Sciatic Pregnancy - now what options do you have when your sciatic nerve is giving you a hard time during what is supposed to be a very exciting and joyful time of your life? Pregnancy sciatica is a series of symptoms caused by the irritation of the sciatic nerve, which runs from the lower spine, through your buttocks, down the back of your thighs into your feet. When the nerve gets inflamed due to pressure by either a herniated disk, or a clenched muscle (as in piriformis syndrome) or a list of other conditions, shooting pains, a burning sensation, tingling or numbness in lower back, buttocks and even thighs may be the result.
Now since the baby's location is very close to where the nerve runs through and may put pressure on the nerve or on tissue surrounding the nerve, it is not surprising that a previously existing sciatica problem may dramatically worsen during pregnancy; or that the extra weight around the middle along with the loosening of tendons and ligaments in preparation for birth may make way for an injury to a disk, which then in turn puts pressure on the nerve. Women who are pregnant are more likely to experience disc injury.
Sciatic pregnancy pain often disappears by itself, but in some cases that may take over six weeks. Some patients have found it helpful to schedule regular visits with their physical therapist, to get some relief from their sciatica symptoms. Manual therapy often helps relieve the pressure and discomfort you might experience from the back pain during pregnancy.
Your physical therapist might also be a good person to talk to in order to find you some suitable sciatic pregnancy exercises, that would be beneficial in your pain management and would also strengthen your back and abdominal muscles and the muscles of the pelvic floor. If these muscle groups are in good condition you may experience less difficulty during the birthing process and even during recuperation afterwards.
To relieve their sciatic pregnancy pain, some women also use chiropractic treatment. Only make sure, when seeing a manual therapist or chiropractor, that they have experience working with prenatal patients.
Massage therapy has been found helpful by many women to reduce inflammation and related symptoms caused by sciatica. Muscle tension and tightness can be greatly relieved through massages. When certain muscle groups tighten too much (like the piriformis muscle in your buttocks) they are likely to contribute to your sciatica condition. Circulation is increased by massages and the healing process speeds up considerably by the reduced tension and inflammation.
If you start feeling the symptoms of pregnancy sciatica be sure consult your physician or back specialist about the kinds of treatments that are available to you in your special condition, because not every sciatica treatment is for every sciatica cause and especially during pregnancy you need to make a careful and educated choice of treatment with the help of professional therapists. Hot/Cold therapy could be applied; also bed rest would be beneficial for a couple of days, until the worst of the pain subsides. One of the main underlying causes for sciatica is poor posture. So paying close attention to maintaining correct posture will be very beneficial to relieve pain and the pressure on your disks.
Want to find out more about sciatic pregnancy, then visit Christina Meier's site on how to get the best advice on sciatic pregnancy for your needs.
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