Lower back pain in pregnancy
Both during and after pregnancy, women are subjected to altered mechanical stresses that affect the lower back and frequently result in lower back problems. As the new infant develops in the mother’s womb, two simple changes occur that influence the woman’s posture.
First, there is the gradually increasing bulk and weight of pregnancy. In order to maintain balance during standing and walking, the mother must lean farther backward to counterbalance her altered weight distribution. The result of her postural adjustment is an increase in her lordosis. In the final weeks of pregnancy, the lordosis may become excessive, and this may lead to overstretching of the tissues surrounding the joints of the lower back (Fig. 8.0).
Second, to prepare the body for the impending delivery of the baby, the joints of the pelvis and lower back are made more flexible and elastic through a natural increase in certain hormones. The greater elasticity means that these joints become more lax and are easily overstretched when subjected to mechanical strains.
Once the child is born, the mother is often too busy to care for herself properly, and sometimes the postural fault that has developed during pregnancy remains for the rest of her life.
If your back problems began during or after pregnancy, it is possible that your lordosis has become
excessive and that your problems are caused mostly by postural stresses. If this is the case, the extension exercises recommended for most people with lower back pain (Exercises 1-4) are unsuitable for you at the present time. Therefore, if your back problems are caused chiefly by postural factors, you should concentrate mainly on correction of your standing posture (Fig. 8.1). Problems caused by postural stresses are always resolved by postural correction.
For one week you must watch your posture very closely. At all times, maintain the correct posture, not only while standing but also while walking. You
must stand tall and walk tall and not allow yourself to slouch. If, after one week of postural correction, the pain has disappeared or decreased considerably, faulty posture can be blamed for your back problems.
