Sciatica in Pregnancy

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I’m really struggling with lower back pain and sciatica down my left side (shooting pain in the left-side of my bum, with every stride I take, which travels down the back of my leg and my whole left leg is floppy/flat-footed).

This is a previous problem which I’ve aggravated (we moved house over new year and I do a physical job - albeit part time), rather than being brought on by pregnancy specifically.

Anyway, I’ve spoken with a GP and he said to take paracetamol and have a hot bath.
I wasn’t sure about either of these things! I know paracetamol is safe during pregnancy but I didn’t think it did much for sciatica.
Also, I didn’t think hot baths were recommended for pregnant women?

So I was wondering, has/does anyone else struggle with sciatica and have you found anything that has helped you?

Get thyself a TENS machine op!! Ask the mw if you can borrow one. Or rent one. I managed camping and sleeping on an air bed at 32 weeks!

Ah, I hadn’t thought of a tens machine @Eastereggsboxedupready , great idea!

Any recommendations please or an idea how much to spend to get a decent one?

You can have a nice warm bath but I wouldn't have it mega hot. Also I found that ibuprofen gel helped a lot with my sciatica x

I found warm baths helped me, and alternating between ice packs and hot water bottles on my lower back did too. Paracetamol didn't do much but you can't take ibuprofen/use ibuprofen gel in pregnancy so please don't try that unless recommended by a Dr. I went to see a specialist pregnancy physio who did various massages and acupuncture which really helped too, and gave me exercises to do at home. Had to pay private though, NHS physios said they couldn't do anything to help as I was pregnant. Maybe there is something like this in your area? X

@GoT1904 I didn’t think we were allowed to use the ibuprofen gel in pregnancy? It would be something that would help a lot I think but I thought we had to steer clear of anything with ibuprofen in.

@Nursemumma92 I’ll give the warm baths and ice/heat packs a go definitely.
I’ll have a Google and see what places are local, who might be able to help. I wasn’t sure if a physio, osteo or chiropractor would be the best! It’s great that yours did some acupuncture!!

Ask if the midwives have access to a pregnancy physio. My trust did and although it was covid and dealt with virtually the exercises really helped my sciatica and pgp

I had this when I was pregnant with my first. I couldn't walk for nearly a week. Ended up going to see a osteopath who was amazing. I crawled into his office and managed to walked out after he finished. Did take a few sessions for the pain to ease. I didn't want to take medication while I was pregnant so this was the best option.

@mummatobeat33 I’ll speak to the midwife about it and see if there’s any help they can give me.

@mel787 sorry to hear that you were in so much pain and struggling, I know how awful it is!! Thank you, I’ll have a google for some local osteos and see if they’ll treat me while I’m pregnant.

Sciatica when I was pregnant was caused by baby sitting in a stupid position. Getting on a birthing ball and doing some gentle exercises really helped.

Boots have a huge range. Ask for advice there.. You can hire or buy!

Thank you guys! I feel better knowing that there’s a few things I can try!