Many women suffer from back pain during their pregnancy; especially in the lumbar spine. One form of this is sciatic pain. This affects almost every second woman during pregnancy.
The sciatic nerve is the longest peripheral nerve in the human body and originates between the fourth lumbar and second cruciate vertebrae and runs from the buttocks and knee to the foot. If this nerve is irritated, pinched or inflamed, sciatica pain develops with a variety of accompanying symptoms. Even if sciatic pain does not pose any danger to the pregnant woman or the unborn child, it does mean a high degree of suffering for the pregnant woman. If you would like more information on this topic, please read these articles:
- Stretching exercises for Piriformis Syndrome
- Physiotherapy for Piriformis Syndrome
- Exercises for Piriformis Syndrome
Exercises
Sciatic pain can be very uncomfortable and may cause the pregnant woman to desire bed rest. However, the pregnant woman should not give in to this wish under any circumstances, because bed rest delays the healing process. In addition, muscles weaken after a very short time, so that an important supporting function is lost and the complaints increase.
It is therefore important to keep moving. This should be light to moderate. Helpful movements are for example slow walking, swimming, or cycling.
The following exercises also alleviate the complaints:
- Tighten knees: The affected person lies in a supine position on a firm surface. Both feet are up. Now the affected person grasps the knee on the painful side with her hands and pulls the leg towards the body.
The position should be held for about 30 seconds.
- Quadruped position: The affected person takes up the quadruped position and supports herself with her forearms about shoulder width. This position alone relieves the lumbar spine and can help the child to adopt a more favorable position. The pregnant woman now pushes her thoracic spine upwards so that she makes a “cat’s hump”.
Hold this position for about 5 seconds, then release. Perform 15 repetitions. Alternatively, the pregnant woman can alternately tilt her pelvis back and forth.
This movement improves blood circulation in the pelvis and lower lumbar spine, so that pain is relieved.
- Stretching: The pregnant woman lies supine on a firm surface. The arms are stretched out to the sides, the feet are upright. Now the pregnant woman lets both knees fall in one direction until she feels a stretching in the lumbar spine and buttocks.
Hold the stretch for about 30 seconds, then change direction. If the sciatica is severe, patients can try the following exercises:
- Staircase positioning: The patient lies down on a firm base in a supine position. The lower legs are placed on a raised surface, e.g. a positioning cube, a chair or the edge of the bed at a 90° angle.
In this position, the lumbar spine is optimally relieved so that tensions can be released. The patient should be able to breathe deeply in and out in this position.
- Tennis ball massage: The person concerned lies down on a firm surface in a supine position or stands against a wall. Now she places a tennis ball exactly on the painful place between body and floor/wall. By light circular movements the musculature experiences a soothing massage. Alternatively, a hedgehog ball can also be used.
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