Pregnancy is a crucial step in the life of every girl. In order for the bearing of the child to proceed well and not have consequences, it is necessary to prepare for this in advance. You need to monitor your health both before pregnancy and after it, during lactation. Also, the expectant mother should be ready to face many difficulties. For example, restriction in sleep poses, back pain, malaise, strange desires, pain in the abdomen, groin, and hips.
Hip pain
A particularly common problem is pain in the hips. If earlier the expectant mother could sleep as she wished, then now there are restrictions. It is strictly forbidden on the stomach, on the back, doctors do not recommend, as this harms the baby. And it remains to sleep on one side, then on the other. This is one of the reasons why a hip hurts during pregnancy.
But it’s not necessary to endure all this. It is enough to find out the causes of the problem and solve it as soon as possible.
Possible causes of pain
During the period of bearing a child, the female body begins to rebuild under the fetus, providing its protection, nutrition - all the necessary conditions for development without pathologies. Hormones are also modifiable. As a result, there is discomfort and discomfort in the back, arms, lower back and hips.
The transformation of the body begins immediately after fertilization. Hormones relax the ligaments and changes begin. However, pain appears at the beginning of the second trimester of pregnancy. Gradually, this discomfort can turn into a constant sharp pain, if you do not pay attention to it in time. The reasons why the hip bones hurt during pregnancy may be the following factors:
- Diseases of the musculoskeletal system. If the future mother had bone injuries, scoliosis, joint problems, a pelvic fracture and osteochondrosis, then the likelihood of pain in the thigh area increases by 3-4 times.
- An inactive lifestyle before pregnancy is also one of the reasons why hip muscles hurt during pregnancy. The state of a woman during pregnancy directly depends on her life earlier. This includes food, the environment, bad and healthy habits, sports. The latter, by the way, is very important. When playing sports, a young mother strengthens the spine, back muscles, protects herself from pain in the lower back and hips in the future. As a result, during pregnancy, the girl tolerates the load on the body more easily. Doctors also recommend not to forget about sports after pregnancy. This will help bring the body into shape and get rid of pain in the back, lower back, and thighs.
- Physiological changes. Most of all it concerns the growth of the uterus. An increase in the size of the uterus entails an increase in the load on the hips and pelvis. There may also be some complications - pinching of the sciatic nerve and the development of radiculitis. The future mother can begin to actively gain weight. This leads to additional stress on the joints, and pain occurs. To avoid it, keep a weight gain calculator during pregnancy.
- Overwork of the future mother. Doctors always recommend pregnant women peace of mind with short walks in the fresh air. But since in the modern world everything is built on money, often young mothers work until the last month. Because of this, they overwork. Especially in the later stages, due to increased body weight, active activity gives a strong load on the joints, back and hips.
- Not enough vitamins. As mentioned earlier, the mother’s body is rebuilt during the period of gestation. He needs to ensure the growth and development of the child. Therefore, all the vitamins and minerals that the mother used to receive, now go to the fetus. Thus, mom lacks vitamins to continue to lead a normal lifestyle. Hence the pain in the hips. In such situations, doctors recommend taking one and a half grams of pure calcium and phosphorus per day. This is quite enough to strengthen the bones of mom and baby. Otherwise, more serious problems may arise. For example, symphysitis is an inflammatory process in the pubic joint. First symptoms: pain in the groin, pelvis, hips. Lameness may appear, and it will be difficult for a woman to raise her legs up.
- Preparing for childbirth. When hips are sore, the gestational age must also be considered. If the pain appeared at 38-40 weeks, then most likely it is a natural preparation of the body for childbirth. The pelvic bones begin to move apart so that the child is easier born.
Pain localization
In addition, in order to understand the causes of unpleasant sensations, it is necessary to take into account their localization. For example, if a girl is bothered by pains in the pelvis, lower back and gluteus muscles - it is a question of radiculitis. If the inside of the thigh hurts during pregnancy, this indicates the preparation of the body for childbirth. When localizing sensations in the pubic part, it is necessary to consult a doctor, as these are symptoms of symphysitis.
Types of pain in the hips
Pain sensations in the hip joints of pregnant women are divided into several types. For instance:
- Starting pain. She appears every time a pregnant woman gets up and starts walking. It has no consequences and is associated with a load on the joints. It subsides in half an hour or an hour.
- Night pain. Her hips hurt during pregnancy during sleep. The pain appears only late at night, regardless of whether the girl is sleeping or not. In the afternoon, pain does not occur.
- Mechanical pain. Appears during overwork, and disappears after a long rest.
Treatment methods
Thigh pain can result in numbness of the legs during sleep. In this case, you should consult a gynecologist who monitors the health of a pregnant girl. He will be able to conduct a full examination and send for examination to a narrow specialist.
For the same reason, your hands may go numb. And in this case, you also need to contact a specialist, because numbness has serious consequences. This may be a sign of diabetes or other problems.
It is worth noting that such phenomena are quite rare. Pain in the hips and numbness of the limbs may be the result of improper posture during sleep. It is difficult for expectant mother to sleep because of the large abdomen, which is why the hips are especially sore during pregnancy in the later stages. Such pains may indicate that mom just fell asleep in an uncomfortable position for her.
To get rid of this, there are several treatment methods. The most common of these is gymnastics.
Gymnastics for pregnant women
Doctors recommend performing exercises starting from the 4th month of pregnancy. They help prepare the body for childbirth, reduce pain during the divergence of the womb, strengthen the hip joints, lower back, relieve fatigue.
The girl, performing gymnastics daily, provides muscle elasticity. Discomfort during sleep, pain in the hips, numbness of the arms and legs will also disappear.
Gymnastics sequence
The sequence of exercises:
- Tilts in different directions. Be sure to do them slowly. This will help to stretch the pectoral muscle. Repeat 15-20 times in each direction.
- The rotation of the pelvis. Turn clockwise and counterclockwise, repeat 15 times in each direction.
- Exercise "plie." Perform slow, shallow squats with unfolded socks. This exercise is well known in ballet. Repeat 10 times.
- Stretching. Get on your knees. Straighten your legs alternately in different directions and slowly lean towards them. Exercise should be performed to the best of your ability. Do not overwork. Repeat 10 times on each leg.
- Stretching lying. This is the second embodiment of the previous exercise. You need to lie on your side, bending one leg at the knee. The second leg should be slowly pulled toe towards you. Repeat 15 times on each leg.
It is not necessary to perform the entire range of exercises. If a girl is worried about numbness of hands - it is enough to perform only the first exercise, but then you need to increase the number of repetitions. With numbness of the legs, the third exercise should be performed, also increasing the number of repetitions. For pain in the thigh area, you need to perform the second and fourth or fifth exercises.
But for prevention, it is recommended to perform a full range of gymnastics at least once a week. If gymnastics does not help, then you should do it twice a day, morning and evening. If this does not help, then you should consult a doctor.
Sipping during pregnancy
Often, expectant mothers ask themselves: "Can I stretch after sleep while bearing a baby?" This is a controversial issue. If there are no pathologies in the development of the child and the health of the mother is in order, then sipping will not be superfluous. But in the last months of pregnancy it is very dangerous. Vertical sipping may result in the child being improperly positioned (he will roll over). It can also cause complications such as hypoxia or premature discharge of water.
Many girls do sips reflexively, and some help relieve pain in the hips and lower back. But this in no case should be done starting from the 8th month or with complications. Even if you really want to, you need to overcome yourself so as not to harm the child.
How to relieve pain?
In order not to go to the doctor and not to do gymnastics, you can ease the pain in the hips during pregnancy with the help of several home methods:
- Before going to bed and after sleep, apply cold to a sore joint.
- Fall asleep in the position of the embryo - lying on its side, bend the knees. Thus, pain in the hips is reduced due to additional support on the knees.
- Putting something soft and large between your legs, such as a blanket or pillow, you can reduce joint pain during sleep.
- A warm heating pad also helps with pain and numbness in the hips. But this is only with the permission of the doctor. By applying a heating pad to your hip, you can relax your joints. Heat in itself calms. Therefore, doctors recommend using a warm heating pad to normalize a pregnant woman’s night sleep.
Little conclusion
If a hip hurts during pregnancy, then all the methods described above help get rid of the problem, but only if it is a physiological change in the body. If we are talking about diseases (diabetes, sciatica, symphysitis), these methods will not help. If a pregnant woman does not feel better from such procedures for a week, you should immediately consult a doctor.