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Pregnant with sciatica: how to treat it?
This morning when you woke up, you felt an excruciating pain in your leg, which radiated into your buttock. Rest assured, this is not a contraction. Like many pregnant women, you are very likely to have sciatica.
Sciatica and pregnancy: when the sciatic nerve is irritated
During pregnancy, the future mother undergoes significant physiological and mechanical changes (increase in the mass of the uterus, relaxation of the ligaments). The posture adapts and changes as the baby grows. Sometimes these changes create lower back pain, sacrum or sciatic nerve. Most of the time, it will not be real sciatica (this is the consequence of a hernia that must be removed), but rather sciatica pain. The sciatic nerve is simply irritated by a muscle or ligament, but it is not compressed.
Symptoms of sciatica in pregnant women
Usually, we start to feel this type of pain around the 4th or 5th month of pregnancy. Every pregnancy is different, so it could very well be that you didn’t have anything the first time and that you are embarrassed about this second baby. Most of the time, the pain is localized in the buttock but it can go down to the thigh and the leg. The discomfort is permanent with peaks of pain during certain movements. You have trouble moving and only lying down really relieves you.
What not to do when you are pregnant?
Carrying heavy loads, having a low stomach or positioning yourself forward can increase muscle tension in the back and tickle the sciatic nerve. On the other hand, the occurrence of sciatica is independent of the weight gain of the future mother.
In video: back pain, back pain, the midwife’s answers
Sciatica and pregnancy: quickly relieve it with osteopathy
There is no reason to let this pain set in, especially since you can get better after a few sessions of osteopathy. The aim of this discipline is to restore mobility to the whole body, especially in the pelvis and rib cage.
The principle is simple: the practitioner begins by testing each part of the body to detect where the blockage is located, then he acts on the painful area. Rest assured, because of your condition, the osteopath will be particularly delicate. No untimely cracking! As for your baby, the manipulations will have no effect on him. In general, after two sessions on average, sciatica disappears. The ideal being to be followed until the childbirth because the disorder can return.
Balloon, rest: what to do in case of pregnant sciatica
To relieve yourself otherwise, there is no secret: rest and more rest. Avoid crossing your legs too often or leaning forward. Opt for positions where the legs are released so that the pelvis remains open. In everyday life, at home, use for example a ball. The advantage of this accessory is that it constantly mobilizes the pelvis. This is a good way to avoid blockages.