Any Suggestions for Relief of Sciatic Nerve Pain in Pregnancy?

I got one of those big inflatable exercise/yoga balls and would sit on it and bounce and also roll my hips around. I originally did it as playing, but then it made my nerve pain go away! It helped with my 2nd pregnancy too.

Unfortunately the pain you are going to have is only to get worse as the closer the due date gets. I had the same problem and according to my doctor their was not much that could be done until after the delivery. The only thing that seemed to help me at all is to sleep on the same side that the pain was on, it seemed to help the baby move a tiny bit off of the nerve. The only other thing that I could do was to try and walk around and massage the baby as much as I could again sometimes that would help the baby move a little bit. Good luck.

I had the same problem. When I had it, chiropractic (while very wonderful) did not help in that situation. I got great help from a physical therapist. Just another avenue to consider.

Call and Airrosti Therapist and ask if they can do anything to help you, I see Dr Smith, in Keller. It is amazing what they can do, if they can help you will notice a difference immediately!!! they will also teach you some exercises to prevent further problems, it was cheaper than the PT and worked faster for my problem but I I had a different issue, if you want more details feel free to contact me. you can look up the closest Dr on www.airrosti.com it is Amazing!!!

J.,
Hip stretches should help. Here's a link to a very good website: http://www.webmd.com/video/flexible-foam

The best thing I did for my body while I was pregnant was exercise and prenatal yoga. I feel many of my aches and pains were eased with yoga. My major complaints were hip and sciatic pain, but I always felt better after attending the yoga class. And I used the exercises and stretches at home when I needed some relief. There's a great instructor MiMi Mears at Move Studio in Richardson. Her class was on Wednesday mornings when I went. If you can't go during the week I'm not sure if she has a weekend class, but Dallas Yoga Center has a Saturday class. If you're able to make the commitment and go regularly, I think you'll feel a difference. I loved being pregnant, and I think I felt so good because of yoga and exercise. This is one of the best times in a woman's life, and you should enjoy it!

Get on your hands and knees and let gravity pull the baby off your sciatic nerve. I had this problem and this is what The Nesting Place and my doctor both suggested and it did help.

Hey -
I had this same problem (very badly) during my first pregnancy and slightly less so during my 2nd pregnancy. Personally, I would forget about the chiropractors, they are NOT specialists when it comes to pregnancy. I went to one at first, but she flat out said that she was not the best resource because she couldn't do much while I was pregnant. Then, I went to a physical therapist and she worked a miracle on me. She also gave me a few exercises that I did morning and evening during the pregnancy. During the 2nd pregnancy, I went to a physical therapist right away and I think I was able to avoid the most severe pain.

However, ever since I had the kids, my lower back has never been the same. I currently do "core" exercises every morning to strengthen my core muscles to help with my back.

Good luck! Oh, and also, start wearing flat shoes. You will be amazed at the relief you feel when you were flat shoes. I generally wore 1 - 1.5" shoes - which are relatively flat compared to spikes that a lot of women wear. But even those were bad while I was pregnant.

-L.

I've experienced the same thing with both my pregnancies. A pregnancy pillow helps a lot (or at least a pillow between your knees). With this pregnancy (I'm almost 25 weeks now), I had a few days where it hurt so bad that I just lay on a heating pad and took Tylenol b/c just standing up hurt. Stretching will help to keep everything loose, and I also find that walking regularly helps (except when it's really bad, then I use the heating pad since it hurts too bad to walk).

i second the pregnancy pillow and will add to sit on an exercise ball. it's big and forces your hips to open up. sit on it for an hour or so a day and see if it helps. heck, use it during labor!

Hi J.,

I thought I had sciatic nervice pain but I was diagnosed by an orthopedist as having sacroiliitis. Many have received relief by stretching, chiropractic and that's so great. Nothing worked for me. As you, I started having this pain before my tubby was even that big and it got horribly worse. Getting up from the couch was excrutiating. The orthopedist gave me a shot in my buttock but I got no relief. He didn't want to treat me because I was pregnant. It was finally my OBGYN that said how about a Tens Unit. This is a unit that you wear about cell phone size that has electrodes leads. It zaps you where you put the leads. Basic idea is your brain can't interpret two different signals; pain and the electrical shock. Hard to explain...google it. Anyway, I wore it all over the place. It was the only thing that helped MANAGE the pain, didn't make it go away. Now I hope you don't have a case as bad as I did. At one point they had me go in for an MRI and I was in bed it vicodin one weekend because I couldn't stand. I was so frustrated, angry and in pain. It was horrible. I just wanted you to know my story and a possible option but I hope and pray stretching and chiropractic will be the key for you. All the best.

Chiropractor. I have a friend who is a chiroprator and works out of Euless. He specializes in things like that. I had to see him with mine when I was pregnant and barely able to walk. It just took one adjustment. His name is Brett Payne, and he's at Main Street Chiropractic in Euless. Good luck!

I've had sciatic nerve problems for over 20 years (since high school) and have tried everything and wasted a ton of money. I FINALLY found something that works. It's a foam roller. You can get one at Target in the exercise area for $20 (it looks like a short, fat, red swimming pool noodle). It comes with an instructional DVD. Watch it and then start rolling. You'll want to focus the rolling on your "butt cheek" area, side of your legs and hamstrings. It might hurt at first, but keep after it. You just need to release all the muscles around the area. I feel for you b/c it does HURT. However, this WILL work. I've suggested this to friends with your problem and back problems and they all love it.

I had the same problem when I was pregnant. My doctor showed me some stretches that helped a little, perhaps you chiropractor can do the same for you. Good luck! I know how painful it can be.

I know this sounds really weird, but I had it with both of my pregnancies and what helped for me was wearing high heels. I stayed off my feet as much as possible, but I would wear high heels to work and around the house and it really helped. Hope that helps, Good Luck!

walk, walk, walk, walk, walk. I was on bedrest for one pregnancy and had to lay on the sciatic nerve. It ached for months afterwards. The only thing that helped me was to walk a lot (which hurt) and then have my husband do pressure points (find the line that hurt and push on it until I couldn't stand it all the way down my leg.) In my case, I had difficulty for about seven months after my pregnancy. But not in the 9 years since!

VickiS

I had the same problem and went to physical therapy. I only went once for them to show me some stretches and stuff. It worked GREAT!!!! I wish I could explain the stretches but I would just sound silly trying to do so. Anythig you can do to strech out your hips and pelvis will work great. Try and sit with one leg on the other such as your foot on top of your other kne...like where it makes a triangle and slowly lean forward. Wish I could help more. There was also this belt they recomended me buying to support the weigh but I didnt. It was like 200. Hope it gets better

I had it durring both my pregnancies and went to therapy the first and just did the exercises and streaches with the second. It really helped alot. I would talk to you dr about going to PT.

In the mean time, avoid twisting motions (vaccuuming, sweeping, bending and lifting, this is a really great excuse to get your hubby to help out for the rest of your pregnancy) Another thing to do is when you get out of your car or your bed put both feet out and push with your hands and stand straight up. Avoiding twisting, turning motions was key for me to prevent the pain.

Good luck and congrats on your baby :)

Hi there!
Unfortunately, I was never able to find anyrhing to make the pain go awy permanently, but these two things helped for a little while. Try sitting on one of theose exercise balls and gently bouncing up and down. It takes some of the pressure off of your hips. Also, try getting down on all fours and then aching your back up and then down a few times, looking up when you arch down. This can allow for the baby to move positions and move off your back.

I would highly suggest a prenatal massage. I have been going to the chiro for quite a while and the massage helped me a LOT better (just got one on Monday!)

I had the same problem during my pregnancy. The chiropractor showed my hubby how to stretch my hip out. He would do that every night for me and it really worked!

Have you tried pregnancy massages? Hopefully that could provide relief.

Best wishes.

If you know any yoga instructors that do pre-natal yoga, that helped me. There is a stretch called "pigeon pose" that is very awesome. Stretches your hips and legs out. Also, the cat/cow (all fours) stretch in your back could help. Good luck. The good news is - it goes away when beautiful baby arrives!

I was so bad that I could not walk, bend or get off the couch, everything I did HURT. It was horrible. The cheapest and most effective immediate help is a maternity belt. I got relief as soon as I put it on. My husband took me to the mall and rented a motorized wheelchair because I could not even walk at the time. We went to Motherhood Maternity and the clerk helped me find one in my size and my life was changed that very day.

I had this with my last pregnancy, so I know exactly how horrible it feels. They say that the baby will move, eventually, and get off of the nerve. Mine did not ( not to scare you) so I had the pain for the 2nd half of my pregnancy. Your DR can also send you to physical therapy. I got pre natal massages. I found that it would release the pain for a good 2 weeks. Maybe if you tried that, then during that time, your baby would find a new position. It is kind of pricey but it does help, even if it is temporary....you might can go a few days with out crying in pain.

I liked Red Door Spa the best. I tried some less expensive ones, but the therapist did not work the area as well. You must tell them that it is bothering you so they can work the area. You can also take a tennis ball and massage the area yourself or have your husband help. Best of Luck!!! Trust me, it will be worth it in the end when you see your beautiful baby!!!

Cold packs, Tylenol, and the chiropractor are what helped me.

It took a while for the chiro visits to do any good since they couldn't take Xrays. Also, different chiros use different techniques and you may find that a different chiro would be better for you. The one I used practiced a technique called Gonastic (or something like that).

Good Luck!

Stick with the Chiro!!! I had it terribly with both pregnancies and the chiro was a miracle worker! With #1, I went 3x/wk at first. Mine started at the same time (21 weeks), and was notably better within 3 weeks. With #2, I started going regularly for this adjustment when we were planning to get pregnant, and it was much better.

And, they say labor is easier while being adjusted. I had #2 all naturally and it was fast (less than 2 hrs), but still hurt...