CORE STRENGTH HEALTHY PREGNANCY PREGNANCY BACK PAIN

10 WAYS TO PREVENT AND EASE PREGNANCY BACK PAIN BY BODY FABULOUS

Apr 01, 2019

By Certified Pregnancy Exercise Specialist Dahlas Fletcher.

www.bodyfabulous.com.au

A staggering 50% of all pregnant women have significant backache and nearly a third of all female adults suffering from lower back pain compared to only a quarter of males. (source www.med.umich.edu)

Despite these statistics, you can be pregnant and not in pain. The secret is to strengthen your deep core – which you can do safely and effectively during and after pregnancy – watch my video to get some insight into this.

10 tips to avoid and manage back pain in pregnancy and postpartum :

Learn safe and effective core exercises, like these ones, during pregnancy and post birth is a game changer for back pain – especially as only 1 in 4 women know how to activate their deep core and pelvic floor
Postural alignment watch my video above to learn how to “stack” your posture correctly, this not only help prevent back pain but also the dreaded “mummy tummy”
Soften your knees, standing with locked knees puts more pressure into your lower back, think of spreading the load away from your joints down into your glutes and leg muscles.
Get postural support with a medical grade fit ball - when both sitting and standing. Get my top fit ball tips right here, as the right size ball is important, the incorrect size will only increase back issues.
Strong glutes help to protect your lower back and hips, one of the best exercises to do this is squats. Learn how to squat safely and effectively during pregnancy right here or in my video above.
Get moving! Simple movements like the fit ball rolls I do in the above video are an excellent way to improve mobility and avoid stiffness in the spine – which can happen if you stay in one position for too long.
Soften your belly, forget about tucking and sucking and trying to draw your belly button to spine. This only exacerbates tension in the lumbar spine (both during and after pregnancy). Try leaning over a chair or fit ball or even better swimming is a great way to take your belly weight during pregnancy off your spine – watch how I do this in the video above.
Sleep and rest are important – being exhausted can increase body aches and inflammation.
Decrease your stress levels – lengthen your breath and tap into your PNS (parasympathetic nervous system). Stress is tension and this can be held in your lower back. Learn my simple core breath methods here.
Nourish your body, eat food that decreases inflammation, lots of veggies, omega 3 fish oil, and avoiding processed foods – grab my complimentary nutrition guide to help get you on the right track.

In summary

Pregnancy backache does NOT have to be part of your pregnancy. As an expectant mother, you can take proactive steps to prevent, treat and alleviate back pain; to the benefit of your entire body. This will also make the birth experience much easier on you and the baby. It is important to remember that when it comes to back pain both during pregnancy and post birth, it is significantly related to the function and strength of your deep core.