Back pain in pregnancy can be so dibilitating! I know from first hand experience. It was hard to even put weight on my leg and I had this sudden sharp pain on one side of my buttock! I just had to sit down and take it easy. I suppose it’s your body’s way of telling you that you’ve done too much. You’re growing a human for God’s sake. It’s hard work. Your body is doing it’s best to cope with the pressures it can put on your joints and ligaments. But a lot of women don’t realise that back pain in pregnancy can have long term side effects moving forward. So it’s abosulety important to do certain things the right way to prevent it from developing into a full fledged chronic back pain that you’re suffering for the rest of your life. Here are 3 ways you can prevent long term issues if you’ve suffered back pain in pregnancy.

Picture of a pregnant woman

Focus on your pelvic floor if you have back pain in pregnancy

There’s just not enough information given to new mothers about how to maintain their pelvic floor muscles after birth. Especially if you’ve gone through the public system. Bladder leakage after child birth is not normal , yet it’s quite common. I cannot stress enough on how important it is to stregthen your pelvic muscles. Have you heard of Kegel’s exercises? If you haven’t, it’s about squeezing your muscles that help you pee. Not as hard as you can but enough to feel a good contraction. Gently increasing that squueze to the count of 5 and relaxing to the count of 5 again. It’s all abut repetition. So the more you do them, the better it is to manage back pain in pregnancy. It’s because your pelvic floor muscles work with your core muscles to hold your back in a good position.

Don’t jump into high intensity exercises if you’re recovering from back pain in pregnancy

woman lifting overhead

Pregnancy itself places so much stress on the joints because of release of hormones. This is exactly why women end up with back pain in pregnancy. It’s important to note that the joints are mre flexible than usual to prepare for child birth. And of course the weight of the baby in the front adds to the added pressure on the spine. This can cause a disc bulge in the lower back. Now high intensity exercises put undue stress not just on the lower back but also the pelvic floor muscles. So you’re better off staying away from these kind of exercises for now. What will really work though is low impact exercises that focus entirely on core strengthening and pelvic floor strengthening. Nothing better than reformer pilates to get those core musles firing up. Trust me.

Use your legs while getting your baby in & out of the cot

baby toes scaled

Easier said than done hey? We’re just so focused on looking after our little bundle of joy that we forget to protect our back when we’re getting them in & out of their cot. Especially if you have back pain in pregnancy, it’s important to squat rather than bend from your back. This is because there’s trememdous amount of strain to the lower back when you bend your back. This can in turn result in injury to the discs in your back and lead to chronic pain.

Please don’t wait to see a physio to get pain relief from back pain in pregnancy

I know that you’re busy looking after your little one. But what good would you be if you’re in pain? How will you nurse, feed and rock them to sleep? Don’t wait for your pain to get worse because this is exactly why women end up with chronic pain. In fact, if you’re currently suffering from back pain in pregnancy, rush to the physio right now. Because you’ll need all the strength to look after your angel when he/she arrives. Physios can figure out exactly what’s going on. But beware, it’s not just exercises, you do also need a lot of hands on work. So make sure you choose a physios with experience in dealing with pregnancy related back pain and are hands on.