Planning on Getting Pregnant? Prepare your Body to Prevent Back Pain.
If you are planning on getting pregnant and you are worried about back pain, please know that this is a very common issue that many expectant mothers experience. Is there a way to help prevent back pain BEFORE you are pregnant? You may be able to breathe a little easier to know that there may be something you can do to lower your chances of back pain.
In most cases, the number one cause of this discomfort is caused by the uterus which is growing with the baby. As the uterus expands to accommodate the developing baby, it causes a shift in the mother’s center of gravity. This shift will often lead to a change in posture, which in turn results in strained back muscles. To make matters worse, as the pregnancy progresses, the expanding uterus stretches and weakens the abdominal muscles. Often times the pain is so bad, you need to apply for handicap Parking.
Doctors Should Advise Women Get into Shape BEFORE Getting Pregnant.
If you research about preparing for pregnancy, you will see many articles about taking the right vitamins, quitting smoking, and eating healthy. But what about strength training or core training? These muscles play a critical role in maintaining proper posture and supporting the spine. When they become weakened, the back muscles are forced to take on more responsibility, which can lead to discomfort and pain. The strain on these muscles can be exacerbated by the additional weight the mother carries as the baby grows. If we know that a lot of back pain during pregnancy is due to over-taxed postural or core muscles, then why don’t doctors recommend core exercises as a part of the lifestyle shift that’s recommended for women who are planning pregnancy?
One Way Pregnancy Causes Back Pain
Just like any other muscle in the body, if you overload it, it is going to hurt and possibly get injured. Imagine if you were to ask your biceps right now, without any training or conditioning to curl a 25 pound dumbbell ten times. Without any training or strengthening in advance, you just may be able to pull it off. But with what result? Probably at best, a bad strain of your biceps muscle, or at worst, you could sustain an injury like a torn biceps tendon. It’s not that much different when you become pregnant and now your muscles are asked to do more work and lift more weight than before. Chances are, an injury is going to happen. When the rectus abdomenous muscles (abs) are weak, they can be injured, and since they help support your back and core, you are liable to also encounter back pain.
Do you know diastasis Recti, or separation of the abdominal wall is very common in pregnancy (about 66% of all pregnancies), and the primary cause is weakness of the abdominal muscles? What if you trained and strengthened your abdominal muscles in advance of your pregnancy? Would you still get Diastasis Recti?
Maybe diastasis recti can be prevented. As the baby grows and you put on weight, you are now asking your muscles to do the work with more weight and resistance. This extra weight requires the back, abs, and core muscles to work harder, increasing the stress on the joints and ligaments in the spine. It’s not too much different than trying to do an exercise in the gym that your body is not conditioned to do.
If you are pregnant, have back pain, and have difficulty walking without assistance, you may qualify for a handicap parking permit. HandicapDocs can help.
Strengthen Core Before Pregnancy
We feel that doctors should recommend building core strength before pregnancy because it can often give significant benefit once you become pregnant. A strong core, including the abdominal, back, and pelvic floor muscles, helps support the spine, maintain good posture, and reduce injuries.
This should reduce the likelihood of back pain during your pregnancy. As your body undergoes the changes of being pregnant, preparing yourself with these strengthening exercises, may be very helpful by improving endurance, and making daily activities and labor easier to manage. Additionally, a well-conditioned core may contribute to quicker postpartum recovery.
Pre-Pregancy Core Exercises
Doing calisthenic exercises such as planks, pelvic tilts, and Pilates can effectively enhance core strength, providing a solid foundation for the physical demands of pregnancy and childbirth. There are plenty of resources to learn what exercises you can do for core strengthening and all you have to have for equipment is a yoga mat and 10 to 15 minutes of your time.
We recommend using a Tabata Timer for your core workout. Don’t concentrate on repetitions! Concentrate on the amount of “time” the muscle is under tension, and you will get stringer, faster. Here is a tabata timer that works great if you have an Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jake.simpletabata
The video below is good if you want to build core strength before you get pregnant.
