Pregnancy is a special situation that causes changes in the woman's body, and that has different consequences in it, having an impact on the spine. In fact, back pain during pregnancy and sciatica are very common, affecting the environment 50% of pregnant women.
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Causes of back pain and sciatica during pregnancy
Since it affects a large number of women who are going to be mothers, should know the causes of back pain during pregnancy and the suffering from sciatica. Some of these causes are as follows:
Increased abdominal girth
On the occasion of pregnancy, the increase in the abdomen to accommodate the fetus causes the center of gravity to shift forward, What does that make up for?, the body generates a increased lumbar lordosis.
The increase in lumbar lordosis causes an overload on the intervertebral discs and facet joints., which can end up leading to the appearance of a low back pain and sciatica.
Abdominal muscle dysfunction
The abdominal muscles play a key role in dealing with back pain and keeping it under control.. During the woman's pregnancy, these muscles stretch, which causes that when the muscle is too elongated it loses tone and performs its functions in worse conditions.
If you don't have toned abs, the abdomen will be more distended and this affects the lumbar lordosis, with a forward center of gravity.
Relaxina
The relaxina It is a hormone whose concentration increases during pregnancy.. This favors the relaxation of the uterus, which makes it possible for it to increase its size in case of pregnancy.
Relaxin also increases joint flexibility., so that it is possible to increase the diameter of the pelvis during childbirth, and also increases the risk of vertebral sprains.
fetal position
A part of the course of the sciatic nerve is intrapelvic., and sometimes it can happen that the fetus is positioned in such a way that it purchases the nerve. In these cases, sciatica would occur..
previous back pain
Secondly, Another cause of back pain during pregnancy is that there has already been previous back pain. This is because people who have already suffered from back pain or sciatica before pregnancy, are more likely to suffer from it during this stage of their life.
Characteristics of back pain during pregnancy
During pregnancy the Back pain has a number of features, and that can be given in the form of:
Low back pain
The pregnancy low back pain It is characterized by muscle pain that increases when standing and improves when walking. Low back pain during pregnancy also improves with mild physical activity and mild heat.
sacroiliac pain
The sacroiliac joint is the joint that is responsible for exercising the union of the spine with the pelvis., and during pregnancy mushroom joint is overloaded. Sacroiliac pain is characterized by pain that begins in the lower back and buttocks..
In many cases it is a radiating pain that occurs down the back of the thigh to the calf.. It differs from pregnancy sciatica in that there is no tingling, changes in sensation or loss of strength.
Sciatic
Sciatica during pregnancy can be caused by the position of the fetus, that compresses the sciatic nerve, being infrequent that bandages given by a herniated disc. It is an internal pain that does not vary with movements, but what if you feel a burning sensation all over your leg, In addition to producing loss of strength and changes in sensitivity.
Treatment of back pain during pregnancy
In case you suffer back pain during pregnancy, You should keep in mind that there are ways to treat it to mitigate its effects and enjoy greater well-being..
In this sense, has been shown to perform exercise both before and during pregnancy is the best treatment to combat pain. Exercise reduces pain, plus it has no side effects, and helps to relax, In addition to contributing to not gaining too much weight, and also to deal with the overload that occurs at the level of the spine during pregnancy.
Secondly, you can also use the medication. Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that during pregnancy many common medications cannot be used to alleviate pain, so in this case it will be necessary to choose the paracetamol, What is the most commonly used medication during pregnancy?, since when using it there is no risk to the health of the mother or the fetus.
In the most extreme cases, in which the pain suffered by the pregnant woman cannot be resolved in a conservative way, it might be necessary to resort to the surgery. Nevertheless, it is always better to avoid it, since in this type of case the risk for the fetus and the mother is increased, being more likely to suffer some type of complication.
Despite the fact that currently the safety of this type of process is above the 90%, the development of micro-invasive techniques such as spinal endoscopy, reduce the risk of complications and post-operative pain. Anyways, having to submit the pregnant woman to a surgical process is to avoid, unless it is an extreme case in which there is no possible solution through exercise or medication.
In this way, you know the causes, characteristics and possible treatments in the event that you suffer from back pain during pregnancy, something that occurs frequently among those who are expecting a child.