Hello everyone!
In my previous post I talked about why we develop back pain during pregnancy and in this post, we will talk about how to tackle the pain. Pre-pregnancy, I worked out 3 times a week that consisted of cardio and lifting. When I stopped working out in my first trimester, I lost some of my muscle mass. That was not a good outcome for my body since I started developing some back, neck and pelvic pain. Four factors that can create back pain during pregnancy are losing muscle mass, postural changes, developing baby and hormones. Here are four ways how you can tackle back pain during pregnancy.
#1 Avoid standing or sitting for too long
As you move along your pregnancy, your activity tolerance will change. As nausea and fatigue slow you down in your first trimester, your growing belly will limit your activity tolerance in your last trimester. Today, we all are used multi tasking where we go non-stop all day long. My advice to you is take it easy and take breaks to make it more manageable and less painful for your body. Avoid prolonged activity such as sitting or standing for too long. Being in a position for an extended period of time will increase the stiffness in your back. If you are sitting for an hour, getting up may be harder. If you are standing for an hour, you may start getting radiating pains from your back to your legs. Remember to give yourself adequate rest breaks.
A low back pillow such as OPTP lumbar support can also prolong your sitting tolerance. You can purchase it on Ebay or Amazon for under $20. This hot dog shaped pillow fits in the curvature of your back and supports your spine during sitting in front of TV, while you are at the dinner table or even while driving. You can take it with you anywhere. A little support for your back, will make it also complain less.
#2 Stick to your exercise program
Following an exercise program that consists of both stretching and strengthening is very important. Stretching will prevent over tightening of your muscles, while strengthening will keep your muscles active and engaged that will give the support for your growing baby and changing body. 20-30 minutes of daily exercising will be helpful during your pregnancy, labor as well as postpartum. When it comes to your upper back, the key is to stretch the front of your chest and strengthen your upper back. When it comes to your lower back, the key is to stretching your hamstrings, calves and hip flexors, while you strengthen you gluteals and deep core stabilizers.
Pilates and yoga are also great tools to use while pregnant. Pilates focus on core stabilization and hip strengthening while yoga focuses on improving overall flexibility, and strength by using your own body weight.
#3 Use a belt of support
If your back pain is hard to manage, then it is ok to get a little external support. I have a small frame and during my second trimester, I started getting some back and pelvic pain where I could not stand more than 10 minutes. When I was registering for my registry, I came across Medela Maternity support. Thinking to myself, “it is under $20 so can’t hurt to try”, I am glad I made the purchase. This belt provided gentle support for my low back which eased my pain. I was able to stand for longer periods of time which allowed me to attend some house chores. It is made of stretchy material so it did not dig into my belly as it gently lifted and supported my stomach. This belt attaches in the front via velcro system so it was easy to put on, adjust and take off. Hassle free! Definitely recommended!
#4 See a professional
Seeing a health care professional throughout your pregnancy is a great idea. Even though, your ongoing aches and pains will stop once you give birth, alleviating those symptoms can be as simple as seeing a physical therapist or chiropractor as little as once a week, regularly. A health care professional can address any misalignments in your body, can use manual techniques to decrease muscle spasms, correct misalignments, and unlock aching joints. They can use tape to support your growing belly to alleviate your pelvic and back pain, give you tips on which exercises to perform to keep your musculoskeletal system as strong and efficient as possible.
I would like to hear about your perspective. What do you think? Please comment and let me know!
Do not miss my next post on essential exercises of your second trimester!
Stay tuned in, stay awesome!
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Pre-pregnancy, I worked out 3 times a week that consisted of cardio and lifting. When I stopped working out in my first trimester, I lost some of my muscle mass. That was not a good outcome for my body since I started developing some back, neck and pelvic pain. Four factors that can create back pain during pregnancy are losing muscle mass, postural changes, developing baby and hormones. Lets look at each one of them in more detail.
Once of the most discussed topic of pregnancy is whether or not you can drink while pregnant. I think most people agree on the harms of excessive drinking, however the amount remains unsettling for many. But what is excessive? Is one cup a day excessive? Is one cup a month okay? Should you not risk anything and not drink at all?
In this case, 1+2 is not equal 2. In many cultures, pregnant women are encouraged to eat more since there is a baby growing inside of them. 1+1= 2 right? So many people believe when you are pregnant, you need to be eating twice as much since you need to gain weight and also supply for your baby.
Many people gave me a positive perspective on being sick; my hormones were working, and my body was doing what it supposed to do so it was a good thing. Around 3.5 months, when the nausea stopped and I was pretty much back to feeling normal; I did not feel pregnant at all. First, you tell yourself not to be crazy, and you are ok. At the time, one of family friends had to go for a surgical abortion at 3 months because her baby’s heart stopped. You can imagine then I started fearing what if something happened to my baby? Early in the pregnancy, my plan was to not get ultrasound at every doctor visit. Once I entered second trimester, I could not wait for the ultrasound just to see my baby. When we went for our 4 months follow up visit, I was relieved to know he was ok.
Feeling the first kick or move is very exciting for both parents. I did not start feeling him kick or move until 4.5 months. It is different for every mother. Also feeling your baby move has to do with the position of your baby in relationship to the placenta. If your baby is lying on top the placenta then your baby is directly under your belly, making the barrier between you two less. If placenta is between your stomach and the baby, it will be harder for you to feel all the punching and the kicking that may be going on.
The period between the nausea stopping and baby starting to kick, maybe a little unnerving but do not worry. I was not thrilled at all regarding ongoing sickness during my first trimester, however when the nausea stopped and fatigue subsided, I started feeling not pregnant. Do not worry and panic! Your little one is probably safe and just hanging out which will be confirmed at your next follow up visit.
Many women continue to run, lift, do sports such as crossfit while they are pregnant. There is 15% chance of miscarriage until baby’s heartbeat is present. Genetic problems, drug or alcohol abuse, hormonal imbalances can cause or contribute to miscarriage vs. exercising does not. I think the myth is that if you jump up and down too much or if you lift heavy, you may experience a miscarriage. The fact is that your baby is protected very well in your womb and is not going anywhere.
When it comes to what kind of exercise in what amounts is right for you, it is mainly up to you and how you feel. There are really no recommended guidelines. First trimester, due to fatigue and nausea, I do not think any soon-to-be mom can stick with a strict exercise program. Second trimester is the time that you start feeling better, however your blood volume is already 50% increased, baby is getting bigger and placenta is fully developed so you are carrying around some extra weight. You may find out that your exercise capacity is not the same. Third trimester is the time that everything starts getting tight that you start waddling even when you are walking so moving around definitely gets restricted.
If you already have a routine and able to go on with some adjustments, and then do it. If you are a crossfit athlete, I advise you to use less weight during lifts. If you like to run, I advise you to either slow down your speed or cut down on your distance. If you cannot run anymore but like to stay active, you can use the elliptical, which is a great alternative to running or simply walk.
Some great sources of protein are: of course all the meats, fish, poultry, eggs, yogurt, green peas, quinoa, nuts (minus peanuts) and nut butters (I advise you to grind your own nut butter from whole foods that has no additive), tofu, edemame, leafy greens such as broccoli and spinach, chia sesame sunflower seeds and the list goes on.
During my pregnancy, I really enjoyed reading and learning more from Mark Sisson’s Primal Blue Print book, and Primal Blue Print Cookbook as well as Quick and Easy recipe book. If you want to learn more about nutrition, making better food choices and how to make healthy food in seconds, these books are treasures that are definitely worth checking out.
During my first consult with my OBGYN, we discussed nutrition; what to eat, what not to eat, and how to cheat when it comes to limiting all the delicious but not-so-good-for-me food groups. One suggestion that he had was “ you can either have one cup of coffee or 4 cups of black tea day”. I kept listening as he jumped onto next topic supplements however after leaving his office, I started wondering does not 4 cups of tea have more caffeine than a cup of coffee?
Looking at three different companies people usually tend to buy their morning treat from left me amazed. An 8 ounce cup from Starbucks contains 180 mg, same size from Mc Donald’s contains about 75 mg and 8 ounces from Dunkin Donuts contains about 172 mg of caffeine. Who are we kidding? On average people ask for large or X-large cups so triple that amount of caffeine.
I do not know why it is called morning sickness since you feel queasy all day long. In my case, I did not have too bad of a sickness when I compare myself to others where women could not get out of bed, could not eat anything, lost weight and even had to get an IV put in due to risk of malnutrition. I never threw up, nausea would cause me to gag, I would go to the bathroom just incase and It would stop. I guess I was lucky.
My favorite recipe was:
Babyhood: A to Z 
