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Discussion

Sciatica in Pregnancy

I am about 21 weeks along with my 2nd, and am having major sciatica pain allready. Didn't happen until way later last time. I know that when I see pts with sciatica we do little more than give them drugs, which don't seem to work anyway. Do any of you know any tricks or things I can try other than drugs?? I do yoga, which seems to help temporarily, but I just did it last night and am in pain again today.

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I hate to be the bearer of sunshine here, but nothing worked for me. I had to rest and put my feet up as much as possible. Maybe someone else will have some words of wisdom for you!

Congrats on the pregnancy! There must be something in the air here...babies everywhere!! :)

I had a pre-existing low back injury that really flared up in my second trimester. It worsened because instead of treating it as I usually do, with Robaxin and ibuprofen, I left it untreated because I was worried about taking ibuprofen while preggers. Poor choice, in hindsight.

When it got to where I couldn't sit down or walk, I went to see an orthopedic pain specialist, a guy who specialized in non-surgical or minimally invasive procedures. He prescribed physical therapy and a TENS unit in addition to Vicoprofen and Robaxin, to get the spasms under control.

It worked--I only had to take the drugs for three days, and only needed four PT visits total (I continued doing the exercises at home). The TENS unit was paid for by my insurance company after much wrangling, and worked fabulously well. I continued to use it off and on throughout my pregnancy and still have it.

So, I guess my advice is, don't ignore it. It will get worse. See an orthopedic specialist in addition to your OB, and ask for a prescription for PT.

Oh do I feel for you. Nothing worked for me either.

Hugs,

renerian

I've had sciatica since '95...it comes and goes. When I was pregnant with Emily, I saw a chiropractor every 1-2 weeks. Helped me tremendously! I also got a massage every 3 weeks which was wonderful. I told my husband I HAD to get them....what he doesn't know won't hurt him...:D It really helped to relax all the muscles and lessened the strain on my back.

What is your sciatica caused from? I have a disk pinching mine (can't remember which one) but I also have uneven hips, which puts more pressure on it too. I have so much scar tissue built up that I'll probably have to go for life.

But, I agree with the above poster, DON'T IGNORE IT!!!

Kristy

  • Experts

My daughter had it really bad starting mid point in her pregnancy. There was nothing she could do to relieve it without getting off of her feet.

What helped for her is the same things I to for my thrashed back; she would feel better in just a few minutes:

Lay flat on your back except enough pillow under your head to be comfortable, pile a pillow or towel roll onder your rear...about even with your hips...you want to place it so it rocks your pelvis forward and drops the small of your back onto the bed. Also putting an ice pack right in the scaitic notch for a few minutes while laying down can help a lot.

My daughter also got one of those wedge shaped pregnancy pillow things to support under her tummy, it and a pillow between the knees seemed to cut down on the frequancy/severity of the flares.

Gotta agree with the pillow between the knees. Simple, yet so helpful. I still use it, even 12 years after delivery, for those flare ups of pain.

I also like the full length body pillow, but it takes up a lot of room in the bed....almost like having another person in there beside you!

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