Pregnant woman with left buttocks and thigh pain

It is said that pregnancy is not easy. During the nearly ten months, you have to go through various hardships, such as morning sickness, insomnia, back pain, and some pregnant women will feel pain in the buttocks and thighs in the late pregnancy. Symptoms like morning sickness, insomnia, and back pain are understandable, but what is pain in the buttocks and thighs? This is usually caused by the separation of the ischial tuberosity, which is called "sciatica" in medicine.

1. What is pubic separation?

When not pregnant, the distance between the female pubic symphysis is 4-5mm. During pregnancy, the tendons of pregnant women become loose, causing the ischial tuberosities to separate slightly, which increases the flexibility of the pelvis, provides more space for the fetus in the late pregnancy, and helps the fetus pass smoothly during delivery. Generally, it is sufficient to increase the distance by 2-3mm.

Normal separation of the ischial tuberosities will not make pregnant mothers feel uncomfortable, and after delivery, the distance between the ischial tuberosities will gradually decrease, and will return to its pre-delivery state in about a month.

But there are always unexpected things. For some pregnant women, due to some factors, the pubic symphysis is too separated, causing the ischial tuberosity distance to exceed 10mm, or the ischial tuberosity distance is still more than 6mm after postpartum recovery. In this case, pregnant women will feel obvious pain in the pubic symphysis, which will also cause pain in the vulva and inner thighs. The pain is especially aggravated when one leg is under stress, such as walking up stairs, putting on pants, or turning over.

2. Four conditions will aggravate the separation of the sciatic tuberosity

We understand that normal ischial tuberosity separation is necessary and will not cause discomfort. But it is not good to aggravate this kind of separation, so what causes the aggravation of the ischial tuberosity separation?

1. If a certain joint of the pregnant mother's pelvis is injured, or the body is overly sensitive to the late pregnancy, causing excessive relaxation of the tendons, it will aggravate pubic separation.

2. If the pregnant mother's pelvis is too small, the fetus is too large, or it is a multiple birth, it will increase the pressure on the pelvis, causing the separation of the ischial tuberosity to be aggravated. In particular, if the fetus is too large, it will not only aggravate the separation, but also delay the delivery process, causing damage to the ligaments of the ischial tuberosity and causing pubic separation pain. Therefore, pregnant mothers should not only supplement nutrition during pregnancy, but also control their weight to prevent the baby in the belly from becoming too big.

3. Pregnant mothers use too much force when standing up or squatting, or often lift objects and lower their heads, which will aggravate the separation of the ischial tuberosity. Therefore, pregnant mothers should not be too hasty in doing anything, but take it slowly.

4. If the pregnant woman has an incorrect posture during delivery and does not use enough strength, it will cause slight displacement of the sacroiliac joint, resulting in the inability of the pubic symphysis to return to its normal position, causing pubic separation pain after delivery.