If morning sickness or nausea is the most common discomfort during the first trimester, back pain is undoubtedly the number one discomfort doctors hear about in prenatal visits. The weight of your belly on your back and your new gait when you walk are to blame for this common condition.  

A new curvature

You may not have noticed, but your gait now is different from what it used to be like. The weight of your belly pulls you forward and in order to keep your balance, you have to lean back. Due to this abnormal posture, your spine adopts an unnatural curve. and muscles in your back are constantly tense.

This problem entails an added factor. Pregnancy hormones relax your muscles and these therefore do not give the support they usually provide your spine with.  

All these circumstances cause back pain to be almost inevitable during the last few months of pregnancy, especially if your abdomen protrudes significantly due to your body build.  

Sciatica

Sometimes, back pain has an additional variable that is more problematic and is known as sciatica. Due to muscle relaxation and the pressure on the spine, sometimes one of the cartilage discs that are between the vertebrae may be displaced and therefore put pressure on one of the sciatic nerves. Sciatic nerves run from the lower back to the leg and run through the gluteus.  

The pain of the sciatic nerve is very characteristic. You feel like a line of pain that runs from your back to the leg, and it is sometimes so intense that you may require bed-rest until the inflammation subsides. The less severe cases may be treated with ice, a girdle or brace in order to alleviate the weight of the belly on the back, or with anti-inflammatory medication.

Suggestions to alleviate back pain

Being in good shape may avoid or reduce this type of pain, because when the muscles that support the back are stronger, there is less stress on the back. But if the pain is already there, following are some suggestions to alleviate it:  

• Don’t wear high heels. 3 or 4 cm. will be more comfortable.

• When sitting, especially if you spend many hours at the office, place a small cushion in the small of your back in order to support the area that causes the most discomfort.  

• If you work at a desk for many hours a day, do your best to shift positions and –even better- to walk around every half hour, more or less.  

• Sleep with a big pillow between your knees in order to avoid further stress on your spine.  

• Swim regularly. Practicing this sport will be very alleviating because, besides strengthening your muscles, you are weightless in water and your muscles don’t have to work as hard in order to hold up your belly.

Precaution with certain traditional massage therapies

It’s tempting to seek out back manipulation from a massage therapist, osteopath or chiropractor, in order to alleviate pain in these last months. However, maneuvers and adjustments that happen in these practices may be hazardous for pregnancy.

The best thing to do when you feel that you need a massage is to visit a professional masseur. Some are licensed or experienced in pregnancy massage, and this is therefore your safest option.