Anyone else having (or had) back problems?

[mommylamb]

I'm 20 weeks now, and suddenly having terrible back problems. On Wednesday, I woke up with an extremely achy lower back, but went to work anyway. By that evening my lower back was really hurting me. I spend a lot of time either at my desk in front of a computer or on the phone or in meetings, so lots of sitting in desk chairs. I took a bath Wednesday night and went to bed.

By Thursday it was really bothering me and I took the day off. It got worse and worse throughout the day, to the point where changing position was incredibly painful, so I made an appointment that afternoon with my sister's chiropractor (first time I've ever gone to one). The chiro pointed out to me that my left hip looks about an inch higher than my right hip does. Seriously, I look weird. The adjustment and the heat helped (the feeling, but my hip still looks out of whack), and I felt better coming out than going in to the chiropractor appointment, but it started going down hill again later that day. It was so bad on Thursday night that I was in tears when I had to get in and out of the car, and that night was the open house and DS's school, so I had to go.

Friday morning I was still hurting, but it was better than the night before. I went back to the chiro in the morning and stayed off from work again.

Still hurting this morning and my hip is still strange. It makes it seem as if one of my legs is longer than the other because of where my hip is. I'm going back to the chiro again this morning. I really need to go to work on Monday. I'm freaking out that this is going to be a chronic problem throughout my pregnancy (or beyond:crying:).

Anyone else have anything similar happen. The knot in my lower back on my left is so big that it's visible just looking at me.

[Kymberley]

No BTDT, but sending you healing thoughts. That sounds excruciating! I hope you feel tons better after your appointment today.

[hillview]

I had back pain with both pregnancies and didn't do anything other than work from home often where I could do calls and computer work from a couch. GOOD LUCK!
/hillary

[Sopamanda]

Well, I'm 14 weeks along but have had a back issue for years now, since a car accident.

It's very possible that your SI joint is out of whack and that's what's causing the difference in your legs (very common, btw). Have you tried a maternity belt to stabilize the SI joint? My pt said that as the relaxin kicks in, the si joint often destabilizes. She also said there's not much you can do about it but she did recommend getting a belt. My perinatal doc said the maternity belts with the additional support (not just the waist part) tend to work a lot better, although they look like uncomfortable contraptions to me. She mentioned one called 'prenatal cradle'.

I'm not there yet, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'll be with you shortly.

Best of luck!

[mommylamb]

That's a good idea. I will look into a belt.

ETA: sopamanda- I sincerely hope that you won't be with me shortly on this one anyway.

[daisymommy]

Ouch! I'm so sorry you're dealing with this pain.
I haven't had back pain with pregnancy (just other assorted not-fun ailments).
But I know that back pain is pretty common, so much so that some chiro's specialize and are certified in treating pregnant women. At my last midwives office, there were several rows of brochures from the offices of preg. specialized chiros.
I would do a search for one in your local area; for me personally, it would make me feel safer being adjusted by someone who really knew all about the state of woman's body during pregnancy.

Hope you feel better!

Oh! I almost forgot. I have read that floating in a pool often helps relieve all the pressure on your joints. Maybe try going to the gym or local recc. center and give it a try?

[amldaley]

I have a pinched nerve between L4 & L5 so pregnancy kills my lower back. It was so bad with DD, I had to have PT while pregnant as I could not walk or stand hardly at all.

I have done better this time around by making sure I am up and moving around, doing safe stretches, and when I get a bit bigger, using a support belt. I use a back support in my car and office chair. No high heels. Comfy, supportive shoes.

Try this little test: Stand (naked) and loop your arms under you baby bump belly. Gently lift up. If your back instantly feels better, you need a support belt.

If you don't want to go for the belt yet, there are a couple of brands of maternity support panties out there. I think Motherhood sells a line. They have a mini suppoet belt built in.

Hope you get some relief!!!!!!!!!

[LizLemon]

I didn't have the same issues you did, but when I has having very bad back pain about a month ago, I found the most helpful things to be regular use of ice packs on the painful area and keeping as active as possible. It could be hard to work due to the pain sometimes, but I found that if I took it easy and didn't keep up with my normal routine and (very moderate) exercise, generally walking, I felt worse. My doctor recommended heat, but that seemed to worsen the inflammation and make the pain worse. The ice really helped - I would use it several times a day along my middle and lower back after work.

Good luck - I hope you feel better soon!

[Indianamom2]

Well, I'm 14 weeks along but have had a back issue for years now, since a car accident.

It's very possible that your SI joint is out of whack and that's what's causing the difference in your legs (very common, btw). Have you tried a maternity belt to stabilize the SI joint? My pt said that as the relaxin kicks in, the si joint often destabilizes. She also said there's not much you can do about it but she did recommend getting a belt. My perinatal doc said the maternity belts with the additional support (not just the waist part) tend to work a lot better, although they look like uncomfortable contraptions to me. She mentioned one called 'prenatal cradle'.

I'm not there yet, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'll be with you shortly.

Best of luck!

:yeahthat: I had a very similar issue and the doctor wrote a Rx for a prenatal cradle from the home health care supply store. I cross posted about it on your bargain lounge post.

[swissair81]

I have back problems without being pregnant because I have kyphosis. With my last pregnancy, my SI joint separated and I was in PT for 4 months postpartum. My PT told me that I will need some kind of SI support with any more pregnancies (plus that the SI problem will continue to get worse :()