Four tips to help with lower back pain during pregnancy

If you’re an expectant mother in Grand Rapids, Michigan, lower back pain could be an issue you’re dealing with. Lower back pain is a common problem for many women during their pregnancy, but there are steps you can take that can help reduce this pain. Here are four tips designed to help you decrease pregnancy-related lower back pain: 

1. Maintain good posture

During pregnancy, the growth of the baby inside the uterus causes a woman’s center of gravity to shift forward. To compensate, many women tend to lean backward when they’re standing up, but this posture can increase the stress on the lower back. In turn, the increased stress can lead to more pain in your lower back. 

Avoiding this poor posture is the most effective way to help your lower back when you’re pregnant. Instead of leaning back while standing, it’s a better idea to spread your feet wider, which allows you to better support the baby’s weight. Also, make sure you aren’t locking your knees or letting your shoulders slump forward. Paying attention to these aspects of your posture can help reduce the lower back pain you’re feeling. 

2. Make smart shoe choices

The shoe choices you make while carrying your baby could have a lot to do with how much lower back pain you have during your pregnancy. It’s not a good idea to choose shoes with a raised heel, and this is because such footwear shifts your weight forward more than it already is. Combined with an already forward-shifted center of gravity, this can injure the muscles in your lower back and lead to pain. To avoid this, it’s a good idea to choose low-heeled shoes that have good support for the arch of your foot. 

3. Sleep on your side

For some women, sleeping on your back can increase your lower back pain during pregnancy. A good way to deal with this issue is to try sleeping on your side. It may also help to keep one or both knees bent while you sleep, and you can also use a support pillow between your knees to help improve your comfort. Make sure that your pillow is keeping your head level with your spine; neck misalignment while sleeping can lead to issues like back pain, neck pain and headaches. 

4. Participate in physical therapy

Physical therapists in Grand Rapids can help you deal with many pregnancy-related issues, including lower back pain. Advent Physical Therapy has an experienced team of therapists at our Grand Rapids clinics that can help you, and we offer free screenings to help you get started with your therapy. Our team is committed to designing a therapy plan for you that’s personalized to your needs. We also use multiple therapy techniques to help you find relief, and some of the techniques we can use to help you include: 

• Manual therapy
• Gait training
• Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM)
• Therapeutic exercise and stretches
• Kinesiotherapy

Are you ready to start treating your pregnancy-related lower back pain? Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.