My back...

[BabyOrSanta]

31 weeks now, still got a very small bump but... my back.

Stood last night to cut up loads of veg for the freezer and ended up sitting down after about half an hour.
Got up in the night and bent down to see what was wrong with DDog (she was fine) and may back clicked quite a few times (way more than normal, it just kept clicking).
I also braved the supermarket the other day which gave me incredible back ache.
Now laid in bed as it's so painful.

The pain is in my lower back and is kind of butterflying round my bum either side and it's at the tops of the front of my legs. It feels like it wants to click but it doesn't. I can still more or less do normal things but there's a sort of barrier when I get so far.
Is this the start of SPD or would you say it's normal pregnancy pain?
Either way, what can I do about it? I don't have a bath

It's often related to SPD. Usually you feel SPD in your pubic bone (right between the legs), but it's all connected and likely do to your SI joints in your pelvis being out of alignment (they are really lose and wobbly in pregnancy). I have SI joint dysfunction normally, nothing to do with pregnancy, but pregnancy does make it worse.

What's helped me is staying mobile and active (walking, sitting on birth ball and swivelling around to keep hips moving throughout the day, yoga, swimming, etc.) and doing stretches every day. Have a look for stretches for sciatica. These tend to help the most for me. You may also really want to see an osteopath or chiropractor for some treatment. My last pregnancy it was so bad I could barely walk, but I saw my osteopath for 2 appts a few weeks apart and she adjusted my pelvis, which was tilted, hence why it feels like it needs to pop but doesn't, it's like it gets stuck and can't get out of that position again. I also started swimming 3 times a week. It made such a difference. Like I said, I have low back pain anyway, but I was about 95% better from then up until I went into labour. It started for me around 30 weeks last time too.

I suffered really bad back pain with my second, I thought it was sciatica as was getting it in my back and bum rather than my pelvis (like spd) and real shooting pains, jarring etc.
But it is all connected and turns out it was my loose pelvis joints knocking everything else out. A pelvic support band genuinely helped.

If I go and see someone, is there any chance of them making it worse?

And do they make supports that wouldn't be too tight on my stupidly small bump?

Thank you both for your help

You should be able to get put on a waiting list to see the hospital maternity Physio if you speak to your midwife (I also did this, thought it would be weeks and weeks but actually it was very quick - worth a go?)
Yes you can get proper pregnancy support belts that sit just under your bump, the idea is they sit quite low around your hips and pelvis rather than across your tummy.
Good luck xx

Ps - the actual pregnancy belts are expensive and after I'd done a bit of research, decided to just buy a pelvic support belt for a tenner from amazon or something. I just wore it under my bump (and I was massive!) and it was really comfortable.

I’m 38 weeks (39 tomorrow) and I’ve really suffered with my back too. My pains started quite early in though, maybe at about 13 weeks or so. Exactly how you’re describing OP, around either side of my bum and into my hips and shooting down my legs. GP was fab and referred me to physio really quickly, I was convinced I had sciatica but the physio said my pelvis is actually misaligned, almost like its leaning toward one side more than the other. Maybe you’ve got a similar problem? She gave me some exercises and what was basically a huge tubi-grip bandage that covered me from just under my boobs to the bottom of my waist and that just seemed to hold everything in a bit tighter, didn’t stop the pain completely but took the sharp, nasty edge off it so I could get by day to day without too much trouble (I do a lot of manual handling as a HCA in hospital as a job so don’t think that helped things either, lots of bending and twisting and moving patients etc)
Hate to say it’s definitely gotten worse as I’ve gotten bigger (I’ve got a really small bump too!) but definitely go and see your GP sooner rather than later, hopefully then you can be seen by someone before baby arrives. My gym ball has also been a god send!!
Fingers crossed you get some relief soon

I had terrible lower back pain for a while. Midwife thought it was beause baby was lying back to back. I read up on baby turning and did lots of lying in my side, leaning over a ball etc and the pain has all gone now. Lying on your back in bed or reclining on the sofa feels like the right thing to do, but for me that was exacerbating it.

I just wish it would stop hurting ATM. Even when it's not hurting it's mildly aching.

I'll talk to the MW if it doesn't go off soonish.
Thank you for the tip about lying on my side - that could well be one of my problems. It's just so much easier to lie on my back while watching tv etc. A rearrangement of pillows maybe in order...

Thank you all for your help
Feeling a bit more hopeful now I know there's different things to try