pain :(

[Erinsmummy]

Ive been having a few aches and pains the last week or so but nothing i couldnt handle, then yesterday i went into town which to get there i have to walk down a very steep long hill. I was ok mostly, and then i sat to have lunch with my 3yr old and i could hardly move! I was almost in tears it hurt so much, it was all in the right side of the bottom of my back and top of my leg, it was awful. My dh was in town at a meeting so i rang him to come help me, he got me and LO home, i took some paracetomol.. He had to go back to work though and i couldnt move off the sofa It hurt so much. I rested for an hour or so and gradually the pain subsided and i managed to get lo some tea and into bed, then had a bath and i felt fine after that, went to bed, all fine, i got up this morning and was fine too. So decided id take LO town again and as i was walking down the hill i could feel those muscles tightening up so i took it slow and carried on... But ive just stopped in at my mums and im in agony again!! Just like yesterday. Why?!? And what should i do? I cant look after lo properly like this and if i try to walk the pain is so bad i feel like i might pass out. if i sit on the sofa in a certain position im ok and can function, but otherwise it really hurts.

Dh is busy with work, and my mum is going to work really soon, so ill have to manage... just hurts so much and dont understand why, never had any aches and pains when preg with my daughter!

 

[amber2727]

Hi Erinsmummy, I teach pilates and am HUGE into anatomy. Here's what i think you should do: avoid going down steep hills.

Most people, when walking downhill, allow gravity to pull themselves forward and don't actually push off with the back leg (which is how you'd normally move forward when walking on a flat surface ideally). B/c none of the back leg muscles are working properly (they should be working eccentrically when you walk downhill, meaning, they should control the movement downhill - have you ever noticed how much more difficult it is to walk slowly downhill than allowing gravity to take over?), the bones in the bottom half of your body (particularly the pelvis) are taking quite a beating.

I'm sure you've already heard that we've got this awesome hormone called relaxin? essentially it acts on the ligaments (that which holds the bones together) of the pelvis and loosens them so if you're adding a lot of pressure to your pelvis (by falling, really, downhill) and neither your ligaments or muscles are working to hold the bones in place, you're essentially banging and smashing your bones together. OUCH! <-- especially so because you've got a most AMAZING bundle of nerves (the lumbar plexus) that innervates the entire abdominal area downwards to your toes that emanates from this area of the body. and when bones are smashing together they get moved out of place and compress on these nerves that send ungodly lightening bolts of pain down whichever path they innervate (my old sacroiliac joint injury sometimes flares up during my pregnancy which compresses on my superior gluteal nerve which makes my hip go numb!!! kinda crazy, kinda cool!). Most commonly it's the sciatic nerve that gets compressed.

so, my advice is to relax for now, breathe, try lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor and gently press your low back into the floor (a few times back and forth). if you feel good enough, try some stretching (figure 4 stretch from old gym days in particular), and next time you walk downhill...from the very beginning of that hill, USE your hamstrings and glutes to control yourself down that hill. it's one of the best ways to work those muscles! ...and then your bones won't be knocking around together compressing nerves. feel better!

 

[amber2727]

sorry, i seriously had to edit that!

 

[Erinsmummy]

Wow what a great reply!! Thank you That all makes sense! Im ok now, not in pain, but sure enough have to walk down that hill again tomorrow so ill do as you suggest