Continuing back pain after childbirth

[sunshiney]

Hi, hoping someone may have some advice or experience for me on this issue.

During pregnancy I had general pelvic and lower back pain, and a very sore left hip joint. I just attributed it to general strain of carrying the baby.

He was born a week ago and since then the pain is worse. Very sore lower back and pelvis and shooting pains down thighs. Have a feeling of weakness in my lower back, to the point of limping the first few steps after getting up from sitting. Walking hurts a lot, funnily enough now my right hip joint hurts instead.

I will be going to gp on Monday, but in the meantime has anyone any ideas on what might make me more comfortable this weekend. < a large alcoholic drink!!> some kind of physio excercises I could try?

am trying to keep posture good and doing pelvic floor excercise. Did not do the pelvic floor excercise when pg sadly as no doubt would have helped.

Thanks!

Congratulations on the birth! Sorry to hear you are suffering. I don't think there is much advice that can be given over the internet because your body has only just given birth one week ago and is very vulnerable, and you don't want to risk damaging it more by doing the wrong exercises.

I hope your GP gives you a physio referral and advises you on pain releif.

Carry on doing the pelvic floor exercises.

I think you should speak to your midwife about this. She should be able to give you some postnatal exercises to do.

It is common/normal to have lower back pain with a new baby because your abdominal muscles are quite weak.

Pain down your legs suggests sciatica, which is a trapped nerve. I have had this in pregnancy and there are exercises you can do to untrap the nerve - basically pelvic rocking.

Some women injure their coccyx when giving birth on their backs, and it just takes time for this to heal.

yes if you can contact your midwife today, then do so. I think that's a good idea, also further post birth complications need to be ruled out so I think it's better if you see someone sooner rather then later.

Thanks all x

have you heard of SPD?
if you had a vaginal birth and wasn't treated properly whilst having spd it would of made you worse.
This all sounds very familiar as i had it severely and was incapacitated for quite a while.
If your pain is worse getting up the stairs or out of the bath/shower etc i would definately mention spd to the gp as mine had no idea what it was when i told them the symptoms

I haven't had a baby but do have a comprehensive experience of back/hip pain issues and treatment! Hopefully someone will point out if any of these suggestions are a bad idea after birth.

Over the weekend, you could try stick-on heat packs for the lower back (from boots etc). I find they are a godsend - this will help if your pain is exacerbated by your lower back muscles being tight and spasmy, and won't do any harm if it's not. Plus paracetamol etc if you can take it. Lower back problems and weakened core muscles can also throw your hips out of whack I've discovered.

Pelvic floor/pilates exercises I was taught by NHS physio also work well to get your core muscles to kick in and support lower back. You need to make sure you're doing them right.

I would also recommend, if you are able to (and once any other complications are ruled out), getting yourself to a good osteopath. Hopefully this won't be your experience, but I've found GPs sometimes lack specialist knowledge in back problems and physio referrals can be slow. With some back problems an osteo can often set you right in a couple of sessions which is much quicker than the NHS route and prevents the problem getting worse. They can also spend the time to give you detailed advice to explain the problem and help you self-manage it. Many osteos specialise in post-partum care I think as it's quite a common issue.

Take care of yourself and make sure you're proactive in pursuing treatment - don't let anyone fob you off or discharge you before you feel you're on the mend.

(Oh, and congratulations on your baby!)