Hello mama,
It’s showtime for our new blog series on Pregnancy Aches! Over the next few weeks, we’ll interview the most common pregnancy complaints on our blog article stage, such as water retention, incontinence, fatigue, and back pain. We’ll be digging into where these complaints come from and how to alleviate them.
A mom-to-be is quite uncertain when it comes to exercising and when you feel some kind of pain you might more likely stay away from any kind of working out. I would like to ease your fears and worries by addressing and explaining the ailments mentioned in our new series.
Complaints can, but do not have to occur. In this series, I will give you tips and tricks which have helped me and have been proven to lead to improvement.
Our first guests are back pain. They usually occur in the lower lumbar region and can limit us a lot in everyday life. However, you can demote them from a starring role to an extra or even eliminate them from the story of your life altogether and I’m going to show you how!
WHERE DOES THE BACK PAIN COME FROM?
The pain is mainly caused by your body going through hormonal changes during pregnancy. The hormones progesterone and relaxin are released, which cause softer tendons, ligaments and joints. During pregnancy we also suffer from increasingly stronger pressure on the uterus. This and the additional abdominal weight put more strain on your spine and pull your abdomen forward.
Many women develop a hollow back as a result. These physical changes can throw off your muscular balance in the body and cause pain.
WHEN DOES BACK PAIN OCCUR?
The back pain occurs mainly from the 24th week of pregnancy, that is, in the 2nd trimester. This is mainly due to your baby bump, which is increasing bigger here. In the 3rd trimester, the ligaments, tendons, and muscles become even softer, which increases the back pain even more. Your baby also presses more and more on the uterus, which in turn can have a negative effect on the sciatic nerve.
Weakening your pelvic floor muscles also leads to more intense pain because more pressure is put on your uterus.
WHAT HELPS WITH BACK PAIN DURING PREGNANCY?
First aid for back pain is relaxation with heat and massage. Heat loosens tense muscles and increases well-being. Using a cherry stone pillow and listing to your favorite music or an audiobook may help. Massages from your partner can also relieve tension and give you a nice time together. Another idea is to relieve your spinal discs by elevating your legs with some pillows underneaths. Your knees are bent 90°. However, such a position is not recommended for women in the 3rd trimester, as the likelihood of vena cava syndrome increases.
Sport against back pain
However, the best remedy for back pain is exercise and specific (back) training. Exercise will stimulate your blood circulation, improve your posture and strengthen your muscles. In particular, targeted exercise for the back such as gentle muscle training, Pilates, yoga, stretching and cardio stimulates the metabolism in tight muscles. Therefore, the question is not whether you can exercise, but how you can exercise!
If you believe it or not, I really had NO back pain throughout my two pregnancies. Maybe I was just lucky, but more likely my body was strong enough and flexible due to regular working out. With the MOVE IT MAMA workouts I show you how I trained and how you can train during pregnancy and beyond, how we can reduce your back pain. After a few weeks you will notice that the pain will be less and you will be fitter and happier in your everyday life.
Here are two exercises you can start with right away:
Mobilisation with Cat-Cow (with variation)
Some of you probably already know the cat-cow exercise. Nevertheless, this exercise is essential for the mobilization of the spine.
Execution:
- the starting position is on all fours. Your shoulders are aligned over your hands and your hip bones over your knees. Keep your back straight and your abdomen tense.
- Inhalation (cow): Direct your gaze upward and slowly lower your back into a hollow back position. If you are in the last trimester, keep your back in a neutral position during this.
- exhalation (cat): Arch your back in a cat hump and bring your chin to your chest.
Variation (identical starting position):
- inhalation (cow): see above
- exhalation (cat): Arch your back like a cat and bring your butt as far back as possible without sitting back onto your legs
- Same but to the front
Strengthening exercise: Side Lift
Execution:
- the starting position is the upright stand. Bend forward with your back straight and move in step position. Extend both arms forward in front of your chest and hold a dumbbell or weight of your choice in each hand.
- Now bring both arms to the side until they are level with your shoulder. Then return it to the starting position.
I recommend you perform the exercise for 4x45s. The side raise is a targeted strengthening exercise for the lower back and shoulders. If you also tighten your butt and abdomen, you will effectively train your whole body! You can alternate this exercise with the cat-cow exercise as well.
WHEN DO I NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR?
You should see a doctor whenever you don’t feel comfortable with the pain or the pain is disproportionately severe. As a rule, however, back pain during pregnancy is “completely normal” and does not mean anything bad. However, it can be a warning signal from the body if very bad pain occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy. These can indicate an ectopic pregnancy. At the end of the last trimester, severe back pain usually points to the impending birth.
WHAT ELSE I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE YOU ON THE WAY….
Unfortunately, back pain during pregnancy does not disappear by itself. So check out our MOVE IT MAMA app for some specific training against back pain and other pregnancy complaints. Download the app for a free 7-day-free trial and train with me.
Together we can take away all attention from back pain and other complains and put you and your baby back into the spotlight!
Keep it Moving,
Birte
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