sciatic nerve pain during pregnancy. help pleaseeee?

Question

sense about 11 weeks or pregnancy (now 15 weeks) i have been having HORRRRRRIBLE back pain. it gets to the point ware i cant walk, roll over in bed, or move my legs. i thought that it was possibly a pinched nerve. i went to my doc yesterday and he said it was my sciatic nerve and the only way to deal with it is physical theorpy. i cant get to physical theropy so it is not an option for me. has any one else had such horrible pain?? and if so, how in the world did you deal with it?? please help

Answer 1

I'm 31 weeks and have had all kinds of back pain throughout the pregnancy. There are a couple of things you can do to help.



1) Don't over do it. Stop Vacuuming or if you have to then "dance with the vacuum." Try not to bend too much at the waist, etc when cleaning or working. - For me this is the biggest cause of pain with my sciatic nerve.



2) You can try using medical tape to support your back. I used the method from Kinesio and it worked great for me when I was having more pain up in my hips.



3) You can also try using a maternity belt. The belts help your center of gravity by pulling the belly up and back. This give you better posture and can help reduce pressure on the sciatic nerve.



4) Warm baths may help as well. Also you can try using biofreeze to help relax the muscle, or a massage like someone else mentioned, even if you just do it yourself. The sciatic nerve runs through a muscle so when that muscle is tight it pinches the nerve, so you want to try and keep it loose.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

I had it very early (before I knew I was pregnant) and was actually seeing a chiropractor. I had it in my lower left back, and shooting down my left leg, which is where the nerve goes. The only thing which really helped was my husband giving a really deep massage, right from the small of my back, over the hip, and down the leg. There was one specific 'trigger point' always. Once I found out I was pregnant, of course I had to stop seeing the chiropractor (the next level of treatment would have been to use electrical stimulation, and I would have had to have an x-ray first -- and what's the first question before this? Well, when was your last period? I hadn't a clue (I have PCOS), so did a pregnancy test, and I was! Anyhow, I then got some accupressure done by an Asian doctor (only mentioning the ethnicity because they sure know what they are doing, and have specialized), and it helped a great deal. Be careful not to sit in one position too long, and limit your standing. Mine always hurt worse after walking, but that's the best exercise I was getting, so I just tried to space my walking out... When sleeping, the fetal position is best, because it relieves pressure. Good luck to you!

Answer 4

Some of these suggestions may not be applicable during pregnancy since your cause is different than mine, but you can decide what you can safely investigate and what is applicable for you.



I developed a bulging disc between lumbar 4 and 5 by running too much on the jogging trail. I'll tell you what I did.



1) My chiropractor recommended taking daily doses of 100 mg. of Vitamin B6.It strenghthens nerves. I noticed an improvement in 4 to 6 weeks.



2) Aleve is a good NSAID medication that is sold over the counter.

The doctor can prescribe a stronger form of the drug in the name Naproxen.The doctor can also prescribe Tramadol which is a narcotic and good pain reliever.

Back ice packs are a good idea also.Usually they can be placed around the waist area for the best relief.

(They connect with velcro) You can buy them at most pharmacies

-- example at the site below:

http://www.shapeupshop.com/fitness/recovery/ice_heat_wrap.htm



3) The lunge exercise is good for sciatic conditions.

An example is at the bottom of this site:

http://www.halhigdon.com/15Ktraining/Strength.html



4) I bought the Teeter inversion table. You can invert yourself partially

or completely for spine decompression. It feels great.

It costs a few hundred but I like it.

http://www.teeterhangups.com/home.html





5) I purchased the Rebuilder 2407 Electronic Stimulator (information at the site below).This product was intended for a variety of ailments including nerve damage due to diabetes but I found it helpful when the electrical attachments are placed slightly to the right and left of the spine where the bulging disk occurs. In my case,

just slightly lower than waist level to the right and left of the spine.

They want $699 for this, so it's something to consider even though it's a little expensive. I bought the more expensive model since it had the AC adapter associated with it rather than just the battery (and so it supplies more power). It definitely makes you feel good when you use it at 7.83 Hz.



http://www.rebuildermedical.com/

Answer 5

My daughter loved to lay on my sciatic nerve! But it didn't get bad until the end of my pregnancy. I know there are specific stretches you can do but it's kind of hard to explain them in writing. The other thing I did, that helped a lot was getting a prenatal massage. You need a doctor's note to get one but they are so worth it and they help alleviate pain very well. And they're not too expensive. Good Luck and I know your pain!

Answer 6

I got into a car accident at the end of my first trimester, and after that had horrible sciatic never pain. I went to a chiropractor - I know you say you can't do physical therapy, but have you considered a chiropractor? - and that did help a bit. Warm baths and compresses also helped, but there's not too much above that for it. After the baby was born it got a lot better, but I just had a bit of a resurgence the other day. Good luck - hope it gets better for you.

Answer 7

I suffer from back pain and in pregnancy its worse because of the sciatic but I have learned to deal with it and that's pretty much all you can do, after my first 2 pregnancies it went away, after my last one it stayed with me so almost as soon as I got pregnant it hit me with a passion.



All you can really do is hot baths and tylenol, do not lift heavy objects it makes it worse and try your hardest not to sit on hard surfaces like booths at a restaurant it makes it very hard to stand and walk after.



I fall to my knees quite often because it just stabs me with no warning so I am careful how I walk and yes I waddle even though my prego belly is barely showing, Just take it easy and it should go away after the baby.



Good Luck!

Answer 8

Do you have a heating pad? That would probably help or look online for some tips or stretches or whatever the physical therapists do and try to do something like that at home to help your back. It may get better, because your baby could just be lying on that nerve but it could also get worse so I highly suggest looking online and maybe putting a heating pad on it at least once a day, warm baths. Best of luck to you and I hope you feel better!

Answer 9

just like morning sickness... i had to suck it up! I'm still getting it pretty bad. when i roll over in bed, i h ave to do it in 3 steps (if i can even move at all) laying on my back made it MUCH worse! I lay on my left side (its the left side that has the most pain) and it feels OK.



I take Tylenol extra strength and that helps a little. now that I'm further along, doc told me i can take Motrin till about 30wks then i can't anymore. I'd say you can take Motrin now. I am 20wks 2days and he told me that over 4wks ago. For sure call and ask first, but I bet you'd be ok. It helps... but nothing makes it go away! Massaging the area helps too.



The joys of motherhood and pregnancy!



good luck!

Answer 10

I was told to lay on my back and pull my legs to my chest. One at a time and hold your leg for 30 sec. then switch. Do this 5 times each. I had this during my first semester also, I noticed worse when I wore high heels, so I bought some flat shoes (Aresoles were best) and that really helped. My pain went away in the middle of the 2 trimester.

Answer 11

oh my god i know exactly what you're talking about. i have a sciatic nerve. my dr prescribed cyclobenzaprine-a muscle relaxant. it's a category B drug and not known to be harmful to the baby. you might ask him about it. he also just gave me some excercises to do at home as opposed to doing PT because i could not afford it. this website talks about the muscle relaxant.



http://www.drugs.com/cyclobenzaprine.html



i hope it gets better! i know how you feel and it's horrible!

Answer 12

yes ive only had it the last few days and im 29 weeks have someone lightly massage your back