Joint pain after birth - wrists and knees

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Hello

Not sure if this is for here of the health forum.

My wrists really hurt a lot of the time, as do my knees when I do anything with them. My elbows also get sore. I’ve read this happens sometimes after birth especially if you’re breastfeeding or expressing breast milk.

It’s really sore - today I feel quite teary about my wrists. I’m only in my early thirties.

Is this something that is normal or should I try to speak to a doctor?

Is there anything that helps? I’m worried about it being indicative of underlying future problems with joints.

Thanks

I after all 3 of my kids

With no 1 I eventually needed a steroid injection for my wrist (no problems after that)

With no 2 I had hip pain, has physio doe that but it just settled on its own eventually

With no 3 (5 months old) I just get the odd twinge in my knees

I think I got it in my wrists at first, was BFing, but I'm sure it settled quite quickly.

I had this in my knees and it was awful. I hobbled down the stairs like an old lady every morning. I even had blood tests to check for arthritis. Turns out it was hormonal and stopped once I stopped BF. Sure enough, I had exactly the same after my second DO

I had it in my thumbs and wrists after my first. Was so bad I went to the docs and got a 'see how it goes' type response. I then got pregnant pretty quickly again and the pregnancy hormones relaxed it all. A few months on a can feel my thumbs beginning to click again.

Pregnancy and childbirth really does a number on women's bodies in all sorts of bizarre ways.

Yes, mine peaked at 4 months ish. I was convinced I had arthritis, if I searched my symptoms that’s all that would come up then I found a thread somewhere where lots of women had the same when BFing.

It will pass, take some vitamins and eat well.

Thank you ladies. That’s reassuring that it is something that is common and normal and passes. But yes, just another unexpected side effect of childbirth and pregnancy….

Sympathies OP, I had the same issues with my knees and ankles. I know it won't help the wrists but do you have shoes with good arch support? I found birkenstocks or something similar made the joints less painful

I had this too, mostly in the small joints of my hands and feet. As my hands were involved, I had issues with picking up my baby and with breastfeeding. Just at the point where I decided I really needed to see a doctor about it, it let up and steadily got better. If I remember correctly, it lasted about three weeks at its highest intensity, took another couple of weeks or so to go away.
I only had the one baby so I don't know whether it would have happened again with another pregnancy; in my many months of reading pregnancy and childbirth books, I had never come across this as a possibility, but afterwards, when I developed this arthralgia, I realized there are a number of women with the same issue.

I had it in my knees, it was quite depressing thinking that was it now. Fortunately it went away after a while - I suddenly realised climbing the stairs one day that I wasn't in pain anymore. Very odd!

It must be hormonal as I get that with peri menopause!

I get acupuncture but it’s not cleared those symptoms so although I’d recommend it for most things I don’t know if it would help with this!

Hopefully it will settle. So annoying when you have more important things to do like bf! Congrats on dc.

I wasn’t sure if hormonal or a lack of calcium? But I am taking calcium pills as advised by doctor as standard post-part in…

Thank you for the congratulations. He is of course worth it but it’s still a bloody irritating side effect.

Hi!

Did this eventually subside and did you find out the cause? Nearly months PP and my knees are in bits!

I didn’t find out the cause, but I am now nearly 3 months post partum and the pain has totally gone away. All the very very best.

I did have gestational diabetes and apparently diabetes can be connected to joint pain, so perhaps that was it.