10 tips to avoid back pain during pregnancy

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10 tips to avoid back pain during pregnancy

Adopt a correct posture

If you push your belly forward, don’t think that your spine doesn’t have to work! Keep your back straight when you walk and when you sit. When you sit on a chair, you can rest your feet on a stool.

Bend your knees

When you bend down to pick up an object, bend your knees and keep your back straight. In no case do not keep your legs straight and lean forward, with all the weight of your stomach. When you stand up, push yourself up. Thus, there is no pressure on the lumbar area, which is in great demand during these months.

Cervical, back or lumbar pains that appear during this period may also be related to getting out of bed in the morning. To get out of bed in the safest and most delicate way possible, all you have to do is lean on one of your elbows and then get up using the strength of your arms. In the same way, when you lie down in bed, first you sit down, then you lean back slightly, at the same time raising your legs and still relying on the strength of your arms.

Even if you are crazy about heels, forget them for a while. Considering that, during pregnancy, the center of gravity changes, even a 3-4 cm heel can tilt your pelvis forward, thus accentuating the curvature of your spine in the lumbar area. Opt for flat-soled shoes!

Read Also: What medicines are you allowed to take during pregnancy?

As a rule of thumb, your spine should not exert any kind of strain in any position. To avoid cervical pain, place a small soft pillow under your neck. To avoid lower back pain, you can put a large pillow between your knees (it aligns your spine with the rest of your body).

The secret to a healthy back is the worked muscles. If you have no contraindications, forget your sedentary lifestyle and exercise! Most of the back pain during pregnancy, whether it is muscular, ligament, or joint, is caused by a lack of movement.

If you are prone to back pain, limit driving. If you plan to travel long distances, schedule rest breaks along the way so that your spine does not suffer. During the stops, stretch as much as you can.

There are belts specially dedicated to pregnant women, which support the pelvic and lumbar areas. However, you must ask your doctor or your midwife for advice, because there are many who do not approve of wearing it and prefer to recommend medium-intensity movement to strengthen the back muscles.

To relax the spine, swimming is recommended.

Vania Limban, Independent midwife, Active Center Wellness Manager

Back pain from pregnancy occurs due to the shift of the center of gravity forward and down, as a result of the changes generated by the pregnancy in the abdomen, which will produce: a change in the balance of the body, the inclination of the trunk to the back and the accentuation of the lumbar lordosis.

Back pain leads to discomfort that can be alleviated by practicing, under the guidance of a physiotherapist, some prenatal gymnastics exercises, using sticks, medicine balls, mattresses, and elastic bands.

What is the best position for birth? The best birth positions are the gravitational ones: standing, sitting on a chair, and on the labor ball. Positions lying on the back are not recommended, because the strain on the back is maximum, and the angle in which the child is positioned for birth, as well as the forward tilt of the pelvis, make these labors much more painful and longer, and their is also the danger that the fetus is not well oxygenated, due to vena cava syndrome (generated by compression of the vena cava).

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