What causes lumbar pain in pregnant women?

Pregnancy is the most special period. Often at this time, many situations that make family members anxious will arise due to some small reasons. Some pregnant women experience lumbar pain, and people who don't know much about this condition will treat it incorrectly. So it is better to understand what causes lumbar pain in pregnant women? The editor will share with you what is going on based on his own personal experience.

The first is true back pain, which is caused by the same reasons for pregnant women as for everyone else. Poor posture, improper lifting techniques, weak or tight muscles, or injuries can cause back pain by putting stress on the ligaments, muscles, pelvis, and joints. Generally speaking, pregnant women who experience this type of back pain already had problems before pregnancy. Back pain is often worse in the afternoon or evening, or after you've been standing for a long time. This is because the weight of you and your baby causes your muscles to tire and your ligaments to loosen slightly. Multiple studies have shown that if your back is very curved, it will not cause back pain during pregnancy.

A small number of women experience sciatica during pregnancy, pain in the sciatic nerve caused by inflammation or pressure on the back. Sometimes this weakens the sciatic nerve, causing weakness or tingling. Sciatica may or may not be accompanied by back pain, and sometimes the pain radiates down the back of the leg. Many people think that sciatica in pregnant women is caused by the baby compressing the nerves, but this is not the case. In fact, if you suffer from sciatica, it will flare up whether you are pregnant or not.

Sciatica: 1. General symptoms

(1) The pain is mainly limited to the sciatic nerve distribution area, the posterior thigh, the posterior and lateral calf, and the foot. Patients with severe pain may adopt a unique posture: bending their waist, bending their knees, and standing on their toes. If the lesion is located at the nerve root, the pain will worsen when the pressure in the spinal canal increases (coughing, exerting force).

(2) The degree of muscle weakness can vary greatly depending on the cause, location of the lesion, and the extent of the damage. The muscles innervated by the sciatic nerve may be completely or partially weak or paralyzed.

(3) There may or may not be tenderness over the sciatic nerve trunk at the sciatic notch.

(4) There is a sciatic nerve traction sign, positive Lasegue sign and its equivalent sign. The presence of this sign is often parallel to the severity of pain. This symptom may disappear after local anesthesia of the sciatic nerve root or nerve trunk.

(5) The Achilles tendon reflex decreases or disappears, and the knee reflex may increase due to stimulation.

(6) There may be a decrease or disappearance of various sensations in the area innervated by the sciatic nerve, including a decrease in vibration sensation at the lateral ankle, or there may be very mild sensory impairment.

2. Sciatica

It is often accompanied by various types of infections and systemic diseases, such as upper respiratory tract infections. Because the sciatic nerve is relatively superficial, sciatica is prone to occur when exposed to moisture or cold. When sciatica occurs due to systemic diseases, attention should be paid to the presence of complications such as collagen disease and diabetes.

Most cases of sciatica are unilateral and not accompanied by waist or back pain. The pain is generally continuous but can also be paroxysmal. Symptoms worsen when spinal canal pressure increases and can also radiate along the sciatic nerve. There is obvious tenderness in the sciatic nerve trunk and gastrocnemius tenderness. The pain and muscle weakness are often not parallel. The pain is generally severe, while the muscle weakness is often not obvious. In the acute phase, it is difficult to judge motor function due to pain. Foot drop and atrophy of the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles may be detected. The Achilles tendon reflex is reduced or absent, but the Achilles tendon reflex may also be normal. The knee reflex is normal, and superficial sensory impairment is obvious.

The above article has briefly introduced the situation of lumbar pain in pregnant women. Therefore, we remind the patients' families not to panic. When such situations occur, they should go to the hospital in time to determine whether the cause is really an illness. With regular treatment, I believe that the patient will recover soon and many problems can be avoided.