How to get relief from back pain after delivery
While many women talk about the pain they experience during childbirth, it often doesn’t stop there. A majority of women report experiencing moderate and severe back pain after giving birth — pain that can last months and be very excruciating. Here is a guide to postpartum back pain and different ways to relieve it.
Why are you experiencing postpartum back pain?
Your body changes during pregnancy. First, your uterus expands and your abdominal muscles become weaker, pulling the spine forward. This results in a strain on your back. In addition, because your stomach is growing larger, your posture begins to shift to compensate for the front weight.
This can be very straining on your back and cause pain. While your stomach expands, your hip and pelvic bones are moving to make room for your child. So after you’ve given birth, your body needs to readjust itself and move back into place, causing pain in your back.
How to relieve postpartum back pain
1. Keep an eye on your weight
After giving birth, you may be eager to get back to your normal weight. And that’s a good thing: returning to and maintaining a normal weight will help significantly when trying to relieve back pain. This starts with a healthy diet that can allow you to lose weight and alleviate the pressure being put on your back.
2. Walk
You may think that walking or any type of physical activity may enhance your current back pain. But, in fact, walking is the safest and most important exercise after giving birth. First, it will help you lose weight, but it will also help you rebuild your strength so your body can better support itself instead of relying on your back to do all the work.
3. Don’t aggravate any existing pain
It’s important to be conscious of all physical activity during the weeks and months after childbirth. This means not lifting heavy objects, or doing any physical activity that is harmful to your body. You don’t want to aggravate your back pain by putting pressure on your back. Heavy lifting will not only aggravate back pain but it could be harmful to your neck and other sensitive joints and muscles in your body.
4. Take warm baths
It may seem simple, but a warm bath could go a long way in terms of treating postpartum back and neck pain. Cold water can be detrimental to your joints and cause additional pain. Try to hop in the bath a couple of nights a week and soak in warm water to allow your muscles to relax.
5. Maintain a healthy posture — especially when you’re breastfeeding
Poor posture can be harmful to anyone’s back, but new mothers should be particularly conscious of their posture because it can exacerbate back pain. Remember to constantly check your posture to ensure you are standing and sitting up straight. In addition, it’s extremely vital to make sure you have good posture when you are breastfeeding as it will be something you do daily. Too often, new mothers will slouch over while breastfeeding, which causes enhanced strain on your muscles and will only prolong your postpartum back pain.
6. Stretching, yoga and other exercises
Aside from walking, there are a number of different exercises that can help relieve back pain. First, it’s important you start with stretching. This will make you feel refreshed and revitalized and will bring you back to your nimble self. In addition, yoga will help relieve back pain and allow you to work up to doing strength exercises.
For more help or information on getting relief from postpartum back pain, contact the Lewis Family Chiropractic & Wellness Center, a leading chiropractor in Westminster, Maryland.
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