How does pregnancy cause back pain and sciatica?
The changes to your body throughout pregnancy affect more than physical appearance! 1. Familiar to most women is weight gain – 25 or more pounds. The increase in body weight, and stress when bending, puts pressure on a bulging or herniated disc in the low back. Back and leg pain (e.g., sciatica) are common complaints. 2. Weight gain may cause piriformis syndrome and sciatica. The piriformis muscles, located in the buttocks, assist thigh movement. Piriformis syndrome can develop when the muscle compresses the sciatica nerve, which passes through the buttock into the thigh. 3. What might not be immediately obvious is — as the uterus grows larger (and larger!), the body’s center of gravity is thrown off. Sometimes, as the uterus expands within the pelvis, the spinal nerves in the lumbar and sacral spine (low back) that feed into the sciatic nerve become compressed and irritated. This is another cause of back pain and sciatica. 4. Plus, hormones are at work. In particular is relaxin; a ho
