Monday, April 27, 2009

fellow moms - help is needed

has anyone else had ridiculous mid to lower back pains while pregnant? mine appeared the week i went from 'bloated' to 'finally looking pregnant'. the new weight seems to have thrown my back off alignment or something and it is so painful. it hurts when i sit, stand and i don't sleep well at all.

on regular basis i am doing the following: pregnancy yoga, swimming, sitting in my massage chair w/the heat setting on, stretching, pushups, trying to sleep with an array of pillows placed this way and that, to no avail. oh, and ben gay, which i have just been told to replace with tiger balm which is more natural.

i am going to see a guy tomorrow who has helped me in the past, but it's never been this bad before, nor have i been pregnant before.

any suggestions? am i doomed for 5 more months?

7 comments:

Jayci said...

I have some hopeful news for you. I have had chronic back pain since high school tennis. ANNND It got bad in January when I was a few months a long. THEN it got REALLY BAD when I went from 'looking like I had too many twinkies' to actually looking pregnant. Just like you are experiencing!! I went to a chiropractor in February and it got worse, better, then worse. I didn't want to go back. I decided to just rest my back and see what happens. Sometimes it pangs, but it DEFINITELY started to relieve itself when I just kept stretching and would take it easy(er).

I hope the guy you see tomorrow is going to help! Oh.... when my back pain started letting up, I decided to go for a long walk with my pup around our neighborhood, up hills and and such. The next 4 days it was my HIPS that were sore... that was something new. Let me know if you find something that helps you! Good luck!

Kim said...

Yes, I can relate... chiropractor helped me sometimes, and they usually say that putting heat on it doesn't actually help it, but I know it feels good. If the extra belly weight is the problem, you might want to try a belly support belt. They sell them in all of the maternity stores. I wore this contraption when I was pregnant with Brayden and it really helped distribute the belly weight to other areas of my back...I'll see if I can find mine and can send it to you if you want it.

Veeda said...

Seriously, go to a chiropractor. I had the same thing (even after birth) and it helps sooooo much.

good luck with everything. i'm so excited for you!

whit said...

I have this with all my pregnancies, and without being pregnant. During my pregnancies I go to a physical therapist that specializes in pregnant women. They know exactly what to do, where to do it. You should ask your doctor for a referral. Good luck!

Mindy said...

Hi Julia, it's Mindy. My dad is a physical therapist, so I thought that I was a lucky girl who would be immune to back pain, and if I did get back pain, that he'd fix it like he always does. Well, this did not quite work out as I'd planned. He would check my back and if something was out of place, he'd fix it. But most the time everything was in place and therefore he couldn't fix it. He would just tell me that being pregnant is hard and to take it easy. I think all your joints are loosening up for the delivery and it just hurts. I had to take a tailbone donut thing everywhere I went for my last few months and it was just because your tailbone loosens up too.

So here's what I'm saying. Go to the Physical Therapist, but don't be shocked if it's just the way it is until you deliver.

I love you! Hope you figure it out!

The Proctor Group said...

I think it's just something we pregos have to suffer through. My back ached for the majority of the first pregnancy. For some reason this pregnancy has been much better. In fact, my back didn't start hurting until I spent the night at your house the other day. Maybe it's all in my head? Or maybe your pain rubbed off on me. Or maybe I'm just huge.

julia said...

thank you for all your comments. the guy did help some, and suggested i buy a big yoga ball to stretch my back and hips and strengthen abs w/o lying on the floor. i also picked up a tool he used - a 3 lb weight ball and place it under my back on the floor for a reverse massage. (these items are cheap at tjmaxx) it's a cheap deep tissue massage and you can do it yourself! other suggestions were to prop my legs up high to rest my back every night, and sit and push on tennis balls under my feet to relieve tension that leads to back pain as well. lots to do, but if it's worth it - i'll try anything!