Published on July 15th, 2023 and Updated on January 15th, 2024
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Early pregnancy is a time when even the smallest shifts can bring to mind the exciting gift on the horizon. But there are also slightly larger shifts that demand your attention—morning sickness, peeing constantly, and the red-hot pangs of lower back pain, just to name a few.
Lower back pain, in particular, is suspected to plague more than half of pregnant women, making it one of the most prevalent concerns for expecting moms. While it usually kicks into gear in the second trimester, it’s not uncommon for it to crop up in the first.
Whether you’re dealing with mild soreness or full-blown spasms, the good news is there are a variety of remedies for addressing acute and chronic lower back pain. Below, we’ll illuminate the science behind why lower back pain emerges during pregnancy and eight effective ways to find relief.
What causes lower back pain in early pregnancy?
Even just a few weeks into pregnancy, your uterus is already changing its shape and size to make room for your baby. As the uterus expands, two physical shifts tend to happen:
- Your center of gravity shifts forward
- The abdominal muscles that keep you upright weaken
With a weaker core, more stress can get “dumped” on the lower back and sacrum, or the tail end of your spine that links the spinal column to the pelvis. For this reason, many pregnant women find their lowers back pain more noticeable in the evenings (particularly if they’ve been on their feet all day).
Pregnancy hormones also play a role in low back pain. Relaxin, a hormone disbursed by the ovaries and placenta, is responsible for softening your smooth muscle tissues. If you’re pregnant, this enables your body and organs to expand as your baby grows. However, higher levels of relaxin can also destabilize your joints, making it harder for your lower back to tolerate anatomical changes (and, later, the added pressure of carrying your belly).
Lower Back Pain Early Pregnancy: When to Call Your MD
At times, lower back pain can escalate to a joint condition known as sacroiliitis—a condition where the sacroiliac joints, which connect the pelvis to the sacrum and help you stand upright, become inflamed.
Some health conditions can contribute to a higher risk of sacroiliitis, such as:
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Diabetes or gestational diabetes
People with sacroiliitis usually notice that the pain has radiated well beyond their lower back. In progressed cases, you might even feel discomfort in your feet.
If you notice your lower back pain has extended beyond your sacral area, that’s your sign to reach out to a care provider. Sacroiliitis is typically treated with physical therapy and, if necessary, OTC pain-relievers—but it’s important to consult with your doctor or healthcare provider to land on a protocol and medication that’s pregnancy-safe.
8 Remedies to Alleviate Lower Back Pain During Pregnancy
Given the universality of these changes, it’s no surprise lower back pain is one of the most common complaints of a pregnant woman—even in the first trimester. While it’s unlikely you’ll be able to eliminate the grievance completely, there are some effective, baby-safe interventions you can make to assuage some of the growing pains.
#1 Try Regular Pelvic Floor Exercises
The term pelvic floor refers to the muscular region around the pelvic area, which resembles a hammock. Maintaining strong pelvic floor muscles help support multiple areas of the body, including:
- Your bladder
- Your intestines
- Your uterus
- Your lower back
One of the best ways to offset lower back, hip, and pelvic pain in the long term is to look into PT (physical therapy) exercises designed to tone and strengthen your pelvic floor. Not only can these help your body tolerate the burden of growing and carrying a baby, but they may also ease the labor process once you’ve finally arrived at your due date.
#2 Be Mindful of Your Posture
Consider this tip a way to combat lower back pain and prepare for parenthood (“If I have to ask you to sit up straight at the dinner table one more time…”).
Correcting your posture is one of the simplest, most effective ways of taking some of the load off your lower back. Some basic postural shifts include:
- Engaging your abdomen – Gently “tugging” your navel towards your spine helps engage your abdominal muscle, thereby supporting your lower back. As an added bonus, doing so can help train your core, which (as mentioned) tends to weaken during pregnancy.
- Keeping your chin up – The simple action of keeping your chin aloft can help you stack your spine tall.
- Resisting the urge to slouch – During long periods of sitting or WFH days, you might try sliding a pillow behind your back to discourage slouching. If it’s accessible to you, you may even consider investing in an ergonomic desk chair to help encourage a tall, even posture.
#3 Integrate “Sit” Breaks
If your job or daily routine requires you to spend lots of time on your feet, it may be worth seeing if you can set aside some “sit breaks” to allow yourself some well-deserved extra rest. Even a few minutes sitting or lying down can help relieve your joints and muscles—or at least treat them to a break during periods of sustained physical stress.
#4 Switch Up Your Workout Routine
A sensible movement routine is indispensable during pregnancy, as it helps keep your muscles strong and your body well-circulated amid all the changes it’s going through. To keep the low back pain at bay, consider favoring low-impact forms of pregnancy workouts at home such as:
- Taking brisk walks
- Swimming while pregnant
- Stationary cycling
- Prenatal yoga
Moreover, it may be best to limit weight lifting for the duration of your pregnancy. Aim to delegate any heavy lifting to friends, family, or your partner while you’re pregnant.
#5 Use a Warm or Cold Compress
Thermal therapies are an effective, age-old strategy for relieving muscle pain. Plus, whether you treat yourself to a soak in the tub or curl up on the couch with a cool compress, they can be seamlessly integrated into most pregnancy self-care routines.
That said, when you’re pregnant, there are a few rules of thumb to follow to ensure big temperature changes won’t stress out your growing little one:
- When applying heat – Whether it’s the temperature of your bath water or a hot water bottle, aim to keep any warm compresses below 100º F (approximately 37º C).
- When applying ice – Be sure to buffer any ice packs with a cloth before applying them directly to the skin. Twenty minutes is usually a fine benchmark for maintaining the compress.
Some women find they get even more pain relief by switching between hot and cold therapies in a single session.
#6 Stretch It Out
Some light stretching or gentle postures can help soothe muscle spasms, and may even help prevent persistent lower back pain. You can try:
- Lying down with your legs up the wall
- A forward fold, letting your spine fold over the lower half of your body
- Yoga’s cat/cow exercises, which gently flex and extend the spine
- Yoga’s malasana (garland) pose, an open-legged squat that also stretches your inner thigh muscles
For severe lower back pain, it’s generally best to avoid twisting postures (particularly those that require you to lie down), which can overly exert or torque your spine.
#7 Change Your Sleeping Position
As pregnancy progresses and your bump expands, it can be hard to find a comfortable sleeping position come bedtime. It’s recommended pregnant women favor a side sleeping position: not only can this help boost blood flow to your growing baby, but it can also take some of the crunch out of your sacrum.
To help cushion your lower back and sacroiliac joints even more, Johns Hopkins University Medicine suggests nestling a pillow between your knees while you sleep.
#8 Practice Mindfulness and Self-Soothing Exercises
The mind and body are closely connected, and excessive stress has been shown to augment feelings of pain. Not only can stress lead to muscle tension, but high levels of cortisol—one of the body’s core stress hormones—can also contribute to inflammation, making sensations of discomfort worse.
For this reason, it can be tremendously helpful to make stress reduction a regular feature of your self-care routine. Whether it’s deep breathing during a lower back spasm or using affirmations to keep pregnancy depression symptoms and anxiety at bay, it’s worth experimenting with stress reduction techniques to assist with mollifying back pain in both the short- and long-term.
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From the joys to the discomforts, being pregnant means navigating a wide spectrum of experiences with flexibility—even if your lower back pain remains as stubborn as ever. But by practicing patience, compassion, and curiosity with yourself, you’ll be able to give the same to your future child.
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Sources:
- Johns Hopkins Medicine. Back Pain in Pregnancy. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/staying-healthy-during-pregnancy/back-pain-in-pregnancy
- VeryWell Health. What Is Lower Back Pain in Pregnancy? https://www.verywellhealth.com/lower-back-pain-in-pregnancy-5181234#toc-treatment
- VeryWell Health. What Is the Sacrum? https://www.verywellhealth.com/sacrum-anatomy-4587600
- Cleveland Clinic. Relaxin. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/24305-relaxin
- Mayo Clinic. Sacroiliitis. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sacroiliitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20350747
- Cleveland Clinic. Sacroiliitis. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17736-sacroiliitis#management-and-treatment
- VeryWell Family. Best Prenatal and Postpartum Pelvic Floor Workouts. https://www.verywellfamily.com/best-prenatal-and-postpartum-pelvic-floor-workouts-7096216
- Baby Center. Why pelvic floor exercises are important during pregnancy. https://www.babycenter.ca/a536339/why-pelvic-floor-exercises-are-important-during-pregnancy
- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Back Pain During Pregnancy. https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/back-pain-during-pregnancy
- Healthline. Are Baths Safe During Pregnancy? https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/pregnancy-bathtub
- Yoga Journal. 8 Yoga Poses to Ease Lower Back Pain. https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/yoga-by-benefit/back-pain/yoga-lower-back-pain/
- Harvard Health Publishing. The safe way to do yoga for back pain. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-safe-way-to-do-yoga-for-back-pain
- Healthline. What Are the Best Sleeping Positions When You’re Pregnant?
- https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/sleeping-positions-in-pregnancy#side-sleeping
- Stanford Medicine – Children’s Health. The Stress-Pain Connection.
- https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=the-stress-pain-connection-88-p11008
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SneakPeek aims to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information to help our readers make informed decisions regarding their health before, during, and after pregnancy. This article was written based upon trusted scientific research studies and/or articles. Credible information sources for this article are cited and hyperlinked.
