Four million American women will successfully give birth this year.

The bad news is that two out of every three of these women will suffer lower back and pelvis pain by the 36th week of pregnancy.

If the swollen feet, the nausea, constipation, hemorrhoids, stretch marks, weight gain, and getting out of bed to use the bathroom three or four times every night wasn’t enough; you also have too much movement in your SI or Sacroiliac Joint. And yes this is causing your stabbing back pain.

Pregnancy Back Pain:

Watching Doreen walking around in so much pain during this last pregnancy made me want to learn more about what changes, her body is going through. Most women expect to experience some degree of back pain during their pregnancy, and most will assume that it is due to the weight of the baby pulling the back forward causing an anterior weight-shift.

But what I learned is that an estimated 20% of all pregnant women suffer from back pain due to hormonal changes. A pregnant woman’s body releases a hormone called relaxin, which loosens the ligaments (including those around the SI joints) in the pelvis area in preparation for delivery causing hyper-mobility. And to a lesser degree the same hormonal changes happen to you right before your period this is why you suffer pain during your menstrual cycles.

The increased elasticity of these ligaments during pregnancy is necessary for the birth canal to expand as the baby passes through it. However, the increase in motion and instability around the sacroiliac joint can also be a source of sacroiliac pain.   Spine-health.com

SI Joint Anatomy:

The sacroiliac joint or SI joint is one of two joints on either side of the pelvis where the sacrum, or base of the spine, joins with the large bone of the pelvis known as the ilium. The SI joint is very important and acts as a “shock absorber” during weight bearing activities such as walking, standing up from a chair, and going up and down stairs.

Even though your SI joints are small, they’re actually very strong because they help distribute weight from your upper body to your legs. The ligaments and cartilage are just as important to your SI joint as are the bone and muscles. These ligaments in your SI joints are some of the strongest ligaments in your body and help provide stability in pelvic region.

About 40% of the time, sacroiliac dysfunction can cause, “piriformis syndrome”. The piriformis is a small muscle in the buttock that stabilizes the sacroiliac joint. When irritated this muscle gets pinched and causes pain in the buttock. The piriformis muscle also overlaps the sciatic nerve and can also cause sciatic pain down the leg all the way to the foot

Pain and pelvic instability after the birth:

I also learned that Doreen will continue to have problems with the integrity of her SI joints long after the birth of our baby. The hormonal changes that cause the ligaments around her SI joints to relax allowing more room in the birth canal for the baby to pass through do not always spring back. All the surrounding structures (i.e. pelvic floor and abdominal wall muscles) will remain loose and unstable.

So she may suffer from continuous moments when she may try to get up from a sitting position and her back will “just give out”. That’s instability. Without stable joints and active strong muscles assisting your spine and sacrum to stabilize your pelvic region this extra mobility may eventually cause arthritis.

What can you do to treat sacroiliac joint pain

• Rest from activities that are causing your pain
• If surrounding muscles have tighten up a hot pack may offer some comfort by relaxing the affected muscles.
• Don’t use heat if you think that inflammation may be present
• An anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen may be helpful. Always check with your Doctor first.
• Try wearing a sacroiliac back belt
• Rule out medical diseases such as Ankylosing Spondylitis.
• Correct any muscle imbalances with stretching and strengthening exercises
• Getting a massage regularly may help ease tension tight muscles from making your pain worse.

Pregnancy massage rate:

•  60 minutes $100