Back Pain and Pregnancy. Pregnancy is a temporary nine-month period in a woman's life that is filled with apprehension, euphoria, fear, joy and so many other emotional and physical feelings. A woman's body goes through dramatic daily changes as this new little person inside of her starts and continues to grow. Hormones are out of whack with weight gains in places that seemingly have nothing to do with being pregnant.

Many or closer to most women simply accept that back pain is a part of this normal pregnancy process. But what they don't realize is that they do not have to take back pain lying down, so to speak.

The back pain associated with pregnancy is caused by many things. A woman's body changes shifts here center of gravity as the baby grows. The center of gravity is continually shifting with every ounce of weight that the baby gains.

There are exercises that can help to relieve the pain that this shift in the center of gravity causes. Strengthening muscles relieves pain. Search the Internet to find directions for performing these great back pain-relieving exercises.

Maintaining a good posture can help to relieve the pain of back ache. There is a tendency to arch the back in the later months of pregnancy. This arching only intensifies the back pain rather than relieving it. The straighter the backbone can be kept, the less pain there will be. A pregnant woman should never pass up the opportunity for a backrub by the baby's father. The massage really can help to provide back pain relief and the massages are comforting in many other ways as well.

Back Pain and Sciatica

Lower back pain is one of the most common maladies of the human race. The greatest majority (about 90%) of all adults regardless of race will suffer some type of back pain during their adult years. Only the common cold is responsible for more lost work days than lower back pain. Most of the time, back pain is caused by a muscle strain. Rest and over the counter medications will normally take care of it.

The pain is generally confined to the lower back, but muscle strains can also cause pain in the upper back and the neck, as well as the shoulder. When the pain is in the buttocks area and there is pain down one leg, the problem is that the sciatic nerve is also involved. Normally, the pain is caused because there is a slipped disc. But don't panic.

Most of the time this back pain will also resolve itself and all of the horror stories that you have heard about back surgeries just aren't true. It is very unlikely that any surgery will be required. The tendency of all those who are suffering from sciatica is to just simply quit doing things that hurt. They crawl into bed and just stay there. Nothing could be more detrimental to the healing process.

The pain of sciatica usually starts in the buttocks and travels down one leg. One patient described the pain leaving by saying that it traveled down his leg and out his big toe. As the weeks progressed, the pain got lower and lower and finally only his big toe hurt. It makes perfect sense. The sciatic nerve ends at the big toe.

Stretching exercises will promote healing of the sciatic nerve and help to relieve the pain associated with sciatica. A physical therapist can give instructions for appropriate stretching exercises.

Back Pain Caused by Lifting

Back pain caused by muscle strain or sprain can be caused by many common human activities like bending, stretching, and twisting. Heavy lifting is one of the most common causes of muscle strain or sprain of back muscles.

If you have ever watched professional weightlifters in action, you have probably noticed that they are all wearing what appears to be a wide leather belt around their middle sections. The purpose of the weightlifter belt is to provide added support to their lumbar regions and help to prevent muscle strains that will cause pain when they are lifting weights. Home Depot requires their employees who must do heavy lifting to wear a girdle that is similar in structure to a weightlifter's belt. These belts can help, but the better solution for those who must engage in heavy lifting is to strengthen the muscles in the back and pelvic area that are used when lifting. Toned muscles are much less likely to be strained or sprained.

Using proper lifting techniques can also help to prevent the back pain that has been caused by heavy lifting. The key is simply to lift by using the muscles in your legs rather than the ones in your back. Keeping you spine straight, squat down, grip the object to be lifted, and stand up. The muscles in your legs will be doing the work, and legs muscles don't cause back pain. The muscles in the legs are much larger than the muscles in the back. They are better equipped to do the heavy lifting than the muscles in the back. Use dollies to move heavy furniture rather than your leg muscles or your back muscles. But if you must lift heavy objects, rely on the muscles in your legs.