During the time of pregnancy, there are several challenges faced by women which include health issues and conditions. Amongst these one such pain is Joint pain which is a common experience during the time of pregnancy. The reason behind this is due to the hormonal changes, weight gain, and the body’s adaptation.
Why My Joints Are Paining In Pregnancy? The Most Common Reasons Pregnant Women Experience Joint Pain
Let’s take a look at the causes of pregnancy-related joint pain accompanied by a few tips and exercises to help you tackle or prevent the issue.
Lets in detail look at the most common causes of joint pain during the time of pregnancy these include:
Hormonal Changes
To prepare the person for childbirth, certain hormones in the body like relaxin loosen the ligaments and joints. This eventually leads to the cause of joint pain, instability, and discomfort.
Weight Gain
Gaining weight for several reasons is a part of pregnancy before or post-times. This increase in weight puts extra stress on the joints, particularly in the hips knees, and ankles.
Change Of Posture
The growth of the babies within the womb tends the person’s center of gravity to change. This affects the usual posture and leads to strains on joints mostly in the lower back and the pelvis.
Pregnancy And Exercise: Exercise Tips To Prevent Pregnancy Joint Pain
These are a few exercises that ensure you get back on your feet fit and healthy. These exercises relieve you from joint pain and make you sufficiently active physically during your pregnancy.
🔷 Low-Impact Exercise
First and foremost you should opt for exercise of low impact. Low-impact activities like walking, swimming, stationary cycling, and prenatal yoga are proven ways to help strengthen muscles and support joints without the strain caused by exercise.
It burns calories and controls weight reducing the pressure on the joints. It is also proven to benefit your flexibility like stretching and promotes mental well-being as well.
🔷 Pelvic Floor Exercise
Kegals: Pelvic floor exercises help to strengthen the muscles which eventually support the pelvis. This reduces the risks of pelvic joint pain. Touch and hold your pelvic muscles for a few seconds then release and repeat the process multiple times a day.
These exercises are meant to make your internal and external body areas such as the bladder, bottom, and male or female genital organs stronger and more efficient, There are several exercises available online or you can get them with the recommendation of a physiotherapist or a person who has previous experience in this to suggest or guide you through the process
🔷 Strength Training
Strength training focuses on building strength and muscles. These exercises benefit the core hips and things providing stability and support to the joints. The exercises here for pregnant women include squats, side leg lifts, and pelvic tilts are effective.
🔷 Stretching And Flexibility
Gentle stretching exercises are guaranteed to relieve tension and improve flexibility along with long and lean muscles. Focus on performing stretching for the back which includes hips, and legs to alleviate the discomfort over joints. They ensure your joints move through their full range of motion and prevent injuries.
They are also responsible for muscle blood flow and enable it to work more effectively. All of these make you do your daily activities at ease. Remember not to overstretch or bouncing which might be counterproductive causing micro trauma and even tearing muscle connection tissues. Therefore make sure not to stretch more than 5, 10, or 15 minutes.
🔷 Prenatal Yoga Or Pilates
These prenatal classes especially Yoga or Pilates are crafted for pregnant women as they can help improve flexibility, strengthen muscles, and promote relaxation providing comfort to the joints. They focus on creating the balance between the emotional mental physical and spiritualality of the person helping you prepare for the pregnancy and letting you understand the safe techniques and poses that might be helpful in pregnancy.
🔷 Practice Proper Body Posture And Mechanics
Maintain good posture while sitting, standing, or sleeping as well as while walking to minimize the strain that is caused to your joints. While exercising remember to lift safely, especially when bending knees. Bend the knees and not the waist to reduce the stress on your back and hips.
🔷 Warmup And Cool-down
Always ensure to warm up before exercising with gentle movements to prepare your muscles and joints and cool down post-workout with light stretches to help relax muscles and prevent stiffness. These are like recharge and rest for certain activities to be done right. A lack of warmup or cool-down might lead to or make you more vulnerable to injuries or other issues that may affect your pregnancy.
🔷 Use Supportive Gears
Using supporting devices such as a maternity support belt or belly band to provide additional support and safety to your body and the child growing in the womb. These are available online and in the market and you can get them easily
A few other tips include managing stress, getting quality sleep, and having a healthy and balanced diet by asking expert professionals in case you need help. If your joint pain persists and it’s beyond your control that’s when you need to consult a healthcare professional.
They help you when things get severe like swelling, redness, or warmth in the joints. They examine you recommend if you need further diagnosis and suggest the best measures for your overall health and well-being.
End Result
In conclusion, experiencing joint pain during the time of pregnancy is experienced by the majority of women and you’re not alone in the process. You can tackle this issue by incorporating certain exercises, a diet with healthy and nutrient-packed meals, quality sleep accompanied by a lifestyle, and a regular visit to the expert on top of that.
These methods are supposed to grant you comfort during the pregnancy process. Listen to your body and do whatever is necessary. Staying active with pregnancy-safe exercises can help maintain, strength, flexibility, and overall well-being. Remember all these tips and be consistent when executing the plan for a special time throughout this phase.
References:
- Back pain during pregnancy. (2020).
https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/back-pain-during-pregnancy - Sudden joint and extremity pain in pregnancy
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7784038/
