Any one have pain in their sacral area? Could it be sciatica this early?

I am a registered nurse, so i feel a little silly asking about this. However, my area of expertise is NICU and Labor & Delivery, so i guess i shouldn't be embarassed! :) If you have any baby questions, i'll be happy to help in exchange! :)

i have had this pain in my sacrum (very lower back) for about a month now when walking. I am only 21 weeks pregnant, am about 140LBS now and have only gained around 9, so i'm doubting it is the pregnancy putting strain on anything. I don't have another OB appointment until Monday, and this is killing me! Anyone have any idea what this is? Sciatica?

This hit Laura about this time. Try sleeping with a pillow between your legs. Or spend $50 and invest in a Snoogle (or similar) body pillow. It was Laura's MUST-HAVE pre-delivery.

My pain hit about the same time. The doctor told me to try a support belt which didn't help. I ended up using a swimming pool. Within seconds of hitting the water the pain went away. I'd say it took about 2 more trips for the pain to go away completely then I just went 2 or 3 times a week until the end. I know it wasn't fun being in a swimsuit while pregnant but with the pain going away it was so worth it to me.

Oh, yes. The pain is right in the middle, right? Try the support belt. I know the PP didn't find it helped, but it was a life-saver for me. Only, get the good wide one from BRU, the maternity shops have (had 4-5 yrs ago anyway, LOL) these 3" wide elastic bands that they call maternity belts and they are USELESS!!! (besides being a PITA). The one at BRU is nice & wide. It has an over-belly strap, too that I just tossed aside... unnecessary. Oh, and the pain is from your joints starting to loosen up in your pelvis and all the wonderful new pressures that brings on. Mine started in the 4th month with DD, a little later with DS. I don't believe it is sciatica, I think that is more down one leg (?).

[jk3]

Sciatica is more of a sharp, shooting pain + it can run down your leg too. I had that early on in my pregnancy. Later on I had what you describe. Try the belt. If the pain gets worse laer on, ask your doctor about physical therapy. If your insurance covers this I highly recommend it. Any help you can get during pregnancy will help afterwards. I didn't do that while pregnant + I highly regret it.

[chrissyhowie]

The pelvis basically is made up of your two hip bones (which are each made up of three parts: the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis) and your sacrum. There are three major joints holding these bones together: two sacroiliac joints (SIJs) and your symphysis pubis.

The SIJs are responsible for shifting the weight from your spine to your pelvis as well as absorbing the impact of the ground from your lower limbs to your trunk while you are walking. All of your ligaments in your body are subject to some laxity with the hormonal fluxes of pregnancy, as your body prepares itself for accomodating the bigger mass of your growing uterus and eventually for childbirth. The ligaments holding your SIJs are no exception unfortunately :(. While there is plenty more to go, your uterus at 20+ weeks has grown to the point where it has grown outside of its usual position within the pelvis. This change can cause some mild postural changes that you may not even be aware of, most commonly a mild shifting of your center of gravity posteriorly. Pain associated with this has not been found to be related to weight gain during the pregnancy, which can explain why it has such effect even early on.

Using a pillow between your knees while lying on your side at night as Flagger suggested can help some people tremendously. Doing some light exercise, possibly with the help of a physical therapist, can also help. Tylenol is also safe to use during pregnancy. Since you work in a high demand job, you are at increased risk for having these kinds of pains since I know you must be on your feet a whole lot! Definitely talk to your doctor about the possibility of using a physical therapist to help you design an exercise plan.

I'm about 25 weeks myself right now and just restarted doing yoga regularly because I was beginning to have similar types of aching recently. It has helped tremendously! Best of luck with finding some good relief!

HTH,

[Rachels]

I definitely had sciatica at that stage. See a chiropractor! It fixed it right away.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[shishamo]

My OB recommended a medical massage. It was heavenly- it was just like getting a regular massage with a table with a hole in the middle (so you can lie down on your tummy). Not only it fixed my back pain, it was covered by my insurance! I couldn't believe it.

I agree with Chrissy's explanation. It sounds like your SI joint is out of alignment as a result of relaxed ligaments and abnormal changes in your posture as a result of pregnancy (which are more pronounced when on your feet and walking). Sciatica is usually sharp pain running down the buttock or back of the leg on one side. Try sleeping with the pillow betweeb your legs and ask yor doctor about seeing a PT to learn exercises that will help to realign and stabilize the SI (I have SI problems myself and know that these exercises are helpful).

[LucyG]

It sounds like sciatica to me. Mine hit when I was less than 12 weeks pregnant, and it seemed so odd, given that the baby was not even as big as an orange at that point! Mine got better as the pregnancy progressed (and baby moved up out of the pelvis), and then returned near the end. I found that doing some leg stretches while lying on my back for a few minutes helped the pain tremendously. Mine was mostly down my right leg, though, and not in my back so much. Good luck to you!