Second trimester back pains

knottie3cf9b92c3c72bdf2

Hi! 

First time mom here.. I'm just wondering if anyone else is experiencing lower back/spine pain? I'm 21 weeks and have gained 10 pounds but my tummy isn't too big yet so I'm worried my back pain is going to just get worse as I get bigger. I find that my back pain always gets worse as the day progresses, it feels like a shooting pain down my spine and it's hard for me to be out and about for too long or sit for too long. I'm wondering if anyone else has similar pain and whether it's gotten better or worse as pregnancy progresses?

kendralmosley

Hi! I’m with you. Im 20 weeks and for me, it’s mainly my lower back and sometimes my hips. My back especially tends to feel extremely tight if I sit for too long, or even sometimes when I wake up in the morning. This is my first pregnancy so I’m pretty curious as to what to expect moving forward.

kawaiicat7

TL;DR:
Our skeletons etc are spreading apart so prolly won't get better any time soon.

Hi there... 18 weeks along myself and honestly - my upper back is where I feel the most pain.

I broke some ribs not all that long ago and it's the same general area that hurt then - so my guess is the cause is that our ribs (and skeleton in general) are spreading out and shifting as we progress, and because of this - our distribution of not only weight, but really organs and everything, shifts - so what we're used to doing with comfort isn't the same, as our musculoskeletal structure has change and really will keep changing for quite some time to come.

Maybe try out different chairs, like even different styles, for a while.  I'm thinking of getting some kind of papason chair.

(No idea if that would work. I just know they were popular in the 90s and my brain keeps thinking about them)

https://www.amazon.com/papasan-chair/s?k=papasan+chair

jordieburd

If you've mentioned it to your Dr and they're not too concerned, it's more than likely your hips and pelvis spreading in preparation for childbirth (like @kawaiicat7 mentioned) and also just pressing from the growing uterus. Are you making sure to sleep on your side at night with a good pillow between your legs? I had a lot of sciatica pain with my first pregnancy and stretches made a world of difference, so you could try Youtubing some safe pregnant yoga stretches that are good for back pain! I hope that helps or it gets better soon!

kawaiicat7

The pillow between the legs is a great point.  I need to work on that -  i just did it last night (thanks to hubby suggestion) and it was definitely helpful.

Along w/everything else, apparently our lumbars change as well - which seems to be a problem for 80+% of pregnant women.  (mine is upper back pain)

https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/lumbar-lordosis-back-pain