Causes/Symptoms

Sciatic pain usually occurs on one side and has a pulling, “tearing” character. They usually radiate from the lower back over the buttocks to the lower legs. In this area, sensory disturbances can also occur in the form of tingling (“formication”), numbness or electrifying / burning sensations.

In rare cases, sciatic pain is also accompanied by temporary paralysis in the leg or restrictions in mobility. The affected muscles are often very tense. Coughing, sneezing, pressing, bending or stretching the affected leg aggravate the symptoms.

The cause of the complaints is that the sciatic nerve is irritated or compressed in its course. During pregnancy, this happens because the pregnant woman gains weight. This weight and that of the unborn child exert a strong pressure on the pelvis and lower lumbar spine of the pregnant woman.

The body’s center of gravity shifts to the front and the pregnant woman gets into a hollow back position. As a result, the sciatic nerve can be constricted.
In addition, sciatic pain can be caused by the fact that the gluteal muscles are too weak to balance the excess weight on the front.
The position of the fetus can also be unfavorable, so that the fetus itself presses on the sciatic nerve.
Hormonal changes also play a role: the released pregnancy hormones loosen the ligaments and muscles in the back and pelvic area. A muscular imbalance develops, so that bone structures can shift and irritate the nerve.
The tissue of the growing uterus can also press on the nerve.
A rather rare cause is that a backlog of venous blood in the small pelvis provokes the sciatic pain.

When can sciatic pain occur

In principle, sciatica pain can occur at any time during pregnancy. However, the probability of the symptoms increases as the unborn child grows. After all, the weight of the unborn child increases more and more, so that the pressure on the sciatic nerve also increases proportionally with it, making irritation all the more likely.

In addition, the abdominal muscles of pregnant women during pregnancy lengthen by 20%, while the gluteal muscles remain unchanged. This results in an imbalance between the abdominal and gluteal muscles, which often cannot be corrected.Then it happens that the pregnant woman shifts her body center of gravity further and further forward and gets into a hollow back position. This in turn increases the pressure on the nerves. In addition, at the beginning of the 3rd trimester, the unborn child rotates so that its head can press painfully against the sciatic nerve.