Many women during pregnancy experience a manifestation of painful sensations, which can be easily explained and considered normal under certain conditions. With regular examinations, timely delivery of tests and normal health, small troubles do not cause any concern in the observing doctor. Quite often, women have sore ribs during pregnancy, but even with the appearance of such symptoms, one should not panic prematurely because there are adequate explanations for everything.
What does a woman feel?
During the period of carrying the baby, the future mother may experience pain of both periodic and constant nature, and they can appear at any time of the day and with varying intensity. In most cases, when the ribs hurt during pregnancy, this does not threaten either the mother or the child. A woman can forget about the constant discomfort only after the birth of the baby. With the appearance of pain of this nature, it seems that the deformation of the ribs begins. In fact, nothing like this happens, but consulting with a specialist will not hurt. If during the examination of the pregnant woman the doctor has any suspicions regarding the development of diseases that cause such symptoms, additional tests and examinations will be prescribed.
Why do ribs hurt during pregnancy?
With each month, the baby develops and gains weight, and, consequently, the uterus grows, providing the necessary space for the normal functioning of the fetus. An increase in the size of the uterus leads to displacement of neighboring organs from their former places. Such movements are accompanied by a certain discomfort, as a result of which a woman's ribs hurt during pregnancy in the later stages.
The first trimester is much easier than the next two. Let's find out what discomfort a 32 week pregnancy can bring with it . Ribs hurt, swelling and aching back pain appear - all this is typical for such a period. By this time, the baby has already grown enough, has become active, and, most likely, has turned its head down (the correct position of the fetus), which is why it constantly pushes mommy in the ribs. In addition, at such a period, not too intense pain in the abdomen, Brexton-Hicks contractions may appear - this is how a woman's body prepares for childbirth.
In some women, painful sensations appear only shortly before delivery (approximately 37 weeks of gestation). Unfortunately, ribs hurt at this period, unfortunately, not always due to the growth of the baby, sometimes this is due to other reasons:
- previous injuries in the chest area;
- Titz syndrome;
- joint diseases;
- osteoporosis and osteochondrosis;
- pleurisy, pneumonia, or tuberculosis;
- intervertebral hernia;
- heartache;
- oncological formations in the costal bones;
- intercostal neuralgia;
- fibromyalgia (muscle pain).
How to relieve pain in the ribs?
When the baby in the womb becomes cramped, a woman can often complain of pain in the ribs.
To alleviate her condition, the future mother in this case needs to follow some recommendations:
- The first thing you need to pay attention to is posture. When walking or sitting, the back should be straight, the shoulders pushed back, and the chest, on the contrary, slightly extended forward.
- Equally important is clothing. During pregnancy, you will have to abandon things that pull the ribs and chest.
- In the case of increased pain, you need to take a deep breath with raising your hand up and lowering it on the exhale.
- Painful sensations can be weakened if you take the knee-elbow position.
- The “Cat” special exercise relieves pain in the ribs . To do this, the future mother should stand in the knee-elbow position and try to bend her back up as much as possible, while the head should be lowered, and the muscles of the abs and buttocks are tense. When performing this exercise, the child takes a different position.
- If the ribs hurt during pregnancy due to the frequent and strong shocks of the future child, then mom just needs to rest. It is better for this to lie on one side, since in this position the pressure on the internal organs decreases. If the ribs on the right side hurt, you need to lie down on the left side and vice versa.
How to eliminate pain during pregnancy?
During the period of carrying the baby, in no case is it recommended to try to get rid of painful sensations with the help of medications, active physical exercises, and even more so by pressing on the stomach. If someone advised you precisely such methods of eliminating pain, then you should not take into account the recommendations of this person in the future.
When a woman has severely sore ribs during pregnancy, she must definitely consult a doctor. A common reason for handling this problem is pinching of the sciatic nerve. In such situations, the pain is really unbearable and not without the help of a specialist.
If you can endure the discomfort, just walk unhurriedly in the fresh air or just relax. It is possible that pain in the ribs during pregnancy can be neurological and cardiac in nature, which is why self-medication will not bring anything good. If soreness intensifies during coughing, with a deep breath, a change in body position - a consultation with a therapist and a neurologist will be required.
The use of folk remedies
There are folk methods to alleviate the disease, but they are used only as an additional way. For example, in a sore spot you can rub the juice of black radish. A bath with the addition of a decoction of oak bark alleviates pain. To do this, crust is crushed and poured with water (based on 1 kg of raw materials - 5 liters of liquid) and boiled for half an hour. The finished broth is filtered and added to the bath.
It relieves pain and sage well. It, like oak bark, is added to the bath. To prepare the broth, you need 4 tablespoons of chopped grass and 1 cup of liquid. The raw material is poured with water and infused for about 60 minutes. In addition to the broth, you need to add 4 tablespoons of salt to the container. It is better to carry out the procedure before bedtime, and the duration should be no more than 5-10 minutes.
In no case should you use sage inside during pregnancy.
How dangerous is rib pain?
If the ribs hurt during pregnancy and this is a sign of a disease, the task of doctors is to take all measures to eliminate the negative symptoms. If neurological, traumatological or muscle pathologies that cause pain are detected, the treatment will be aimed at eliminating the exacerbation and further maintaining remission.
In case of detection of diseases of a cardiological, respiratory and renal nature, a pregnant woman must be hospitalized. In such situations, there is a threat to the life of the mother and child, therefore, therapy is carried out strictly under the supervision of specialists.