LEG PAIN DURING PREGNANCY

Pelvis

Leg pain during pregnancy can mean anything from a joint pain, for example around the pubic bone, to groin pain, inner thigh pain, calf and foot pain, and sciatica. A huge group of conditions, I hope you will agree.

The sources of pain can be vascular, muscular, joint and nerve in origin. Again vast.

We'll start with the pelvis. During the last trimester of pregnancy, the body releases a hormone called Relaxin that, believe it or not!, relaxes the ligaments of the pelvis. The reason is obvious. Baby has to pass through a rather small canal in the pelvis, and the three joints of the pelvis need to be able to stretch.

Three joints? Yes, two identical mirror-image joints near two prominent bony bumps which you can feel low down in the pelvis (in the lower back). The third is where the two pubic bones meet in the front. All three of these joints can be trouble makers, both during pregnancy and afterwards, and all three can contribute to leg pain during pregnancy .

Low back pain and leg pain during pregnancy is assumed by many to be inevitable, and there's nothing to be done. Accept it, it goes with pregnancy. You want to have babies? Then expect back pain. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In the first place every woman should and could start pelvic exercises, even before baby is a twinkle in the eye. In the planning phase, not only start thinking about a nursery, but also getting the body in shape. The right exercises, now! Not any old exercises that may make you worse. If you sign up for our Hot Chiropractic Tips, amongst a whole lot of other useful information, you will get some simple and safe back exercises.

I'll wait! Go click and sign up for the Tips, and come back so we can continue this saga. Meantime, I'll set up a picture of the pelvis for you. Come back here when you are done with Tips and we'll continue with the subject of leg pain during pregnancy.

Okay. Signed up for the tips? Let's proceed. Here you can see the pelvis from the front. The Sacro Iliac Joints are labelled, but not the third joint which is called the Pubic symphysis. It's in the front where the two large Pubic bones meet. Run your finger down from the navel, and the first hard bone you meet is what we are talking about.

Is it tender? Here often is the source of leg pain during pregnancy. Slide your finger sideways, and deeper and lower. There are actually two pubic bones here on each side, one superior and one inferior. Here is an X-ray of the two pubic bones, or 'rami' as they are called. One pubic ramus, two rami, one superior and one inferior with a large hole in the middle.

See them? You should. Both have fractures in them. Ouch!

An aside. This is the future of every woman who won't start as a young woman taking preventative action. This little baby is going to suck it out of you! Three important things that EVERY woman should do, or experience the sheer misery of OSTEOPOROSIS and bone fractures. All women, including young child-bearing women, should consider the causes of Osteoporosis

Start walking every day. Every day. Twenty minutes is considered sufficient. That's an EXTRA twenty minutes unless you are already a fitness freak! "Ouch," I hear you say. "That's why I am at this stupid page. Walking hurts my leg!" We're getting there!
Eat a healthy diet. The world argues long and hard about what a healthy diet is, but at least sure you have plenty of salad and fruit, and not too much protein or fat. That's all well researched.
For the rest, milk remains controversial. It causes allergies (got a frog in your throat? It's probably milk or a milk product that causing it.) I haven't settled it in my own mind, but don't blithely accept that dairy is all good. We're just not sure. Rather take some extra calcium. The right one. Talk to your pharmacist, and ask your doctor to prescribe it for you. Calcium Carbonate is quite useless.

Incidently, if you were overweight when you fell pregnant, you have to be very careful if you want to lose weight. Do it under a nutritionist's guidance. After the birth of your child, your milk is very rich in fat, and cutting out all fat in your diet (to lose weight) will have a very detrimental effect on your baby's brain. Brain tissue is mainly fat. At HEALTHY LIVING TIPS you will get plenty of ideas.

Love to read? Chiropractor Bernard Preston writes fascinating stories about health that will intrigue you. These are books you will read from start to finish. Promise! For a free sample chapter, click here.

This is going to be a long session. I've just taken a tea break. Want to join me? Click here to try some of this lovely tea with no milk and no sugar and then scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Right, got your tea? I've got large mug of weak black tea with an orange sliced in it. It's quite sweet enough.

Where were we? Oh yes, the pubic rami. Now these little bones are the origin of some very important muscles that run down the inner thigh. They are called the Adductors and often are a great source of leg pain during pregnancy. Quite often during pregnancy, the pubic joint (symphysis is its name), the pubic rami and the Adductors become extremely painful. Perhaps I should emphasize that. EXTREMELY PAINFUL! What's more don't believe your doctor if he says that leg pain during pregnancy is just part of the deal, and you must accept it. The bad news? If you don't deal with it now, then making the next baby is likely to be extremely painful! This is a very treatable syndrome. I'm talking about significant relief within a few days or certainly a couple weeks.

Aside. Do you know the Rule of Three concerning the inconsolable, crying baby? For more information, click here.

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