As if pregnancy isn’t uncomfortable enough, lately, you’ve been feeling a shooting pain that starts at your lower back and runs down your leg. This sounds like sciatic nerve pain, a very common condition that can happen during pregnancy.
In this article, we’ll tell you what sciatic nerve pain is, what causes it, and, most importantly, how to relieve it.
Table of contents
- What is sciatic nerve pain?
- Causes of sciatic nerve pain during pregnancy
- Relieving sciatic nerve pain during pregnancy
What is sciatic nerve pain?
Sciatic nerve pain is just what it sounds like: pain that radiates down the sciatic nerve — the long nerve that starts near the base of your spine and runs through your gluteus muscles and then down each leg.
The sciatic nerve helps you sit, stand, walk, run, and feel sensations in your lower body. When it’s pinched, irritated, or inflamed, it results in sciatic nerve pain, sometimes called sciatica.
If you have sciatic nerve pain, you’re probably pretty uncomfortable. Symptoms include:
Pain that radiates down the legs and below the knee that may feel like an electric shock
- Muscle weakness
- Urinary incontinence
- Fecal incontinence
- Blood in urine
- Burning sensation when urinating
- Numbness or tingling in buttocks, leg, or pelvis
- Pain that wakes you up at night
- Pain that increases when lying down
- Difficulty walking, standing, or sitting
Causes of sciatic nerve pain during pregnancy
For those who aren’t pregnant, this pain may be the result of a herniated disc or a bone spur in the back. However, for pregnant women, there are other factors that cause the pain. Let’s take a look.
Hormones
During pregnancy, the hormone relaxin is produced in your body in order to help prepare for your little one’s birth. This hormone helps your muscles, joints, and ligaments to loosen up and your cervix to soften.
This all sounds great, but there’s a catch. When your ligaments, muscles, and joints are so loose at the same time your uterus is growing, it can shift your center of gravity, pinching the sciatic nerve.
Increasing fetal weight
As your little one gets bigger and heavier, they’re putting additional pressure on your uterus, which can increase pressure on the sciatic nerve. In addition, as your baby turns around in your tummy, the pain can become worse.
Change in posture
As your belly grows, you’re more apt to lean forward. This change in your posture can result in pressure on your lower back and sciatic nerve.
Relieving sciatic nerve pain during pregnancy
The good news is that your sciatic nerve pain should go away after pregnancy. In the meantime, there are lots of different ways you can try to relieve the pain.
Move around.
The first thing you want to do is stay active. Walking helps relieve sciatic pain by building muscle strength and promoting flexibility, as well as reducing inflammation.
So, take a nice, long walk and breathe in the fresh air!
Stretch.
Certain stretches can help relieve your pain. The first is stretching your piriformis muscle — the muscle deep in your buttocks.
To stretch this muscle, sit on a chair and place one ankle over the opposite knee. Keeping your back straight, lean forward and hold for 30 seconds. Switch ankles and repeat.
Another good stretch is called the table stretch. All you have to do is hold onto a table or the back of a chair and stand with your feet a little wider than your hips.
Simply lean forward, keeping your arms straight and back flat. Stretch your hips and move them side to side. Hold for 30 seconds to one minute.
Go swimming.
Swimming is another great low-impact way to relieve your pain because it helps improve mobility without putting additional pressure on your sciatic nerve.
Practice yoga.
Incorporating some yoga poses into your daily routine can also be an effective way to relieve sciatic nerve pain. Both pigeon pose and child’s pose are particularly good options.
Pigeon pose
To practice pigeon pose, get on your hands and knees on a yoga mat and slide your right knee between your hands.
Then slide your left leg back. You may want to put a yoga block under your right hip to make more room for your growing tummy. Lean forward and hold for 30 seconds to a minute.
Child’s pose
To practice child’s pose, sit down on your knees with your feet parted and toes touching. Fold forward with your tummy between your thighs, stretching your arms in front of you. Place your forehead to the mat and hold for thirty seconds.
You can either practice these poses at home or find a prenatal yoga class in your neighborhood. It’s always nice to have others in your area with whom to commensurate about the joys and pains of pregnancy!
Take a hot shower.
Because hot water relaxes tight muscles and increases blood flow, taking a hot shower can provide some temporary relief from your pain.
Don’t stay in the shower for too long, though, as prolonged showers (especially hot ones) can dry out your skin and aren’t good for your unborn baby.
Consider a heating pad.
Applying a heating pad to your lower back can also help relieve your sciatic nerve pain. Similarly, you can use a warm compress if you find that more comfortable.
Try a cold pack.
If the heat doesn’t work to relieve your pain, try the opposite. A cold pack can also temporarily alleviate the discomfort of sciatica.
Be mindful of your posture.
With your growing belly, it’s no wonder your body feels a little off kilter. A bit of extra attention to how you're carrying your body will help. Here are some tips:
- Opt to sit in an ergonomic chair.
- Sit up straight in your chair and keep your feet flat on the ground. Roll your shoulders back and down.
- When standing, distribute weight evenly between your feet, positioned hip distance apart.
- Don’t stand for too long at a time, and change positions regularly.
- If you do have to stand for a prolonged period, lift one foot off the ground and rest it on a box or stool.
- When walking, step with the heel of your foot and then roll to the big toe for push-off.
- Slow down your gait if you feel pain while you walk.
Sleep on your side.
If you feel the most pain on one side of your body, sleeping on the opposite side can bring you some welcome relief. In order to keep your body in alignment, try placing a pillow between your knees for added support.
With its U-shape and detachable extension, the Newton Pregnancy Pillow is the perfect sleeping companion. Our pillow is made out of memory foam and a fiber cluster blend core. It even features an extra plush organic cotton cover for the ultimate in comfort!
Avoid heavy lifting.
Of course, you want to avoid doing anything that could further irritate your sciatic nerve, like lifting something heavy. Be sure to ask your partner or friends to help with building your crib, changer, or other nursery furniture, and don’t even think of rearranging the room on your own.
If you do need to lift anything — even if it’s not too heavy — be sure you’re using the correct technique. Always bend your knees and squat down, maintaining a straight back. Then lift using your hips and legs.
Try a prenatal massage.
A prenatal massage focused on your lower back, hips, glutes, and hamstrings increases your circulation and helps decrease inflammation around the sciatic nerve. Ask your massage practitioner to only use light strokes and avoid firm pressure for baby’s sake.
Use a pregnancy girdle.
A pregnancy girdle can help distribute your pregnancy weight more evenly, and therefore improve your posture and lessen the pain.
Talk to your doctor.
Before you take any medication or consider other remedies for your pain, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor. They’ll know what’s safe considering your stage of pregnancy and overall health.
Comfortable at last!
No one wants to suffer from sciatic nerve pain — especially during pregnancy. We’ve discussed several ways you can relieve that pain and get back to enjoying these last months before baby’s debut.
For catching those ever-important zzzs, choose a Newton Pregnancy Pillow. Our U-shaped pillow can help you find the perfect position as it supports your back, hips, legs and belly, helping you get the pain-free sleep you need!
