Pregnancy and back pain
Back pain during pregnancy is very common but few women receive adequate treatment or know what to do. Low back pain affects between 45 and 75% of women at some stage during pregnancy and about 34% of pregnant women suffer from back pain at one time. Up to 1 in 5 women take sick leave because of their pain.
Normal changes during pregnancy cause increased curvature of the lower spine (lordosis) and laxity of the ligaments and sacroiliac joints at the back of the pelvis (this is natural to enable delivery). This can create weakness and instability which may lead to pain.
There is a list of things that women can do to self-manage and also some therapies that are recommended, although that depends on where one lives.
Woman are often encouraged to self manage their pain by the following practices:
Normal changes during pregnancy cause increased curvature of the lower spine (lordosis) and laxity of the ligaments and sacroiliac joints at the back of the pelvis (this is natural to enable delivery). This can create weakness and instability which may lead to pain.
There is a list of things that women can do to self-manage and also some therapies that are recommended, although that depends on where one lives.
Woman are often encouraged to self manage their pain by the following practices:
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Some of the therapies that can help women with pregnancy-related back pain include:
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References:
Bishop A1, Holden MA2, Ogollah RO2, Foster NE2; EASE Back Study Team. (2016) Current management of pregnancy-related low back pain: a national cross-sectional survey of U.K. physiotherapists. Physiotherapy. 02(1):78-85. doi: 10.1016/j.physio.2015.02.003. Epub 2015 Apr 19.
Alaeldin A. Darwich, Sudhir A. Diwan (2009) Management of back pain in pregnancy. Techniques in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management. 13(4):251-254.
Bishop A1, Holden MA2, Ogollah RO2, Foster NE2; EASE Back Study Team. (2016) Current management of pregnancy-related low back pain: a national cross-sectional survey of U.K. physiotherapists. Physiotherapy. 02(1):78-85. doi: 10.1016/j.physio.2015.02.003. Epub 2015 Apr 19.
Alaeldin A. Darwich, Sudhir A. Diwan (2009) Management of back pain in pregnancy. Techniques in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management. 13(4):251-254.
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