Normal or pathological – muscle pain during pregnancy

Muscle pain during pregnancy is considered an inevitable phenomenon associated with natural processes, changes in the functioning of many organs and systems.

Literally from the first week of conception, the smooth muscles that line the hollow organs (uterus), striated muscles, the vascular and hormonal systems begin to “prepare” for childbirth. Such a general transformation of the expectant mother’s body really provokes discomfort of varying degrees of intensity, especially if the woman before pregnancy did not bother playing sports, strengthening muscle fibers, or maintaining physical fitness. In this case, the contractile properties of the muscles are initially reduced, and activation of the function of muscle tissue provokes a pain symptom due to chronic hypertonicity and overexertion.

Causes of muscle pain during pregnancy

Pregnancy, in addition to bringing joyful anticipation, sometimes causes understandable discomfort and even pain. Most often, pain is concentrated in muscle tissue and ligaments, since they are subject to increased stress and sprains.

The causes of muscle pain during pregnancy can be both physiological and pathological.

• Physiological causes of muscle pain in pregnant women.

Before we move on to listing the reasons, here are some statistics:

• A woman’s body becomes as if “double” – two hearts beat in it, her own and the heart of the fetus, and accordingly an additional circle of blood flow appears.
• The heart muscle of a pregnant woman experiences increased stress and increases in size.
• The volume of blood flow increases to 6-7 liters.
• The body of a pregnant woman needs double the volume of oxygen for normal nutrition of tissues, including muscles.
• The spine and surrounding muscles are subjected to particular stress; the weight of a pregnant woman can increase by 10-20 kilograms.
• 70-75% of women experience pain of varying intensity in the back area due to temporary dysfunction of the spine.
• An increase in the size of the uterus inevitably entails a shift in the center of balance and gravity; accordingly, the muscles of the lower back and pelvis are subject to increased stress.
• The posture and gait of a woman changes, the muscles of the shoulder girdle, cervical, and thoracic regions have to work in hypertonicity mode.
• An increase in body weight leads to disruption of venous blood flow, and accordingly the leg muscles hurt.
• Overeating or, conversely, lack of nutrients due to nausea and vomiting caused by toxicosis can disrupt the vitamin-mineral balance; accordingly, muscle tissue does not receive proper nutrition, and myalgia develops.
• Pathological causes of muscle pain during pregnancy:
• Disease of the cardiovascular system, decreased blood supply to muscle tissue.
• Atherosclerotic changes in the vascular system.
• Inflammatory processes in muscles, fascia, joints caused by infections.
• Neurological conditions associated with osteochondrosis of the spinal column.
• History of fibromyalgia.
• Local muscle injury (ossifying process).
• Nephropathology (pyelonephritis).
• Infectious pathologies, most often genital herpes.
• Inguinal hernia, umbilical hernia.
• Varicose veins, including vaginal varicose veins.

In what areas can muscle pain occur during pregnancy?

• The muscles of the abdominal region that are most susceptible to changes are the rectus abdominis muscles. Before pregnancy, these skeletal muscles performed the function of maintaining an elastic press and shaping it. After conception, the rectus muscles must perform a completely different task – to support the growing uterus. Atonic, untrained abdominal muscles are at risk of painful stretching, resulting in pain.
• Pelvic muscles, which not only support the uterus and other organs in their proper places, but are also directly involved in the process of labor.
• Back muscles may ache due to an atypical shift in the center of gravity, excessive load on the expanding body. An atonic muscle corset is not able to cope with the additional load, the muscles become stretched and inflamed, and the woman feels back pain.
• Leg muscles that may hurt starting in the first trimester. The most typical cramps of the calf muscles during pregnancy; this symptom most often develops in the initial phase of sleep, or at night, less often in the morning.
• The chest muscles, which are influenced by changes in hormonal balance, increase due to increased blood circulation and activated lymph flow.
• Inguinal muscles can hurt for various reasons, but most often the pain symptom is caused by physical strain or the influence of the specific hormone relaxin on the ligamentous apparatus. A pain symptom in the groin may not concern muscle tissue, but the sensations are reflected precisely in the muscles, this happens with nephropathologies, diseases of the digestive tract, and even with constipation. Also, pain in the groin muscles during pregnancy can be caused by many non-physiological reasons – varicose veins of the pubic symphysis, infectious diseases of the pelvic organs and others.
• During pregnancy, vaginal muscles experience increased vascular load, venous hemodynamics change, the elasticity of muscle tissue decreases, and pain appears.
• Statistics say that 70-75% of pregnant women experience pain in the lumbar region, the muscles of which are subject to increased stress due to increased body weight and physiological displacement of internal organs

It should be noted that during pregnancy, not all types of muscles spasm; there are also those that, on the contrary, relax. Relaxation of smooth muscles, on the one hand, allows the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the placenta, on the other hand, it can cause reflex radiating pain from excessively atonic organs (gallbladder, stomach, intestines).

To summarize, we can say that the body of the expectant mother sometimes experiences an exorbitant load, comparable, according to experts, only with the intensity of training for astronauts. Accordingly, a woman periodically feels pain symptoms, most often localized in the back, pelvic region, abdomen and legs.

Why do muscles hurt during pregnancy?

Why does a pregnant woman experience muscle pain? The simplest answer is this – due to systemic physiological changes in the body. The stages and types of transformation can be designated as follows:

• Hormonal changes in the body.
• The levels of progesterone and estrogen change, and increased secretion of relaxin begins. Progesterone is needed to increase the tone of both the smooth muscles of the uterus and other muscle tissue; the production of progesterone in the first trimester is especially important so that conception actually turns into pregnancy and becomes established. In addition to influencing the condition of the uterus, progesterone helps stimulate breast development, the muscles of the mammary glands soften, and the glands enlarge. In addition to its clearly beneficial effect on the body, progesterone inhibits the activity of the immune system so that during the process of “recognition” it does not reject the embryo (fetus) that has implanted in the uterus. Thus, reduced immune defense is a potential risk of infectious, bacterial infections, diseases, often accompanied by muscle pain. Progesterone can also contribute to the retention of salt and fluid in the body, which in turn disrupts the rate of normal blood circulation, venous outflow and provokes pain of various types, including myalgia.
• An increased level of estrogen performs the task of activating the growth of the uterus; if there is too much estrogen, it works like a diuretin, sometimes too actively. As a result, a violation of water-salt and electrolyte balance develops and muscle pain appears.
• Chorionic gonadotropin and somatomammotropin do not provoke myalgia on their own, but they accelerate all metabolic processes and slightly increase the muscle mass of the chest, less often in other areas of the body (buttocks, feet).
• A history of diseases of the organs and blood supply systems of the pelvis may also be the answer to the question of why muscles hurt during pregnancy. Among them, the following are common and most often diagnosed:
  • Ovarian cyst.
  • Uterine fibromyoma.
  • Adnexitis
  • VVVVT – varicose veins of the small pelvis
• The following pathologies and acute conditions can also be causes of pain in muscle tissue during pregnancy:
• Pyelonephritis.
• Inflammation of the appendix.
• Cholelithiasis.
• Inguinal hernia strangulation.
• Incarcerated intervertebral disc.
• Risk of miscarriage.
• Constipation, flatulence.
• Sprain.
• Muscle injuries.
• Placental abruption.
• IBS – irritable bowel syndrome.
• Intestinal obstruction.
• Genital herpes.
• Symphysitis (in the third trimester).
• General venous insufficiency, venous occlusion.
• Urolithiasis disease.
• Braxton-Hicks contractions, false contractions, training contractions.

Symptoms of muscle pain during pregnancy

Signs and symptoms of muscle pain in pregnant women are most often transient; more intense sensations, especially chronic ones, require immediate diagnosis, hospitalization and treatment.

Myalgia – pain in muscle tissue can be felt as:

• Shooting pain.
• Sharp, stabbing pain (rare).
• Aching, pulling (often).
• Aching.
• Burning, tingling.

Depending on the provoking factor, symptoms of muscle pain during pregnancy can be temporary, situational, transient, or permanent, chronic. As a rule, discomfort in one or another area of ​​the body in an expectant mother is transient; the pain may subside or be completely neutralized as pregnancy progresses and trimesters change. This is due to constant changes in a woman’s body, which directly affect the condition of muscle tissue.

Symptoms of physiologically acceptable conditions:

• Aching pain in the legs, subsiding when changing body position, at rest.
• Nagging pain in the back, subsiding with gentle massage and relaxing procedures.
• Pain in the groin that subsides with rest.
• Bursting, nagging pain in the back, in the pelvic area, caused by a sprained ligament.
• Cramping pain associated with training spasms, Braxton Hicks contractions.

Alarming signs that require calling a doctor, examination and medical care:

• Sudden, spontaneous severe pain with a tendency to intensify.
• Pain that does not subside at rest or when changing posture or body position.
• Myalgia accompanied by increased body temperature.
• Muscle pain that lasts more than 2-3 days is not even acute or intense.
• Muscle pain of a cramping nature with atypical vaginal discharge (blood).
• Symptoms of an “acute abdomen” are pain, drop in blood pressure, tachycardia, cyanosis of the skin.

Abdominal muscle pain during pregnancy

A painful abdominal symptom in a pregnant woman is in vain considered to be a common occurrence, a natural signal of muscle strain due to an enlarged uterus. Indeed, every day the uterus becomes larger, this is especially noticeable in the second trimester, when a shifted center of balance provokes a change in a woman’s gait. Pain in the abdominal muscles during pregnancy may indicate a pathological development of the process of gestation or other serious diseases – cyst, inflammation of appendicitis. Fortunately, pain in the abdominal area in 75-80% of pregnant women is caused by tension and stretching of the round ligament, which serves as a support for the uterus. The pelvic floor is lined with three-layer muscle tissue and fascia, this provides support for almost all organs of the reproductive system, as well as for the abdominal organs. The uterus is supported by thick ligaments, one of which, the round ligament, directly holds the uterus in place. An increase in the size of the uterus provokes stretching of the round ligament, which is quite naturally accompanied by pain in the abdominal area.

In the same way, the muscles are also subject to stress, especially the smooth muscles (the walls of the uterus) and the abdominal muscles. If the expectant mother has not strengthened her muscle tissue beforehand through sports and exercise, the rectus and abdominal muscles become stretched or overextended during pregnancy as they have to help support the growing uterus. It is too rapid stretching and muscle hypertonicity that provokes pain symptoms; during pregnancy, the waist size can almost double, for example from 65 to 100 centimeters.

Pain in the abdominal muscles during pregnancy most often does not require medical intervention or special treatment, but a woman needs to be wary if the pain symptom does not subside with a change in position, rest, or relaxation. Therefore, if you experience any disturbing pain, it is better to consult your gynecologist.

A list of the main emergency conditions in which a painful muscle symptom in the abdominal area may appear:

• Obstetric conditions:
• Risk of miscarriage.
• Septic miscarriage (clinic of acute abdomen).
• Ectopic pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy.
• Fibromyoma.
• Placental abruption.
• Rupture of an aneurysm (splenic artery, renal artery, etc.).
• Stretching and rupture of the uterus.
• Common pathologies manifested by abdominal pain, including muscle pain:
• Acute pyelonephritis.
• Appendicitis.
• Spontaneous hematoma in the rectus abdominis muscle (bleeding into muscle tissue).
• Acute cholecystitis.
• Cystitis (pain in the lower abdomen, in the perineum).
• Chronic inflammation of the ovary.
• Umbilical hernia.
• Groin hernia.

If your leg muscles hurt during pregnancy

Most often, leg pain in pregnant women is either vascular disorders (varicose veins), causing aching, nagging pain, or cramps, especially at night.

Why do leg muscles hurt during pregnancy?

• Flat feet, which, of course, existed before pregnancy, but the period of gestation aggravates the load on the muscles and provokes their overstrain (hypertonicity). To prevent pain symptoms, which are most often localized in the calves of the legs and intensify when walking, a woman should purchase orthopedic insoles and choose shoes with a stable, medium heel with a sufficiently rigid sole that secures the foot.
• Vascular dysfunctions. The increase in weight of a pregnant woman inevitably entails additional stress on the vascular system. If you already have a history of varicose veins before pregnancy, you should wear compression garments and stockings to reduce pressure on the walls of blood vessels. The muscles with varicose veins hurt due to the fact that they do not receive proper nutrition.
• Failure to follow the rules of a complete, balanced diet, as a result of which muscle tissue does not receive enough necessary proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and microelements. Often convulsive syndrome is observed in women adhering to a strict vegetarian diet.

Often during pregnancy, the leg muscles in the calf area, that is, the calf muscles, ache. Cramps are severe pain that women describe as “cramping their legs.” The most common are nighttime cramps of the calf muscles, which is due to the natural relaxation of the body and the dissonance between relaxation and chronic muscle hypertonicity. Hypnogogic spasms, that is, muscle spasms before the deep sleep phase, also often occur. Convulsive syndrome in 65% of cases is diagnosed in the middle of pregnancy, when the needs of the developing fetus are rapidly growing, and the resources of the mother’s body are already significantly depleted.

Possible causes of seizures:

• Deficiency of B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, calcium.
• Maintaining bad habits – smoking, abuse of caffeine-containing drinks.
• Decreased blood sugar levels.
• Anemia, low hemoglobin level.
• Phlebeurysm.
• Syndromum venae cavae inferioris syndrome – the inferior genital vein, when in a horizontal position (at night) the uterus presses on a large vessel, venous outflow is disrupted, and convulsions develop. This syndrome occurs in 80% of pregnant women in the third trimester.
• Abuse of diuretics to eliminate swelling.

If the muscles between your legs hurt during pregnancy

Despite all the joyful and exciting moments of expecting a baby, the period of pregnancy is accompanied by transient discomfort. In addition to the fact that the expectant mother has pain in the lower abdomen and lower back, there are many symptoms that can further complicate pregnancy, for example, pain in the muscles between the legs. In fact, such pain most likely appears not in the muscles, but in the ligaments and nerve endings.

This is due to increased secretion of a specific hormone – relaxin. Its main task is to reduce (inhibit) the contractile function of the uterus in the first trimester in order for the pregnancy to continue. In addition, later relaxin is needed to relax, soften the pelvic bones, symphysis, and prepare them for labor. Relaxin begins to be produced literally from the first week of conception, but the consequences of its influence are felt later, in the 2nd, and especially in the 3rd semester. Typically, a pregnant woman complains of “muscle pain between her legs” during this period; pain is also felt in the hips, pubic area, and lower abdomen.

Another reason that provokes a pain symptom in the groin area, between the legs, may be a neurological factor – pinching of the sciatic nerve. Pinching of the nerve roots occurs due to the pressure of the enlarging uterus, and the pain is projected onto the buttocks, groin area, and lower extremities. Such pain cannot be attributed to true myalgia, although it affects muscle tissue.

Pregnancy, the muscles between the legs ache – this condition can be caused by simple overexertion, when a woman overestimates her own physical capabilities and continues to engage in sports exercises without taking into account her special situation. Such cases are not uncommon among professional dancers and athletes who continue to perform during pregnancy.

What can relieve pain in the muscles between the legs?

• Rest and reasonable physical activity (avoid overload).
• A bandage that supports muscles and ligaments.
• Gentle physiotherapeutic procedures (only as prescribed by a doctor).
• Warm compresses.
• Performing a set of special exercises for pregnant women to preparatory stretch the muscles.

If your groin muscles hurt during pregnancy

Throughout pregnancy, venous pressure increases, especially in the vessels of the lower extremities. This process is caused by increased venous pressure of the enlarging uterus and at the same time slower pressure in the veins of the groin and legs. The growing uterus compresses the pelvic veins, the outflow of blood from the legs is difficult, this is one of the reasons why the groin muscles hurt during pregnancy.

In addition, pain in the groin can be explained by another physiologically acceptable cause.

In the second trimester, the round ligament, whose task is to support the uterus, stretches significantly. Pain in the groin area when a ligament is sprained can be very acute, but short-lived; it can be felt as a spasm, a cramp, radiating down the abdomen.

In addition to physiological stretching, the following factors may explain why groin muscles hurt during pregnancy:

• Inguinal hernia. The pain is localized on the right or left as a result of decreased tone of the local supporting muscle tissue. As a result, intestinal loops can slip out under the pressure of the enlarging uterus directly into the groin. A hernia looks like a bulging in the groin area, and when pinched by muscles it provokes pain. Strangulation requires emergency medical attention to avoid necrosis (the blood supply is cut off) and rupture of the intestine.
• Enlarged lymph nodes located in the groin. Enlarged lymph nodes may be a sign of an infectious inflammatory process in the pelvic organs. As a rule, a pregnant woman undergoes a thorough examination when registering, and inflammation is recorded on the card. However, the very process of bearing a fetus can provoke an exacerbation of diseases such as adnexitis, parametritis, proctitis, endometritis, as a result of which a pain symptom develops, including in the muscles.
• Urolithiasis also provokes pain, which, in the form of renal colic, can be reflected in the muscle tissue of the back, hips or groin, depending on the location of the stone. If the stone is localized low, the pain will appear specifically in the groin area.
• Pain in the groin muscles during pregnancy can be reflected when, due to increased load on the spine, nerve endings in the lumbosacral region are pinched.
• Bruise, groin blow.
• Genital herpes, which manifests itself in the form of erythematous papules, itching, vaginal discharge, enlarged lymph nodes, myalgia and hyperthermia.
• VRVVT is varicose veins of the small pelvis, a disease that develops asymptomatically, but during pregnancy it acquires an acute form. Venous hemodynamics are disrupted, nagging pain develops in the groin and legs.

When do the perineal muscles hurt during pregnancy?

The muscles of the intestines, gall bladder, esophagus and stomach during pregnancy are physiologically more relaxed, since they are directly involved in the nutrition of the fetus, but the muscles of the back, abdomen and perineal muscles, on the contrary, are subject to increased stress and strain. This is perhaps the first and most common reason explaining why the perineal muscles hurt during pregnancy.

In addition, the muscle tissue of the perineum may hurt due to the pressure of the enlarging uterus on the nerve endings and ligaments located in this area. As a rule, pain in the perineum after childbirth subsides irrevocably, which proves that the pain symptom is physiological and natural. An exception may be pain caused by severe stretching of the perineum due to symphysitis, which develops in the second half of pregnancy.

Symphysitis, in turn, is explained by calcium deficiency in bone tissue, primary or secondary. The pain with symphysitis is aching, pulling, the sensation of aching spreads in the pelvic area, in the groin, in the perineum, especially if a woman, lying in bed, tries to straighten her legs.

Overload and a kind of “softening” of the pelvic bones, which, in addition to being subjected to pressure from the uterus, “prepare” for childbirth (the body secretes relaxin for this), lead to a pain symptom. It can be felt as a pulling or shooting pain in the lumbar region, lower abdomen and in the muscle tissue of the perineum. As a compensatory consequence of muscle hypertonicity, hypotension and decreased elasticity of the bladder and urethra develop. For expectant mothers, involuntary urination is typical even with slight tension in the abdominal or back muscles – when laughing or coughing. The same symptom is observed in some women when squatting or straining the perineal muscles.

Also, during the period of gestation, a woman may experience muscle pain in this area due to venous stagnation or insufficiency. If, upon registration, there is a history of varicose veins, most likely a pain symptom in the groin, perineum, or legs will be inevitable, but reversible with the right treatment.

Why do vaginal muscles hurt during pregnancy?

The vagina is an organ that contains many nerve endings, receptors, and blood vessels, so it is very dependent on the quality of the circulatory system.

Do your vaginal muscles hurt during pregnancy? There may be several reasons:

• Weight load on the pelvic area, respectively, a decrease in active blood flow and a decrease in nutrition of the vaginal tissue. Congestion and swelling are a typical condition accompanying pregnancy, the result of which is transient pain in the groin and vagina. In addition to the pain symptom, a woman may feel itching and tingling, which, as a rule, subside with rest, in a horizontal position (blood outflow).
• Varicose veins, varicose veins of the labia. This pathological phenomenon can only be associated with pregnancy, but can also be observed before it. Varicose veins of the labia can be caused by a weak valvular vascular system, excess weight, inflammatory processes in the internal organs of the small pelvis, and constant physical overexertion (carrying heavy objects). In addition, varicose veins in pregnant women can be explained by increased secretion of progesterone and estrogens, lengthening and expansion of the entire circulatory network, starting from the 10th week after conception. Uterine blood flow is activated throughout the entire period of gestation and reaches a peak (600-700 ml per minute) at the time of birth. Accordingly, the fallopian tubes inevitably thicken and become hyperemic, the cervix swells, the labia swell, and pain appears.

Symptoms of varicose veins can manifest themselves in the following signs:

• Drawing pain in the groin, in the vagina.
• Feeling of fullness in the labia.
• Swelling of the vagina.
• Dryness, lack of lubrication, itching.
• Visible varicose nodules may appear on the labia and groin.

If your vaginal muscles hurt during pregnancy, you can look for the cause in the past. If a woman, long before conception, systematically took hormonal contraceptives or hormonal drugs to treat a chronic disease, her vascular system became accustomed to the help of hormones. During pregnancy, without the usual dose of hormonal substances, blood vessels may not work at full capacity, venous outflow is disrupted, congestion develops in the lower abdomen and pain, including in the vagina

When do your abdominal muscles hurt during pregnancy?

The abdominal muscles, which were responsible for the condition and appearance of the abs before conception, must perform a completely different task during pregnancy. Supporting the uterus and other internal organs is a new function of the rectus muscles, which are localized in the anterior part of the peritoneum. The abdominal muscles are two muscles, the right rectus and the left rectus, which connect in a place called very poetically – the “white line” of the abdomen. The rectus muscles originate from the lower part of the sternum, from the lower ribs, extending down vertically along the abdominal region, reaching the pubic bone, where they are fixed. The rectus muscles are crossed by specific tendon elements – jumpers; it is this combination of the rectus and transverse muscles that gives the much-desired visual effect of abs. However, for a normal pregnant woman, cubes are not as important as the health of the baby and her own health, which is sometimes overshadowed by uncomfortable pain. The rectus muscles (abs) undergo changes throughout the entire 9 months, because they must always support the growing uterus. In this state, they are able to constantly close at the place of the “white line” and gradually diverge evenly to the sides. This phenomenon is called diastasis, and it explains why the abdominal muscles hurt during pregnancy.

Not every expectant mother may have diastasis; for those who previously played sports, led an active lifestyle, were on the move, strengthened their abs, diastasis is observed very rarely. However, even for those who did not devote any time to sports and “acquired” diastasis during pregnancy, it goes away 2-4 months after birth, this is a unique adaptive property of muscle tissue.

If your abdominal muscles hurt during pregnancy, this is considered a completely acceptable phenomenon, but under certain conditions and sensations:

• The abdominal muscles hurt only in the navel area, the pain is transient, appears after the 12th week and gradually subsides as the muscles become adaptively stretched.
• The rectus abdominis muscles only hurt during physical activity.
• Pain in the abdominal area is not associated with an increase in body temperature, does not move down the abdomen and is not acute or intense.
• All other pain symptoms in the area of ​​the rectus muscles require medical supervision; in this sense, it is better to play it safe and minimize the risk of possible complications.

Why do groin muscles hurt during pregnancy?

Pain in the groin area in pregnant women can be caused by various factors, the diagnosis of which is quite difficult. The fact is that the groin area is not considered a separate anatomical unit; rather, it is the area where the thighs and the abdominal articulation meet. A large number of different muscles are attached to the groin, which are called adductors; they are responsible for the movement of the hips and their attachment to the pelvis. Also in the groin area there is a canal that includes one of the largest arteries of the body – the femoral vessels, and an important element is also located there – the round ligament of the uterus, which is subject to severe stretching during pregnancy.

Typically, groin pain is familiar to athletes and those who undergo intense physical activity, but groin muscles also hurt during pregnancy.

What are the reasons for pain in the groin muscles in a pregnant woman?

• Physiological stretching of the round ligament that supports the uterus.
• Varicose veins.
• Infectious inflammatory diseases of organs located in the pelvic region. Inflammation causes enlargement of the inguinal lymph nodes and pain.
• Adnexitis, inflammation of the appendages, ovaries.
• Calcium deficiency associated with increased consumption during pregnancy.
• Bursting pain in the back, radiating to the groin, may not be related to muscle tissue, but can be felt as pain in the muscles. This happens with urolithiasis, its exacerbation, and renal colic.
• Pain in the groin area can be caused by constipation – both a physiological, hormonal factor, and caused by the psycho-emotional state of a pregnant woman (neurotic spastic constipation).
• Inguinal hernia.
• Varicose veins of the large vein of the leg, located under the skin in the groin area.
• Trauma, bruise of the groin.
• Symphysitis in the second half of gestation (softening, stretching of the bones of the pubic symphysis).
• Excessive stress on the thigh muscles when performing stretching exercises for pregnant women.

If your back muscles hurt during pregnancy

About 70-75% of pregnant women experience pain of various types in the back and lower back.

Why do my back muscles hurt during pregnancy?

• Physiologically permissible hormonal changes, secretion of relaxin, which results in expansion and relaxation of the pelvic bones and intervertebral ligaments. At the same time, the muscles still try to perform the “corset” function, but are subject to increased stress and are in hypertonicity. Such pain subsides after the 20-22nd week, when the body is already prepared and the production of relaxin decreases.
• Shift in the main center of gravity due to an increase in the body weight of the expectant mother. The center is significantly shifted forward, accordingly, all the back muscles are tensed with double force. Sometimes the woman herself aggravates the pain symptom because she does not pay attention to her posture, her back bends forward too much following her stomach.
• The pressure of the enlarging, growing uterus on the nerve endings of the spinal column also compresses the vessels, disrupting the blood flow and nutrition of the tissues surrounding the spinal discs. Particularly characteristic are shooting, strong, but short-term pains in the lumbosacral area of ​​the back.
• A significant increase in a pregnant woman’s body weight provokes varicose veins, disrupts the venous outflow of blood in the pelvic area, and causes pain in the legs and lower back.
• Incorrectly selected shoes, especially high heels, which in principle are not useful, as they provoke an unphysiological gait,