Sciatica nerve pain could become an unwelcome friend during your pregnancy. But don’t freak out if you’re afraid you have this! Thankfully, sciatica in pregnancy can be reduced through sciatica stretches, sciatica treatment, sciatica exercises, sciatica pain relief, and sciatica massage. Continue reading to find all the tips you need, plus sciatica symptoms, sciatica causes, and more!
Sciatica in Pregnancy: Sciatica Causes
Sciatica is nerve pain caused by something going on with your sciatic nerve.
The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body, running from your lower spine to your buttocks and down the back of your legs. Further, the sciatic nerve is not just one nerve! It’s actually a bundle of nerves that come from five nerve roots branching off from your spinal cord.
Sciatica nerve pain often feels like a sharp shooting pain causing tingling or numbness all the way down the back of the spine. This pain results from irritation, inflammation, and/or compression of the sciatic nerve.
From the increased relaxin levels loosening your ligaments, this causes your center of gravity to shift, which can cause the sciatic nerve to get pinched or irritated.
Is the Sciatic Nerve on Both Sides?
Yes, you have two sciatic nerves, one on each side of your lower body.
Each sciatic nerve runs through your hip and buttock on one side until it reaches just below your knee. From there, the sciatic nerve splits into other nerves that connect to your lower leg, foot, and toes.
Having sciatica means you might experience mild to severe pain anywhere with nerves that connect to the sciatic nerve. The symptoms can affect your lower back, hips, buttocks or legs. Some symptoms may extend as far down as your feet and toes, depending on the specific nerve(s) affected.
Is Sciatica Nerve Damage?
Sciatica can be caused by nerve damage. However, during pregnancy, sciatica is most often a result of pressure on the nerve, and not nerve damage.
The increased pressure on the sciatic nerve during pregnancy is caused by the increased weight of carrying your baby and/or relaxin loosening your ligaments and causing your center of gravity to shift and make you off balance, leading to your sciatic nerve becoming pinched.
Why Sciatica Nerve Pain Comes and Goes?
Sciatica nerve pain in pregnancy often comes and goes because the pinching of the nerve from your imbalance or the weight of your baby can change!
For example, if your baby changes into a different position, it might relieve or worsen the sciatica nerve pain.
Sciatica Symptoms in Pregnancy
Symptoms of sciatica can include:
- Pain in the lower back, buttocks, and/or legs
- Difficulty walking or standing
- Tingling or weakness in legs or feet
- Tenderness in the lower back
Sciatica Treatment in Pregnancy
The best tips to relieve sciatica pain include:
- Try Kegel exercises and pelvic tilts on your birth ball to help strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. I recommend checking out this Trideer Birth/Exercise Ball as it is a trusted and durable birth ball brand that I have committed to purchasing from for years now as a birth worker!
- Stretch and strengthen your pelvic and lower back muscles. You can find
- Swimming for exercise. Because of the buoyancy experienced while in the water, swimming takes the pressure off of the sciatic nerve. Check out: How to Exercise in Pregnancy for a Better Labor
- Try alternative therapies, such as acupuncture, chiropractic treatment, and massage therapy. But, be sure to find practitioners who are certified or experienced with treatment during pregnancy!
- Also, gaining weight at a steady pace may be advantageous to minimize how quickly your body is experiencing all of these changes, that are already happening quickly as it is!
- Ask your midwife or OB for a referral to a physical therapist who will help you build strength and good posture if self-practice and correcting aren’t helping.
Sciatica Pain Relief in Pregnancy
Sciatica pain relief in pregnancy can include:
- Warm showers, warm compresses, or a heating pad for 10 minutes at a time. I highly recommend this Extra Large Heating Pad that comes with 6, easy to use, heat settings from Amazon!
- Relaxing off of your feet. Still, remember to use good posture to promote optimal positioning of your baby as you near childbirth. Keep your heart space over your pelvis while sitting or lying down.
- Sleep on your side with a pillow between your legs and good posture
- Also, consider sliding a pillow to your back to provide back support with a pillow between your legs for lying down or sleeping. Further, a more firm mattress may provide more back support if needed.
- Avoid sitting for long periods of time
- Gently stretch the muscles (keep reading for the best lower back pain stretches during pregnancy!)
- Sleep on the opposite side of the pain (if the pain is on one side)
conclusion on sciatica pain relief during pregnancy
Sciatica nerve pain usually resolves completely within a few months after giving birth. If your pain doesn’t go away, talk with your midwife or OB about other possible underlying problems.
Sciatica Exercises in Pregnancy
Using exercises, you can improve your sciatica in pregnancy!
By strengthening your lower back, upper back, and abdomen, you’re providing anchoring spinal and pelvic support from the front and back of your body.
Check out: How to Use 7 Lower Back Pain Stretches During Pregnancy as this blog post also includes 4 exercises to strengthen your abdomen and lower back muscles to reduce lower back pain in pregnancy!
Sciatica Nerve Pain: Heat or Ice?
A simple guideline is to use heat before stretches or workouts to loosen your muscles and ligaments and make movement easier.
However, after you stretch or exercise, or if simply want some relief, use ice as ice is used to decrease inflammation and soothe activity-related flare-ups.
Sciatica Massage
I highly recommend looking for a massage therapist licensed or experienced in working with pregnant women!
Sciatica massage can help sciatica in pregnancy by:
- Loosening tight muscles. When your muscles are tight, they can apply pressure to your sciatic nerve in your lower back. Massage therapy can effectively elongate and relax these muscles, reducing pain in your lower back and legs [2].
- Facilitating the circulation of nutrients. Soft tissue massage stimulates blood vessels in your skin. This stimulation can improve circulation of blood, oxygen, and other nutrients to the sore areas, promoting healing [2].
- Releasing oxytocin. Massage stimulates special nerve fibers in your brain, leading to release of oxytocin. Oxytocin, otherwise known as the “love hormone,” can be released in response of pleasant or painful stimulation. Regardless, oxytocin is responsible for making one feel warm and relaxed feelings. Oxytocin both are responsible for making you feel good and relieving pain perception [3, 4]
- Reducing stress. Stimulation of the pressure receptors mentioned above, also reduces the levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) in the body. Reduced stress levels in the body helps minimize pain perception [5].
Further, if you’re interested in utilizing the benefits of essential oils for your massage therapy, look into massage therapists who use them!
Should You Get a Sciatica Back Brace?
In general, a back brace can:
- Provide spinal support. A back brace can provide additional stability when the lower back is imbalanced.
- Reduce pressure on the spine. By reducing spinal pressure, a back brace may lessen painful muscle tension [1].
- Minimize range of motion during healing. A back brace can prevent or restrict painful movements, such as twisting the spine or bending forward, backward, or to the side. Limiting these painful movements also helps improve your awareness of posture, which may help you improve your long-term body posture.
- Reduce micro-motion between vertebral segments. When a back brace helps minimize range of motion, it’s also limiting excess micro-movements at a particular spinal segment or vertebral column. Therefore, decreasing lower back and sciatica nerve pain.
Check out this affordable, yet effective and pain relieving Maternity Belly Band/Back Brace available for order on Amazon!
Questions or Comments on “Sciatica Nerve Pain in Pregnancy: Sciatica Stretches and More!”
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below👇🏻
Talk soon, mama!
– Katelyn Lauren
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DISCLAIMER: This post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding you or your baby’s health. Please read my Medical Disclaimer for more info
References:
[1] Morrisette, D. C., Cholewicki, J., Logan, S., Seif, G., & McGowan, S. (2014). A randomized clinical trial comparing extensible and inextensible lumbosacral orthoses and standard care alone in the management of lower back pain. Spine, 39(21), 1733–1742. https://doi.org/10.1097/BRS.0000000000000521
[2] Koren, Y., & Kalichman, L. (2018). Deep tissue massage: What are we talking about?. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 22(2), 247–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2017.05.006
[3] Morhenn, V., Beavin, L. E., & Zak, P. J. (2012). Massage increases oxytocin and reduces adrenocorticotropin hormone in humans. Alternative therapies in health and medicine, 18(6), 11–18.
[4] Uvnäs-Moberg, K., Handlin, L., & Petersson, M. (2015). Self-soothing behaviors with particular reference to oxytocin release induced by non-noxious sensory stimulation. Frontiers in psychology, 5, 1529. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01529
[5] Hannibal, K. E., & Bishop, M. D. (2014). Chronic stress, cortisol dysfunction, and pain: a psychoneuroendocrine rationale for stress management in pain rehabilitation. Physical therapy, 94(12), 1816–1825. https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20130597
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