I am pregnant and have the worst sciatica. It literally prevents me from walking/moving almost daily. My leg will catch and to the floor I go! I walk very carefully, as I know it is coming, but there has to be something I can do! I cannot even sit up or roll over without the pain shooting down my leg and butt. Moving my left leg at all is nearly impossible It is constant. I am so miserable moms!
My doc said that baths, heating pads and stretches are really my only options, as I am currently on modified bed rest and cannot do physical therapy or a massage. Nothing I have done is helping. As you moms are aware, I can only take Tylenol and that is a joke! Can anyone give me some advice? I have been in this severe pain for 3 months now and I don't know I can handle it much longer.
Well moms, I am going to try the pregnancy support belt and some different stretches. I am on bed rest due to pre term contractions, and my OBGYN worries that manipulation from a chiropractor, massage therapist, etc would cause more contractions. When I was hospitalized, just the doctor lightly touching my abdomen would cause me to contract. So, I guess I will just suffer for a little while longer and try not to move. Thanks moms!
i used a maternity belt I got at motherhood maternity. It was basically elastic and velcro and helped keep the baby off the sciatic nerve. It seemed pretty dumb when I bought it but it worked like a charm.
I had severe sciatica during all of my pregnancies, however I found that with chiropractice during my 4th pregnancy it alleviated my discomfort almost completely. I see you're not permitted to do physical therapy or massage, but would your ob allow chiropractic? It's worth a shot. I was very skeptical of chiro until I just couldn't take it anymore and I was amazed at the results. For my 5th pregnancy I went to my chiropractor from the beginning and had very little sciatic pain for the entire 9 months.
I hope you find relief...I know how horrible it can be.
PS - If you do consider chiropractic, please know there are special pregnancy tables to accomodate your growing belly and the dr's know how to adjust an expectant mommy.
I'd try a chiropractor, I went to one for pain in my pelvis/hips while I was pregnant and am a I total convert. (I thought it was a bunch of BS before.)
Chiropractic! I'm 26 wks with my third and I don't know what I would do without my chiropractor.
S.---Go see a chiropractor immediately, with or without your OB's permission. You are the boss and if his advice is not getting you any relief, you need to seek out another opinion, and chiros are perfect for your situation. Docs know a lot, but they don't know everything. I highly recommend chiropractic care as part of any health maintenance program and go to one whether I would need on or not, it's just good prevention, like having your teeth cleaned every 6 months.
As other posters have mentioned, there are chiros that specialize in treating pregnant patients, but I would be that any good chiro would be able to adjust you. I see a chiro that practices upper cervical care. I've also used Network Spinal Analysis. Neither of these 2 'crack' your spine. Much more gentle. Check it out and see what is available in your area.
Good luck. D.
Oh I have been there and done that and did NOT get a t-shirt! I was told to walk on it by the military docs... yeah, try walking out sciatica. Don't get me started on that or else it won't be PG around here with the language I would like to use.
You need to see a chiropractor... they do see pregnant women and in most cases will see you. They are not as expensive as they used to be and most insurances cover care. Tricare doesn't cover it, the insurance I was on when active duty and still on as a spouse. So I pay out of pocket and it is worth every penny.
I use to cry in so much pain and I had told the quacks at the base hospital how much it hurt. It was worse during pregnancy and when I stood for long periods of time. If I would have known about chiropractic care then I would have paid for it myself. The quacks told me to stretch it out. Sorry, stretching and being pregnant does not work for me.
Good luck and God bless you and your little one :)
The stretch that worked best for my sciatica is called a "supine groin stretch" it is described in the Pete Egoscue book "Pain Free" . It is not so easy to describe, so maybe you can look it up. I cannot remember how late in my preg I did this stretch. Definitely check with your OB/gyn about it. If the Dr says to limit time on your back, consider doing one side, waiting and doing the next side later. Sometimes if you are really tight, it takes 20 mins for the stretch to work. Don't worry though, the stretch is so easy, it is ridiculous; it won't hurt.
I used to work in PT, and dealt with this issue several time a day on multiple patients. Pregnant women were the worst because they had excess weight their bodies weren't used to. I am not sure which stretches you are doing but I have several that I can type out for you.
You also don't need to go to a PT to get a massage. Have your spouse/partner/friend massage you. This is gonna sound weird, they need to massage your buttock on the affected side. Have them take their thumb or their knuckles and gently go in circles on that butt cheek. They can adjust pressure based on how it feels to you. When they start you will probably only stand a little bit of pressure because of the pain. As your pain gets better you can stand more pressure. They can also do this on your low back, but not on your spine. Let me know if you want more stretches or different ones (again I would need to know which ones your doing) and Good Luck!
Can't wait to hear the answers for the next time we get pregnant. I had it soooo bad with my last child and I was trying to wait tables until I was 38 weeks! I don't know how I survived. I literally had to crawl back to bed a few nights because the pain was too bad to get off the floor.
*** Didn'nt read the bottom you can't do PT or Massages I hate to say it but it's something your going to have to deal with a little while longer.Change positions often use lots of pillows keep feet propped up as much as possible.The advice your doc has given you is great since your on bedrest.Speak up with your OB he'll refer you to physical threapy works great it releaved mine only wish I had done it with my 1st pregnancy when I developed restless leg syndrome.
I had it with my first pregnancy. I never did the heating pad and baths; applied ice packs several times a day instead. Also, assuming you're feet aren't too swollen, its important that you wear athletic shoes in order to support your legs and hips better (instead of walking around barefoot). I also started sleeping on top of a super mushy pillow. Sleeping directly on the mattress was too hard on my lower back and hip and seemed to aggravate it.
When you're resting, are your feet elevated?
Dr. Easton in Michigan City really helped my with my sciatica pain. He and his staff were great.
L. T
I had it just as bad as you are describing starting early in my pregnancy. I don't miss that pain at all. Your restrictions aren't helping matter I am sure. Do you have access to an indoor pool? My doctor had me get in our pool in the deep in and gently bring my knees to my chest to stretch. It helped tremendously. The buoyancy in the water also gave my body a little break. I bought a pregnancy pillow. This helped a lot. Usually it was too hot for me to stay wrapped up in all night, but even using it for a few hours helped. It supported my spine and took the pressure off while I slept. I was also told to invest in some New Balance walking tennis shoes...they definitely looked a little silly with some of my outfits, but as a teacher on her feet all day, sometimes you do what you gotta do. Hang in there mama!
Can you do acupuncture?
I had this very bad... but mostly a night, I would wake up screaming, My dr said all the things you did, but my midwife said to eats lots and lots of bananas, bc the potassium helps.
