Any pregnant woman will feel lower back pain.
The dull ache turns into a major discomfort in the back, or more specifically, the tailbone, for about one-third of pregnant women.
The coccyx, or tailbone, is located at the base of your spine, behind your uterus, and above your butt.
It acts as an attachment point for the pelvic floor muscles that support your bladder, colon, and uterus and aids in sitting stability.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
✅ Most women experience relief from tailbone discomfort soon after giving birth.
✅ Your doctor might advise surgery only in the most extreme circumstances.
✅ There are several solutions available to ease your discomfort and lessen your pain.
✅ A physical therapist might be able to help if your pain is severe or other treatments are not quite working.
While 50% to 80% of pregnant women report back pain, about 70% of women have low-back discomfort at some point in their life. Nearly 10% of them experience crippling discomfort.
The shifting and loosing of the pelvic ligaments frequently result in tailbone pain. Your body releases a hormone called relaxin during pregnancy. Your pelvic ligaments become more flexible and loose as a result of the hormone, allowing you to give birth and allowing room for the baby to grow.
As a result, the pelvic floor muscles, which provide body stability, may contract more tightly. Pain results from the tailbone’s connection to the muscles of the pelvic floor.
Your center of balance and posture change as your abdomen grows, placing pressure on the low back and tailbone, which aren’t usually weight-bearing areas. Additionally, as your baby grows, the tailbone may start to experience pressure, making standing and sitting uncomfortable.
In addition, conditions like constipation or insufficient exercise can also be causes of tailbone pain. There are things you may take to reduce derriere discomfort even though we might not be able to treat tailbone pain.
How to release tension from your tailbone
While you can’t completely prevent tailbone discomfort during your third and late second trimesters, there are steps you may take to alleviate it.
Be mindful of your posture.
While expecting, you might have the propensity to slouch forward or arch your back, but this might harm your spine over time. Ensure that your feet are flat on the ground and that you are sitting up straight. Straighten your neck and slightly curve your back while using your core.
Because there are so many loose ligaments during pregnancy, balance and symmetry are particularly crucial. You shouldn’t put your pants on while standing up and putting one leg in at a time, step out of bed with one leg, or cross your legs. These asymmetrical movements can make tailbone pain worse.
Keep in mind that staying in one place for a long time might exacerbate pain, especially when sitting, so get up and walk around periodically.
Use specialized pillows
Use a customized seat cushion to relieve some of the strain on your sore tailbone. Although a donut pillow would come to mind first, we found that it can occasionally put pressure in other places. We advise a wedge-shaped cushion instead with a cutout for the tailbone area.
When you go to bed, you might also want to think about bringing a spare pillow. To place your hips and knees in a more comfortable, neutral posture, place it between your legs.
Utilize a painkiller with your doctor’s approval.
There are a few solutions that might help with tailbone pain relief, though we usually strive to limit medication during pregnancy. This includes numbing patches that are used topically, acetaminophen (Tylenol), or a muscle relaxant like Flexeril.
Always consult your OB/GYN before using any prescription or over-the-counter drugs.
Be aware of the dangers of using NSAIDs and ibuprofen during pregnancy. Recently the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned against using NSAIDs from 20 weeks of pregnancy until delivery. The third trimester was the only one covered by the prior advice.
Try not to get constipation.
The rectum and tailbone are close together. Regrettably, iron supplements can impede digestion and pregnant hormones can increase the risk of constipation. Keeping things moving and avoiding pain can be made easier by drinking plenty of water, staying active, and eating foods high in fiber.
Check with a physical therapist
A physical therapist might be able to help if your pain is severe or other treatments are not quite working. In addition to keeping muscular strength and addressing the instability that contributes to the discomfort, our objective is to lessen muscle stress.
Your individualized treatment plan will likely involve breathing and stretching exercises to assist the pelvic floor muscles to loosen up and lengthen. We may measure you for a belt or brace to aid in pelvic stabilization.
In order to further relieve muscle tension and pain, therapy may also entail manipulation of the tailbone and myofascial release of the pelvic floor muscles that attach to the tailbone from both an internal and an exterior perspective.
Will delivery make tailbone pain better?
Most women experience relief from tailbone discomfort soon after giving birth. Unfortunately, there are situations when pelvic floor dysfunction and persistent tailbone pain are brought on by the instability brought on by loose ligaments during pregnancy and the shock of delivery.
Some patients may benefit from corticosteroid injections if over-the-counter medications and physical therapy are ineffective. Because these injections are typically guided by fluoroscopy, an imaging method that makes use of X-rays, we strive to avoid giving them during pregnancy.
Your doctor might advise surgery only in the most extreme circumstances. This is probably not going to be taken into consideration until after birth, and then only if more conservative treatments are unsuccessful.
There are several solutions available to us to ease your discomfort and lessen your pain. There is no need to endure discomfort, so if it persists or gets worse, consult your doctor about what to do next.