Most people are already fully aware that the back is a very complex part of the body. In general back pain could be caused by many different elements, such as ligaments, muscles, discs, facet joints or nerves.

As you would expect growing a human in your tummy may certainly increase the possibility of pain in this multifaceted body part. A very common cause for back ache in pregnancy is the change in hormone levels. During pregnancy, your body makes a hormone called Relaxin that allows ligaments in the pelvic area to relax and the joints to become looser in preparation for the birth process. The same hormone can cause ligaments that support the spine to loosen, leading to instability and pain.

Muscle separation can also occur as the uterus expands, two parallel sheets of muscles (the rectal abdominis muscles), which run from the rib cage to the pubic bone, may separate along the center seam. This separation may worsen back pain.

Now for the good news! There are many ways to help ease back pain in pregnancy. Having had two pregnancies and back ache in both I can personally recommend using a hot water bottle. For me, it really did help to alleviate some of the pain. I also found that taking a soak in warm bath gave similar relief.

Using exercise to strengthen back and abdominal muscles is a good way to keep the back pain to a minimum if at all. It is important when creating an exercise program during pregnancy that you have the guidance from your physiotherapist or a trained professional.

Here at Physit, all our consultant physiotherapists are trained to use acupuncture. They have each explained to me that it can be great in managing back pain during pregnancy and have all had positive feedback from patients thus far. However, there are some limitations as to its use in certain trimesters of your pregnancy so it is very important to liaise with your therapist regarding the stage of pregnancy you are currently at.

Finally, if you did not suffer with back pain prior to becoming pregnant, then it is very likely that your symptoms will subside soon after giving birth.

For more information on back pain during pregnancy you can follow the link below:

http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/back-pain-in-pregnancy#1