Lower Back Pain at 28 Weeks

I had that pain with my second pregnancy (he's now 10 weeks old). It got really bad in the beginning, but as he dropped and more towards the end it got better. I actually saw my chiropractor for it (if you aren't opposed to them). He really helped me a lot and showed me a manipulation maneuver I could do myself at home that really helped relieve a lot of the pain. I would try to find a chiropractor that you trust and see what they can do.

I had it with all my pregnancies and still have it have almost 2 years later so maybe I should have tried a chiropractor. I have had great luck with simply sleeping with a pillow between my knees. Just try it!!

You could try wearing belly support brace or underwear, it can lift some of the weight off. Good luck.

I had the same problem and acupuncture worked like a charm!! The pain was gone within a minute and I didn't have any more pain the rest of my pregnacy. It's very relaxing and energising at the same time.

I slept with a body pillow and saw a chiropractor regularly and it was a huge help! Good luck!

I would recommend that you consult with a chiropractor who has experience with pregnant patients. As a chiropractor for 13 years, I know that this condition is very common during pregnancy. Chiropractic care is safe, natural and gentle. At home, use ice for 20 minute intervals. Sleep on your side with your knees bent and 1 or 2 pillows in between your knees.

It's quite common, I have had that with both pregnancies and you never really know when it will go away, it all depends on how the baby is sitting. You can go to a massage therapist who specializes in pregnancy massage, they have to be specifically for pregnancy since certain massages can induce labor. I also found it helpful to get on my hands and knees, taking the weight off my back, and letting my belly rest on a cushion so that the weight wasn't pulling on my back instead.

You can also try different support cushions when you sleep. I do best if I have support for both my belly back and knees but I just use a jersey knit sheet so that it doesn't take up so much room, it works just as well for me as the big and pricier pregnancy cushions.

Good luck, it's a very painful part of pregnancy.

I had that with each pregnancy. My OB recommended a maternity belt which helped a little but did not completely alleviate the pain. I also did half physical therapy half aqua therapy which helped while I was there but then once I left it came right back. So I guess I really have no advice. = (

Good luck, you're almost in the single digits!

Find a Pilates instructor skilled in Pilates and pregnancy. It saved my back before, during and after my pregnancy. I've also trained 3 other pregnant women, and they've also experienced great relief from back and hip pain.

~L.
www.accesspilates.com

I had the same problem. I was driving an hour and 15 minutes each way back and forth to work and developed sciatica during my pregnancy. My ob-gyn referred me to a chiropractor who does prenatal chiropractic (not sure if I am saying that correctly). Last I checked, he was still practicing in the Rockville area (Physician's Lane, near Shady Grove Hospital). The practice also had a massage therapist who was trained to do prenatal massage. I got considerable relief from the adjustments, and particularly, from the massage. I have referred friends there who also got some relief from these treatments. Bonus: the appointments take a short time. Dr. John van den Valentyn is the chiropractor, and his office can be reached at ###-###-####. Hope this is helpful, but even if you decide not to get treatment, the sciatica will go away! Take care!

I experienced something quite similar when I was pregnant as well. The pain was mostly on one side though. I ended up going to a chiropractor as my doctor didn't seem to know what to do with this except to recommend tylenol. The chiropractor worked wonders! I would just make sure that he or she is certified to work with pregnant women. After having the baby all the pain went away.

I, too, suffered from sciatica during 2 of my pregnancies. There truly isn't much you can do, but one thing I didn't read in the other posts is to invest in a moist heating pad. They sell for around $20 at WalMart or Target & you can put it into the microwave for 2 min then it provides nice, moist heat for about 20 minutes. This does help a bit. Good luck & hopefully the baby will move off the nerve soon!

So sorry you are having this pain!! You doc is wrong on this one, there are some other things to do!! Get yourself a good massage and to a chiropractor, those are the two things that helped me survive my last pregnancy :) Not sure where you are located but I know GREAT folks in VA Beach, if you want their contact info and names, email me at ____@____.com luck and hang in there but do get yourself and your body some help!!
S.

There are ways to position yourself for greater comfort. The Feldenkrais Method is very good with this kind of movement education. You can read about it at www.feldenkrais.com
I would be happy to talk to you about this.
R. Shapiro, Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner. ###-###-####

I had to use a Chiropractor and a Physical Therapist specializing in woman's care for my third preganancy. They were both a life saver. My pain was soooo bad, I could barely manage to get out of bed and walk around. Having two other small children made me find alternative solutions.

I alomst tried acunpuncture too, but the other options worked and I just stuck with those.

Good luck!

You are not alone. I had horrible pain in my back and stomach during my second pregnancy. My doctor said that my body couldn't handle the extra weight of my pregnancy because my first and second were so close together. She explained that my body didn't have enough time to recuperate and strengthen my muscles again. I used one of those maternity belts to help take the pressure of the extra weight off my body. I also recommend seeing a chiropractor. Dr. Ben, at the Centreville Family Practice ###-###-####, uses a table that adjust for your pregnancy. I love him! He has saved me from pain and surgeries. He has helped my friends with their difficult pregnancies. I used to be skeptical of Chiropractors but Dr. Ben has cured me of that too. Did I mention that I love him? I can also sleep comfortably at night because I am not in pain anymore. Good luck!

P.

CHIROPRACTIC CARE!!!! This saved me in my pregnancy when I had tried every thing else to ease my sciatic pain. The chiropractor helps get your pelvis back in alignment so there isn't the pressure on the sciatic nerve. I know Dr. Will Sonak in Sterling is GREAT! He cared for me and we send many of the pregnant patients in the nurse-midwifery practice I work for to him.
Good luck!

S.

Dear S.,
I'm so sorry to hear of your painful lower back! I do have a viable solution for you, however!
I highly recommend to you to visit a chiropractor in your area. Chiropractic is absolutely safe during pregnancy and highly effective! Sciatica can most definitely be eliminated with chiropratic as well! I speak as a regular chiropractic patient as well as having worked for three different chiropractors.
If you happen to live in the Richmond, VA area, write me back at ____@____.com and I will tell you who I personally recommend.
Blessings!
J. F.

i had a baby 3 months ago and experienced sciatica toward the end of my pregnancy. i work at a massage school and the massage therapists i spoke to suggested 2 different stretches that really helped me. a couple of times a day i would lay on the floor, on my back with a chair directly in front of me. i would put my feet and the lower portion of my legs on the chair so that my legs formed a 90 degree angle. you can only lay like this for 5-10 minutes as the weight of the baby gets to be too much on your back, but it really does help to gently adjust your sacrum and stretch the back. they also suggested the pelvic rock that someone else mentioned above.
i had an ultrasound at about 28 weeks and it showed the baby's head sitting right in my hip bone which was causing some of the same pain. the ultrasound techs suggested getting on my forearms(the underside)and knees and using my arm/elbow area to gently push the baby's head out of the hip. you just sort of use your weight to push your lower abdomen on the painful side to ease it out. you don't use the pointy part of the elbow, just the side and it really did coax her head out and ease the pain.

I would definitely suggest finding a chiropractor and a massage therapist.Just make sure they have worked with pregnant women before. I saw my massage therapist and chiro a lot during my pregnancy.

Stephanie,
As a doula and natural childbirth educator, I hear this question fairly frequently. There are plenty of things you can do. Your doctor has limited education, and unfortunately only follows the western medical model. Chiropractic works wonders, as does craniosacral therapy and massage.
I am also a massage therpaist specializing in pregnancy and post- partum.
I can give you referrals for practitioners in your area as well as things that you can do at home. You might want to re evaluate your care provider when he dismisses this siuation and there are plenty of things that can and do help. Midwifery care even is available even in hospitals.
Please feel free to contact me for referrals to help your pain and discomfort. There is help for you.
L.

Hi S.,
I had this during the last week of my last pregnancy. I feel your pain! One thing that helped ease it for me was sitting on the edge of the sofa or chair. It moved me into a position that took the pressure off. I tried the kneeling on the floor trick and it did help, but then I couldn't get back up by myself. I think the suggestion of a chiropractor that specializes in pregnancies is a good one. Shortly after my daughter was born I injured my back, couldn't stand, sit, barely walk. I was a mess. I went to a chiropracter and he said that my s1 or siatic was injured. Most probably from when my baby was hanging out there for a week. So going now may help you not just now but later.
Best of luck.
M.

I had the same problem with my first pregnancy-horrible! I am so sorry for you. The only thing I found that would give any lasting relief was pragnancy yoga. You can find DVDs fairly inexpensively or you can rent them at the library(my favorite was Yoga Momma). This not only moved the baby to a more comfortable position for me but it was soothing to him because I noticed he would sleep afterwards for a long period-which in turn would give me a night without the pokes and jabs my hyper little boy would give me all night! You'll also pick up moves you can do in a pinch-like at the grocery store or work-that will give you instant relief without looking like you're going into convulsions. :) good luck.

There is a cure! My first pregnancy, I had debilitating sciatic nerve pain (although mine was focused in my lower back, butt, and down my legs). My doctor, like yours, said there is nothing I could do about it, so I suffered for months with it. When it still hadn't gone away 4 months after my baby was born a friend recommended that I go to a good chiropractor. After two visits, the pain was gone! The change in weight and awkwardness of pregnancy cause your vertibrae to compress on your nerve, and a hip adjustment fixes this. With my second pregnancy, I went to the chiro diligently, and I couldn't believe the difference it made. I don't know where you live, but I have had good experiences with the doctors I've seen at www.novapainandrehab.com. I've seen Dr. Moses in Clarendon and Dr. Rowan in Chantilly. It's just too bad many doctors won't consider suggesting alternative therapy, because it really works for this specific problem. Best of luck!

Hello go to the local library, the have vhs and dvds on yoga for pregnant women, my doctor said it was a safe way to streach the muscles and it helped move my baby and it was a huge help.

It almost sounds like what I had? Does it happen more when you are laying back on a couch or in bed and when you try to get up it almost feels like a grinding pain when you roll your hips or move your leg to get up? If so it could be Sacroilitis. Its the area when the sacrum meets your hip area. I tried cortizone injections, facet injections but nothing worked. I ended up taking vicodin which my gyno prescribed. I only have to take it at night because during the day when I was at work in an office cahir I didn't have any issues. It was only when I would sit on soft surfaces like the couch or the bed. Just a thought if you are not against taking meds try a pain killer.

TELL your doctor to send you to physical therapy. I had the same thing with my first child. They can do massages, ice and heat and teach you exercises that will help tremedously. My pain was so bad that I could not walk normally and the doctor told me I might have to have a cane. But the PT worked (only about 6 weeks of it; 3 times a week) and I was able to walk normally. The pain did not completely go away but it was much reduced and the home exercises, done daily, kept the pain at bay. I still use the exercises whenever I feel a "twinge" coming on.
Insist you have some therapy to try to alleviate this. They can do the hot/cold packs (so can you at home once properly instructed), massage and exercises. They cannot do ultrasound or anything like that due to the pregnancy.
Good luck!

I feel your pain! With my second child, I had sciatica from the first trimester on and off throughout the pregnancy. Sometimes I would take a step or adjust my weight and the pain would cause my leg to buckle underneath me. The good news is that as the baby grows and moves, the pain level changes. Mine actually got better during the second trimester and didn't cause major problems again until the last month of pregnancy. The bad news is that there isn't much to be done for it that I know of. I kept weight off of my right leg as much as possible when I was standing. Bending the leg seemed to help, even when I was sitting or lying down. A hot bath (not too hot) was my best friend during that time. I wonder now if acupuncture or acupressure might be helpful...wish I'd thought of that at the time! It might be worth checking out. Good luck, and hang in there!

Hi S.,

How about calling a chiropractic. Dr. Eric Mierzejewski at ###-###-####.

Wear a pregnancy support too.

Hope this helps. Good luck. D.

try pelvic rocks. get on the floor on all fours and rock your hips forward. Try this 3 or 4 times a day. That is what I do when pregnant to deal with lower back pain.