Back pain

Back Pain During Pregnancy: A Detailed Guide for Expectant Moms

Back pain, especially in the lower back, is such a common companion of pregnancy that many consider it inevitable. Statistics show that 50% to 80% of expectant mothers experience it. While this pain can cause significant discomfort and limit daily activities, it is important to understand its causes and know effective and safe ways to relieve it. It is not just "fatigue," but a complex process of your body adapting to new loads.

Why Does the Back Hurt? A Comprehensive Look at the Issue

Back pain during pregnancy is the result of interaction of several powerful factors:

• Shift of the center of gravity. As the belly grows, your center of gravity shifts forward. To compensate and avoid falling, you instinctively lean backward, creating significant tension in the lower back muscles and increasing the curvature of the spine.
• Relaxin hormone. From the first trimester, your body begins producing the hormone relaxin. Its main purpose is to soften ligaments and joints in the pelvic area to prepare it for delivery. However, relaxin affects all ligaments in the body, including those that support the spine, making it less stable and more prone to pain.
• Weight gain. During pregnancy you typically gain 11–16 kg. This extra weight creates direct load on the spine and back muscles, forcing them to work more intensively. About the norms of набору ваги you can read in a separate article.
• Stretching of abdominal muscles. The rectus abdominis muscles stretch and separate (this condition is called diastasis) to make room for the growing uterus. This weakens the muscular “corset,” and a substantial portion of the load that supports the torso shifts to the back.
• Stress. Emotional tension can cause muscle spasms, which also intensify back pain.

Types of Back Pain in Pregnant Women

Most commonly, women report two types of pain:

1. Lower back pain (lumbar pain). Similar to ordinary back pain you might have felt before pregnancy. It is located in the center of the back at the waist level and may radiate down the leg.
2. Pelvic girdle pain (posterior pelvic pain). This is a more common type of pain during pregnancy. It is felt below the lower back, in the sacral area, buttocks, and can be unilateral or bilateral, sometimes radiating to the back of the thigh.

Accurate diagnosis of the pain type helps select the most effective relief methods, such as specialized гімнастика or wearing a support belt.