Sciatica during pregnancy
Severe pain in the area of the lumbar spine, which extends from there over the entire buttocks to the leg and foot, is a typical symptom of an inflamed sciatic nerve during pregnancy. As a rule, this pain only occurs on one side of the body, and it is extremely rare for bilateral sciatica to occur during pregnancy. The affected person may aggravate the symptoms by coughing or sneezing heavily, while bending over and/or lifting the affected leg.
In addition, in many cases there is numbness, tingling (a feeling like a leg that has fallen asleep) and/or paralysis of the affected half of the body. Especially during pregnancy, compressions and the associated inflammatory reactions of the sciatica often occur. This phenomenon is based on the fact that many anatomical structures are shifted from their actual position during the course of child growth and thus press on the nerve.
In addition, the child itself can exert enormous pressure on the nerve tissue and in this way provoke the typical symptoms. The fact that the gluteal muscles are particularly strained during pregnancy is also related to the development of sciatica. This is due to the fact that the weight distribution during the growth of the child is increasingly shifted forward (towards the abdomen), the muscles of the buttocks are forced to build up more strength to keep the body upright.
If the gluteal muscles can be identified as the cause of sciatica, a variety of warming gels and/or compresses can help to alleviate the symptoms.In addition, massages of the strained musculature and specific stretching exercises are considered to be enormously pain-reducing. Not only is it not necessary, but it is also extremely counterproductive. Light exercise is considered one of the best treatment approaches for an inflamed sciatic nerve, especially during pregnancy. In this context, it should be remembered that the use of painkillers should be avoided as far as possible.
