Finding Relief for Your Bump! Pregnancy Stretches & Yoga Poses for Lower Back Pain

Pregnancy Yoga Poses | Pregnancy Stretches Routines | Alternative Therapies To Ease Lower Back Pain While Pregnant

Lower back pain taking the joy out of your London pregnancy? Around two-thirds of expectant moms experience it too. This article explores gentle solutions to find relief. We'll delve into safe and effective pregnancy stretches and the best yoga poses for pregnant women, focusing on techniques to ease back discomfort.

Whether you're a seasoned yogi or new to the mat, discover the best poses for lower back pain to try at home or with a local London pregnancy yoga class.

What Are The Best Prenatal Yoga Stretches Poses for Back Pain?

1. Pregnancy Cat Stretch

The cat stretch is one of the most used yoga poses for pregnant women to release lower back pain. It arches the back in the opposite direction of the typical lordosis women develop during pregnancy.

Lordosis, an exaggerated inward curve of the spine, tends to become more pronounced as the bump gets bigger, putting extra strain on the vertebrae.

Cat stretch can also help to mobilise any restrictions between the scapula.

Bad posture can tighten the shoulder blades, and in pregnant women, the growth 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.

It is also recommended to prevent or ease pelvic girdle pain. Because the flowing movement gently stretches and mobilizes the hips and spine.

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. You should be 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.

The wide child pose is fantastic for lower back pain. It stretches the entire back while also being incredibly restful.

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 wedge pregnancy 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 due to the lordotic curve caused by the growing belly.

Stretching the hip flexors may help to get relief from low back pain.

How To Do Kneeling Lunge Stretch 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 held in the lower back by breathing deeply in this area.

• Repeat a few times, and then switch sides.

4. Pigeon Pose

Pigeon pose is our favourite yoga pose to get relief from Low back pain while being pregnant and in your everyday life.

This is a fantastic yoga pose that helps open the glute 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 requires 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 extending the other leg straight back behind you. Use pillows or any other prop under one hip to ensure your pelvis remains square at all times.

• Fold forward until you feel a stretch on the glutes of the folded leg.

• Breathe deeply into the area, aiming to stay in this position for 30-60 seconds to allow the glute muscles to release.

• Repeat on the other side.

Stretch Your Way to Relief: Pregnancy Routine Ideas for a Happy Back

Ready to Move with Ease? Here are some targeted pregnancy routines you can easily integrate into your day-to-day life.

These pregnancy stretches are safe during all trimesters to Relieve tension in your body and ease the typical Lower Back Pain and Sciatica symptoms which many pregnant women experience.

To help you visualize each exercise, we've included specific videos showcasing:

• A revitalizing morning yoga routine designed to gently wake up your pregnant body and prepare it for the day ahead.

• Targeted stretches to ease sciatic pain, a common pregnancy discomfort radiating from the lower back down the leg.

• Specific stretches to address lower back pain, helping you find relief and maintain good posture.
  

If you would like more ideas, visit our YouTube Pregnancy Playlist.

Pregnancy Back Pain Relief: Alternative Therapies for Expectant Mothers

Don't let lower back pain put a damper on your pregnancy journey, London Mamas!

While we do recommend to practice pregnancy yoga in your everyday life. Alternative therapies like acupuncture or massage can offer complementary relief for pregnancy-related lower back pain.

Pregnancy Massage

Pregnancy Massage can do wonders for low back pain. It is particularly effective when the pain is acute. Additionally, it is a great choice if you experience a nervy feeling around your lower back and glutes.

This is caused by the sciatic nerve, which often gets compressed by 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.

Practising Yoga while pregnant can enhance the massage's effect. Stretching daily will also make your muscles more open.

The therapist will be able to access deeper layers of muscle adhesions, and you will regain freedom of movement quickly!

Furthermore, Pregnancy Massage is a super relaxing treatment. It can alleviate feelings of stress and anxiety. These are very common during pregnancy because of the incredible changes women go through.

Monica, our London pregnancy massage therapist, can quickly ease your lower back pain. Book Now!

Book An Appointment

Pregnancy Acupuncture

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.

Pregnancy acupuncture is very safe when performed by someone properly trained, such as our acupuncturists at A to Zen therapies.

Our experienced acupuncturists in London can create a personalized pregnancy treatment plan to address your specific needs, help you ease lower back pain and feel your best.

Schedule a consultation today!

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Want to explore more options for pregnancy back pain relief? Check out our article on additional strategies to manage lower back pain in pregnancy!

We hope this article empowered you with information about the best yoga poses and stretches for pregnancy back pain. Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!