If you one of the two-thirds suffering from lower back pain in pregnancy this article may interest you. Here’s our simple guide to the best yoga poses for pregnant women suffering from low back pain that you can also do in the comfort of your home.
This is a general guide, intended for those women who are having an healthy pregnancy without any particular risking conditions. It is always advised to consult your doctor if you’re unsure whether pregnancy yoga could be a good fit for you.
BEST YOGA POSES FOR PREGNANT WOMEN FOR BACK PAIN
1. CAT STRETCH
The cat stretch is one of the most used yoga pose to release lower back pain as it arches your back in the opposite direction of the typical lordosis women develop during pregnancy. Lordosis, which is an exaggerated inward curve of the spine tends to become more and more pronounced as the bump gets bigger, putting extra strain on the vertebrae.
Cat stretch can also help to mobilise any restrictions between the scapulas. The shoulder blades get tight because of bad posture, and in pregnant women, the growing of the breast can exacerbate this too. It's a basic motion, but cat stretch can be enormously beneficial to ease lower back pain and maintain a healthy spine, especially if you spend a lot of time sitting.
HOW TO DO CAT STRETCH IN PREGNANCY
Start on your hands and knees, aligning your wrists underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips, in a tabletop position with a flat back and your core engaged.
Exhale and tip your pelvis forward, tucking your tailbone and dropping your head towards the floor, while gazing at your navel. When doing this motion, contract your abdominals as your spine will round naturally towards the ceiling.
Return to a flat back position and repeat as many times as you wish to relieve tightness in your lower back.
During pregnancy we should avoid the counter cow pose, in which we extend the spine in an arched position to avoid exacerbating any lordosis.
2. WIDE CHILD’S POSE
During pregnancy women need to adapt the classic child's pose into a wider stance to make room for the belly. Wide child pose is fantastic for lower back pain as it stretch the all of the back while also being incredibly restful. In this pose you can let go by breathing deeply and experience deep relaxation.
HOW TO DO WIDE CHILD'S POSE IN PREGNANCY
Start by kneeling down with knees wide and feet together.
Take a deep exhale and lower your stomach between your legs, resting your chest and head on a pillow for extra comfort. If your growing belly gets in the way, spread your knees wider to make room. You can keep your arms straight in front of you or along the side of your body.
Stay in this position and start to deepen your breath and enjoy it!
3. KNEELING LUNGE
During pregnancy, the psoas muscle (hip flexor) can tighten up because of the lordotic curve due to the growing belly. Stretching the hip flexors may help to get relief from low back pain.
HOW TO DO KNEELING LUNGE POSE IN PREGNANCY
Drop down into a kneeling forward lunge with your knees bent at 90-degree angles, and keep your torso upright and core engaged.
Rest your hands on the knee in front of you.
Squeeze the glute on the back leg and shift your pelvis forward while reaching overhead. Try to focus your attention on opening your hip flexors while realising any tension hold in the lower back by breathing deeply in this area.
Repeat few times, and then switch sides.
4. PIGEON POSE
Pigeon pose is one of our favourite yoga poses to get relief from Low back pain during pregnancy and in your everyday life. Pigeon pose is a fantastic yoga pose that help opening the glutes muscles, which often get tight and pull the lower back creating a sensation of restriction and pain. During pregnancy, glutes muscles are extra taxed as the extra weight of the baby require them to do a lot more work for locomotion.
HOW TO DO PIGEON POSE IN PREGNANCY
Drop down to the floor and fold one leg as close to a 90-degree angle as possible in front of your body, while you extend the other leg straight back behind you. Use pillows or any other prop under one hip to ensure your pelvis remains square at all time.
Fold forward until you feel a stretch on the glutes of the folded leg.
Breath deeply into the area aiming to stay in this position for 30-60 seconds to allow the glutes muscles to release.
Repeat on the other side.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO TO GET RELIEF FROM LOW BACK PAIN IN PREGNANCY?
Book a massage for pregnancy in London!
While we do recommend to practice pregnancy yoga in your everyday life and get relief whenever and wherever you need, we also strongly advice you to combine it with pregnancy massage. Pregnancy yoga can be of great help for a more effective massage too. If you stretch daily, your muscles will be more open and the therapist will be able to access deeper layers of muscle adhesions and help you to regain freedom of movement.
Massage for Pregnancy can do wonders for low back pain, especially when the pain is acute and you experience a nervy feeling around your low back and glutes. This is caused by the sciatic nerve, which often gets compressed because of the extra weight and the shift of the woman’s gravity centre. When this happens, the nerve sends pain signals to the brain which results in acute lower back pain.
Furthermore, Pregnancy Massage is a super relaxing treatment and can alleviate feeling of stress and anxiety which are very common during pregnancy because of the incredible change women go through.
Book an Acupuncture for pregnancy in London!
Acupuncture for pregnancy is also another great natural alternative to relieve low back pain when pregnant. The practitioner will insert very fine needles into specific pressure points that will be chosen depending on your physical and emotional health condition and goals.
Research has shown how acupuncture can help to reduce low back pain in pregnancy and that is very safe when performed by someone properly trained, such as our acupuncturists at A to Zen therapies.
OUR ACUPUNCTURE AND MASSAGE FOR PREGNANCY LONDON
Book today your first appointment, and make lower back pain a dim and distant memory with our super relaxing and effective acupuncture and massage for pregnancy London!
We look forward to hearing your thoughts about this article! We hope you now have a better idea of the best yoga poses for back pain in pregnancy and what you can do to prevent low back pain in pregnancy, such as book our fabulous Massage for pregnancy London!