Back pain 8 months postpartum

[Noona86]

I’ve had a bad back since I gave birth but have been seeing a personal trainer which has made a huge difference and I don’t have any aches during the day now. However, I have this strange pain at night where I wake up with my back completely seized up and to move out of what feels like a ‘frozen’ position is agony. I didn’t have this before or during pregnancy and have been doing work to strengthen my core and glutes which as I say has really helped with the general backache, I just can’t figure out what this pain at night is. I had an epidural and emergency c section. Could it be because of epidural? I’m a bit worried it’s damaged me long term!

Every single anaesthetist I work with is adamant epidurals do not cause back pain. Pregnancy, birth, and caring for a baby most definately does frequently result in back pain though. Are you breastfeeding? If so your hormone levels can still affect the softness of your ligaments which could contribute (I'm a midwife not a physio so I know a bit but no expert). I saw a women's health physio a few months ago PN who really helped with some massage to release the 'stuck' bits, exercises and general assessment. Tight hip flexors often cause that frozen back pain. Yoga focused on the hips/low back helps me with that. The glute and core work are great things to stabilise and relieve pain but might not necessarily realign any bits that are unbalanced or too tight. A specialist physio can assess that and if needed manipulate your pelvis. I hope you find what works for you soon.

Thank you for responding - that’s reassuring that epidurals shouldn’t generally cause long term pain. I’ve looked into getting a session with a physio so I hope that helps. I think I probably do have tight hips - I didn’t know that could contribute to back pain so will see what I can do to address that!

Good luck @Noona86!