Combating Back Pain During Pregnancy

During pregnancy, the anticipation of your growing baby can be incredibly exciting. What’s not so exciting? Back pain during pregnancy. Back pain during pregnancy is one of the most common symptoms in expectant mothers, especially towards the latter end of a pregnancy. A woman will typically gain an average of 25-35 pounds during this time, but some gain more. This puts strain on the back and pelvis, not to mention the pressure put on the blood vessels and nerves in these areas. At Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center, we want you to enjoy your pregnancy and enjoy a healthy body before and after the baby comes. Chiropractic care is one of the top choices expectant mothers turn to in order to combat their back pain during pregnancy. Why? Because it’s effective and can keep your body sturdy and strong during and after pregnancy. Many of our patients experience less pain and more comfort with our help. Call today for a free consultation and see how we can ease some of the load off your back—literally.

Back Pain During Pregnancy

Many expectant women will find that back pain during pregnancy occurs in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy when the baby is growing in weight and size. Extra weight on the belly that comes on fast can significantly increase the pressure and wear and tear on the spine and hips. Most of our patients report experiencing symptoms of aching in the spine, legs or shoulders, inflammation, lumbar pain, irritation in and around the pelvis, loss of flexibility and stiffness before treatment. Back pain during pregnancy can be caused by the increase in hormones as well as weight, a change in the center of gravity, the loosening of spinal ligaments and even exercise. Your loss of flexibility and associated stiffness can make bending and twisting hard (especially when getting out of bed).

Some back pain during pregnancy is very easily correctable with simple changes in your daily routine. Poor posture can cause pain as well as excessive exercise or time spent on your feet. You’re already working your body more than you know by supporting and growing another life. That takes quite a toll on your energy and strength!

Some Figures

The American Pregnancy Association tells us that an estimated 50%-70% of pregnant women experience back pain during pregnancy. It can come easier to women who were already overweight prior to pregnancy, as any additional weight makes a major influence on back pain during pregnancy. Government statistics say that 50% of pregnant women will even experience some kind of low back pain during the postpartum period. Back pain will begin to set in most commonly between the 20th and 28th weeks of pregnancy, but there are effective therapies to relieve your pain.

How We Can Help Relieve Your Pain

We will go through your medical history with you to see if back pain was already present before pregnancy started. This will help us to better treat the current symptoms you have. We will also provide at-home tips and advice for avoiding and treating the pain you have. We do, however, have gentle chiropractic manipulation therapy sessions we can provide you that are highly effective at relieving back pain during pregnancy. Many women find great results from chiropractic manipulation when pregnant to help align the spine and joints correctly and relieve added pressure off of your spinal column and hips. Ligaments and joints are loosening up in preparation for baby, but we can help align them correctly when that loosening occurs. We also provide safe exercise plans that help you get a proper amount of rest coupled with the right amount of activity for a strong spine (minus the pain of course). Many women continue their usual routines when it comes to exercise, but they might need a few changes in their regimes to get the maximum exercise benefits available to them without pain that comes from weight gain and imbalance of the musculoskeletal system.

Want something even more therapeutic? We provide gentle and deep-tissue massages to help you relax and relieve stress. Our massages can also pinpoint areas of tension to relieve joint compression and trigger points that could be causing you pain. We may also suggest special pillows or wedges that can help take pressure off of certain areas of the body after your consultation where we assess your needs.

Pregnancy Should Be Fun!

At Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center, we want to make pregnancy a comfortable and fun time for you. You don’t have to be in constant pain. With our help, you will see major pain relief and reduction of symptoms and may even make it all the way through your pregnancy without any more painful symptoms. Pain relief doesn’t require lengthy and intense treatments and should be a simple process. Make your pregnancy more simplistic with our pain-relieving therapies to help your life be more enjoyable. Call our Texas Spine & Sports Therapy Center today at (512) 806-0015 to learn more about back pain during pregnancy and what you can do to become pain free.