Pregnancy Back Pain Coventry, Sacro-iliac joint & Pelvic joint pain Coventry.

Pregnancy Pain

Pre-existing pelvic and spinal imbalances usually become overtaxed when pregnant. The added stress leads to discomfort and difficulty while performing regular activities. Regular physical therapy throughout pregnancy can relieve the common discomforts experienced in pregnancy.

At our Physiotherapy & Chiropractic Sports injury Clinic we accurately diagnose and treat all pregnancy-associated pain:

Chiropractic or Physiotherapy in Pregnancy

How can Chiropractic or Physiotherapy help me during pregnancy?

At our Physiotherapy & Chiropractic Sports injury Clinic we accurately diagnose and treat all pregnancy-associated pain:

- Back pain

- Hip pain

- Neck pain

- Sacro-iliac joint pain

- Sciatica

We give specific adjustments to restore balance and eliminate stresses in your pelvis and spine that result in greater comfort and a return to pain-free walking, sitting and lifting.

Pregnancy and pelvic joint pain explained

Can Chiropractic Care Help Me

Chiropractic care is a natural way to treat back pain during and after pregnancy. Your doctor of chiropractic is specially trained to determine the best treatment for your own individual needs.

History

You and your chiropractor will discuss your symptoms, if any, and your lifestyle. Gentle physical, orthopaedic (bone and muscle), and neurological (nerve) tests help reveal the condition of your spine. Gently pressing on the spine helps check for tenderness, pain, swelling, and restricted range of motion.

These tests are safe for the baby and the pregnant mother. Spinal Adjustments special chiropractic methods, called adjustments, can help relieve your back and leg pain. Adjustments cause no harm to the baby and are safe up until delivery.

During an adjustment, your chiropractor gently presses on joints in the spine. This relieves pressure on nerves and restores motion and alignment. Adjustments can reduce pressure on nerves. They can also help restore alignment, improve mobility, and relieve pain and stiffness.

Related Treatment

Your chiropractor may suggest other types of treatment to improve your posture and relieve your back or leg pain. These may include ice or heat, massage, or gentle stretching exercises. Your chiropractor can discuss these with you.

Why Are Regular Spinal Check ups Important!

Even if you don’t have back pain, having regular spinal check ups is one of the best ways to help prevent back pain during and after pregnancy. Giving birth is stressful on the spine. The extra bending and lifting you do as you care for your baby puts added stress on the spine, too. Your chiropractor can help you and your family manage or prevent spinal problems and maintain healthier lives.

Do Exercises for Your Back

Gentle exercises can help reduce back pain by increasing the flexibility of your spine. Your chiropractor can help you design an exercise program for your needs. Be sure to do each exercise exactly as directed by your chiropractor.

Sitting Twist

Lace your fingers together and point your elbows outward. Slowly rotate your upper body to one side. Move your head and arms with your torso. Slowly come back to the front. Then rotate to the other side. Repeat 10 times on each side, or as directed.

What Causes Back and Leg Pain During Pregnancy?

During pregnancy, the increasing weight and size of the baby put stress on the spine’s three natural curves. As a result, changes in posture occur that can cause pain in your back or legs.

Increased Stress on Your Spine

As your baby grows, you carry more and more weight in front of you. This stretches your abdominal muscles. When you stand, the baby pulls down on the thoracic curve (middle back) and forward on the lumbar curve (lower back).

The larger the baby grows, the more exaggerated these curves become. This puts pressure on the joints in the spine. It may also put pressure on nerves, causing pain.

The sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower spine down the legs, can also become irritated, causing pain in your legs. At the same time, joints in the pelvis loosen. This helps prepare you for delivery, but it can also irritate nerves in the spine.

What Can I Do to Ease Back and Leg Pain

Along with spinal adjustments, maintaining good posture, moving safely, exercising regularly, and eating right can help reduce stress on your spine and relieve pain.

Practice Good Posture

Good posture reduces stress on the joints, nerves, and muscles in your back. Keep your head and shoulders centred over your hips. When you sit, keep your knees level with your hips. To lift, end at the hips and knees, not the waist. Then lift with your legs.

To reach, turn your whole body, not just your head and neck. Sleep on your side with your knees slightly bent. This relieves pressure on your spine. Put a pillow between your legs, beneath your abdomen, and under your neck-but not under your shoulder.

Pelvic joint pain explained

Although it appears to be a firmly fixed circle of bone, the pelvis is actually four separate bones jointed together – the sacrum and coccyx at the back and at the sides the two hip bones which curve around to meet at the front.

These are joined at the front by the symphysis pubis. In pregnancy the hormone relaxin is released to soften the joints in preparation for the birth of your baby, but in around one in 40 women the hormone causes the ligaments to soften and stretch too much and become painful.

It is normal for there to be a gap of 4-5mm between the two pubic points at the symphysis pubis joint and during any pregnancy this widens by another 3 mm. If this gap widens more than this pain may occur and in some cases a severe form of the condition called diastasis symphysis pubis is diagnosed.

The job of the symphysis pubis joint is to hold the pelvis steady when we’re using our legs, and if the ligaments have softened or stretched too much it won’t work properly and strain is put on the other pelvic joints, causing pain.

How to recognize SPD

The main symptoms are pain in your pubic area, groin, the inside of your thighs and sometimes in your lower back and hips. “The pain is worse when you walk or move and climbing stairs is especially painful.

Getting in and out of the car or turning in bed is also painful There might hear a clicking sound when you walk and feel as though the bones are grinding together. Parting your legs can be difficult and painful.

If you are experiencing these symptoms, don’t let your doctor or midwife dismisses them as ‘part of being pregnant’. The condition is now more widely recognised than it was a few years ago. It can be diagnosed by examining your pelvic joints and watching how you move. If it occurs after giving birth, as it does in a few cases, a pelvic X-ray or scan can be done. “You’ll normally have a urine sample taken too to exclude any other causes of pain such as a urine infection SPD normally happens from the second trimester of pregnancy onwards, but can occur at any stage in any pregnancy, even if you’ve never suffered before.

Treating SPD

- The best person to treat SPD is a Chiropractor, and usually your midwife can refer you.

- A pelvic support garment to wear such as a belt or Tubigrip bandage, and crutches if walking is difficult. You’ll also be given gentle exercises to help strengthen the muscles supporting the joint and general advice about posture and activities to avoid. They will also discuss delivery options and positions with you. If necessary, you can also be referred to an occupational therapist for other aids to make your daily life easier.

- The most effective alternative therapies, according to the British SPD Support Group, include chiropractic which can help to relieve joint pain.

- In most cases you’ll be fully recovered in six months after giving birth, but if the pain continues, surgery to fix the joints together may be considered.

- Rest as much as you can.

- Avoid movements that place extra strain on the symphysis pubis. When you get out of bed, roll out with both legs together. When climbing stairs, go one step at a time. Avoid breast stroke when swimming.

- Make sure anyone attending you is aware that you have SPD. Your midwife should measure how far you can comfortably widen your legs at the onset of labour and ensure that you don’t exceed this.

- If you have an epidural or spinal block injection, it’s particularly important to ensure you don’t exceed the comfortable gap as you won’t be able to feel any damage you do.

- In very severe cases, an elective caesarean may be considered.

- Make sure you’re in a comfortable position before any internal examinations are performed.

- Experiment with different positions for giving birth, kneeling on all fours may be more comfortable for you.