6 Exercises to Decrease Back Pain During Pregnancy

You don't have to live with back pain during your pregnancy!

Often clients will come to me because of their back pain during pregnancy and very often their doctors told them they just have to live with it. Back pain is a normal part of pregnancy. There's nothing you can do about it until baby is born.

I'm here to call BS on that! Every week I help pregnant people get relief from their back pain.

Causes of Back Pain During Pregnancy

There are a lot of changes happening in the body during pregnancy that contribute to back pain such as:

1. The growing size and weight of the baby

2. Hormonal changes creating less stability in the spine and pelvis

3. Postural changes in the spine to adapt to the growing baby

Here is a video of a typical physical therapy session for someone with back pain during their pregnancy.

6 Exercises to Relieve Back Pain During Pregnancy

1. Rocking on hands and knees: Gets the lower back moving.

2. Child's pose: A good stretch for the lower back.

3. Cat-cow: Gets the spine moving and less stiff.

4. Hug the baby: A good way to keep the abdominal muscles strong. In the video she demonstrates this exercise on hands and knees, in sitting, and in standing. Choose which one feels best for you.

5. Pelvic tilts and pelvic circles on the ball: Helps get the lower spine, hips and pelvis moving.

6. Figure 4 stretch: My most popular exercise! Almost everyone feels better with this exercise to stretch the back of the hip.

Not all these exercises will feel good for every pregnant person. Sometimes the weight or the position of the baby makes certain exercises feel worse. Skip those ones and try the ones that feel good.

Give these a try and let me know how they feel.

If you need more personalized help schedule a session to come see me in person or virtually.