on your lumbar spine. Pregnant women, especially during the later months of pregnancy, often alter their gait to compensate for this shift, which also contributes to low back pain.
Stretching, rest, and chiropractic care are the best ways to treat low back pain during pregnancy.
Round Ligament Pain
Round ligament pain is often worst during the second trimester. Between weeks 16 and 26, your uterus grows quickly and relocates from your pelvis into your abdomen. This can cause pain in the round ligaments that support the uterus.
You might feel this pain only on one side or both sides and it could be a sharp, stabbing pain or more of a throbbing, achy pain. You’ll feel this pain the most near your pubic bones.
Like lower back pain, round ligament pain is best treated with rest, stretching, and chiropractic care. .
Leg Cramps
Leg cramps are very common during pregnancy, likely due to weight gain, changes in circulation, and pinching of nerves that often happens. These often happen at night and if you’ve ever woken up with a Charley horse, you know how excruciating they can be. The good news is that they usually come and go quickly and it’s not constant pain.
Make sure you are drinking enough water during the day, as that can often contribute to muscle cramping. When you feel a leg cramp coming on, gently stretch your leg, avoid pointing your toes, and instead pull your toes back towards your knee. You can also try to massage the muscle to work out the cramp.
Sciatica
Your sciatic nerve runs from the base of your spine down both sides of your hips and glutes, then down to your feet. Any changes in posture, particularly ones that come about during pregnancy, can put pressure on it, causing pain. It could be a shooting pain or could feel like tingling or numbness anywhere along the nerve.
Regular movement (avoid staying in the same position too long) and walking around regularly to stretch out can help alleviate this pain.
You Don’t Have to Live With Muscle Pain During Pregnancy
Muscle pain during pregnancy is inevitable, but you don’t have to suffer day in and day out. Stretching, getting plenty of rest, and using acetaminophen can help you relieve your pain on a daily basis. When these strategies don’t help, though, consider seeking chiropractic care.
If you are in need of a massage or chiropractor, get in touch with us. Our providers at Amazing Life Chiropractic can help you spend less time in pain and more time enjoying your pregnancy.
