In an “interesting” position, any woman experiences quite a serious load on the spinal column, because the child’s weight increases every day. In this regard, situations are not uncommon when osteochondrosis develops during pregnancy, which is degenerative changes in articular cartilage. This disease entails the appearance of severe painful sensations, and if the disease is not treated, complications may occur.
What you need to know about cervical osteochondrosis during pregnancy
The important thing is that osteochondrosis brings serious and sometimes painful discomfort, and at the slightest manifestations and discomfort in the neck area, you should consult a doctor. Cervical osteochondrosis occurs during the period of bearing a child, either as a consequence of changes that have occurred, that is, for the first time, or appears after a long “sleep mode”. More often at this time, the lumbosacral region suffers, because it bears the main load during pregnancy. The thoracic and cervical regions are affected less frequently and require less attention when selecting a course of treatment.
Symptoms
Signs of the disease do not appear immediately - the initial stage in almost everyone is either asymptomatic, or makes itself felt only by rare unpleasant pulling sensations. Pain appears only when turning or bending unsuccessfully, or when lifting something heavy. As a rule, it is possible to recognize lumbar osteochondrosis during gestation only at the second stage.
Symptoms by which the disease can be identified in an expectant mother:
- Lower back pain and limitation of motor activity associated with shooting pain when turning or bending. The pain syndrome radiates to the leg from the side of the pinched nerve root.
- Cauda equina syndrome is a feeling that the legs are numb when the nerve bundle is pinched at the level of the first vertebra in the lumbar area.
- Increased sweating, in places where there is damage to the vertebrae or pinched nerves, the pregnant woman feels a tingling and burning sensation.
- There may be problems with urination.
- Spasms of the back muscles occur during exacerbation of lumbar osteochondrosis, which limits the woman’s motor activity.
- Increased pain when coughing and sneezing, and it radiates to the thighs, buttocks and calf muscles.
On a note. Relief comes when taking a horizontal position. If you consult a doctor at this stage, you can slow down the process and significantly improve the condition and quality of life of the pregnant woman without resorting to strong drugs.
Causes of the disease
Only a doctor can say for sure what triggered the onset of the disease after he conducts an examination and receives the patient’s diagnostic results.
Flat feet
Flat feet is a pathology, the main symptom of which is the absence of a notch on the inner arch of the foot. In this case, a person’s support rests on the entire foot, which is an unnatural position, and since our body is a single mechanism, the presence of such a pathology can lead to various kinds of ailments. In the presence of osteochondrosis, the main symptom is pain. If this pain is caused by flat feet, then it will rise from the bottom up - from the knees to the pelvis, lower back and then along the entire spine.
Frequent wearing of heels
Despite all the beauty and love of women for high heels, it is not recommended to abuse them for several reasons. Wearing high heels leads to a shift in the center of gravity, an unusual and harmful load on the spine, and this can also lead to a bending of the uterus. For everyday or frequent wearing of such shoes, it is better to choose heels with a height of 5-6 cm. And during pregnancy, it is better to give preference to those shoes that will soften the impact of increased weight on the spine.
Back injuries
Back injury, which leads to the appearance or exacerbation of cervical osteochondrosis during pregnancy, occurs due to force majeure circumstances or due to the unpreparedness of the body, or rather the muscle corset, to increase weight and load on the spine.
Stress and chronic lack of sleep
External factors, internal feelings about a change in status, physiological changes - all this can cause stress in pregnant women, and an uncomfortable bed and pain in the neck can cause constant lack of sleep. Anxiety, stress, inability to get enough sleep and constant fatigue greatly affect the state of the nervous system, which can lead to stiffness of the neck muscles and decreased mobility of the cervical vertebrae and provoke an attack of osteochondrosis. Also, cervical osteochondrosis during pregnancy is caused by a genetic predisposition, a sedentary lifestyle, especially in the last stages, changes in hormonal levels, displacement of organs, compression of nerve endings, etc.
Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction is a common problem.
Unfortunately, this is a fairly common problem that can be identified not only in pregnant women, but also before its onset. Obvious signs of incompetence will be: • frequent urination, a feeling of an incompletely emptied bladder. Some women note that after just a couple of minutes they want to go to the toilet again; • queefing – the entry of air into the vaginal canal after sexual intercourse, with a corresponding sound after or during its completion; • incontinence and urine leakage during exercise, laughing, coughing or sneezing; • irregular bowel movements, feeling of incomplete bowel movement; • pain in the perineum after sexual intercourse; • dissatisfaction with sex life.
If such symptoms were noted before pregnancy, the help of a specialist is necessary. Exercise will help get rid of complications, and childbirth will be easier.
Symptoms
When cervical osteochondrosis occurs and develops during pregnancy, the symptoms can be pronounced and cause severe discomfort. Women may often have headaches, dizziness, pain and lumbago in the neck. In particularly difficult cases, cervical osteochondrosis is accompanied by nausea and vomiting, as well as pressure changes, pallor and numbness of the skin.
Pain in arms and shoulders
Pain in the arms and shoulders, which can sometimes be pulsating, is caused by compression or pinching of the nerve roots. In this case, numbness in the shoulder region and decreased sensitivity of the skin may appear.
Aches and numbness in the hands
Decreased sensitivity, numbness of the fingers, as well as a feeling of “pins and needles” in the hands appear due to disturbances in the structure of the vertebrae of the neck, as well as if osteochondrosis has developed to the stage of the appearance of intervertebral hernias.
Difficulty with some movements
Depending on what caused the illness and how it developed, you may experience difficulty turning your head (sometimes accompanied by a crunching sound), as well as swallowing and inhaling. Sometimes patients complain of a lump in the throat and the inability to take a full breath.
Headache
The occurrence of headaches with cervical osteochondrosis is associated with compression of the vertebral artery, which can also lead to constant dizziness and impaired hearing and vision.
Possible complications
Osteochondrosis of the lumbar region during pregnancy can harm not only the expectant mother, but also the fetus. What are the risks for an unborn child if his mother has this disease? A pregnant woman experiences severe pain in the lower back and legs, which limits movement. Besides:
- Blood circulation in the lower back is impaired, which leads to impaired blood flow in the legs.
- Blood pressure increases.
- The level of hemoglobin decreases, which leads to the development of anemia and fetal hypoxia.
- The risk of vascular and heart pathologies increases.
- There is a risk of miscarriage in the early stages.
- Premature birth is possible in the third trimester due to severe pain that provokes uterine tone.
Also, osteochondrosis can lead to intervertebral hernia and damage to the spinal cord.
How to treat the disease during pregnancy?
If cervical osteochondrosis is diagnosed during pregnancy, treatment must be started immediately, but very carefully. The difficulty of treatment lies in the fact that it is impossible to choose medication as one of the methods. Many physiotherapeutic procedures are also not recommended. To avoid a situation such as cervical osteochondrosis during pregnancy, experts advise undergoing a full examination at the planning stage in order to rule out the disease or treat and take control of the situation. How and with what to treat cervical osteochondrosis during pregnancy, a neurologist
, based on the clinical picture. The main goal of the course of treatment and the doctor is to alleviate the condition without harming the fetus and the health of the expectant mother.
ethnoscience
As a traditional medicine method, you can choose warming compresses with herbs and decoctions, the choice of which is carried out taking into account the absence of allergies to the components. In any case, before using any folk remedy, you should consult your doctor.
Massage
Any physiotherapeutic and manual procedures, including massage, can be prescribed to relieve pain and reduce symptoms, but selection and prescription are possible only if the doctor is completely confident that any procedures will not harm the fetus or the expectant mother and will not provoke premature birth. Light self-massage is acceptable, but only after consultation with a specialist. Also, to alleviate the condition of the expectant mother and relieve some tension and pain, a special orthopedic collar may be prescribed. Such a collar is worn for a short time and infrequently, so as not to weaken the muscle corset.
Warming the neck
Any methods of warming the neck (ointments, compresses, etc.) should also be agreed with a doctor. But this method, as a rule, is prescribed to patients with the only condition that only the cervical spine can be heated.
Medications
Most drugs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle blockers, hormones, etc.) are not allowed to treat the disease during pregnancy, as this can harm the fetus. Any medications to relieve symptoms of cervical osteochondrosis are taken only as prescribed and under the supervision of a physician and in the first or second trimester. It is better to start treatment of osteochondrosis of the cervical spine not during pregnancy, but during its planning, but if the disease has already occurred during the process of bearing a child, then you should not delay contacting a doctor.
Prevention
Lumbar osteochondrosis can be prevented. To do this, you need to follow a number of rules:
- Wear a special bandage.
- Maintain a sleep-wake schedule, ensuring proper rest at night (at least 8 hours of sleep).
- Provide complete, balanced nutrition.
- Avoid wearing high-heeled shoes during pregnancy.
- Avoid heavy lifting.
The expectant mother needs to carefully monitor her health - treat infectious diseases, listening to the recommendations of the attending physician, and try not to gain excess weight during pregnancy.
To prevent osteochondrosis from manifesting itself in full force during pregnancy, when planning a child, undergo a full examination and treat all detected pathologies. While expecting a child, the expectant mother is prohibited from taking most medications, including painkillers, and without them it is unlikely that it will be possible to relieve acute pain in the spine. If the disease takes you by surprise after pregnancy, consult a doctor and do not self-medicate.
Rules of gymnastics for pregnant women
You can find a lot of information about how a pregnant woman should behave: rest more, take care of yourself like a valuable vase of the Jin Dynasty, eat for two, etc. You can also find recommendations about exercises.
Classes should only be carried out under the supervision of a movement specialist. This is the only way to ensure their safety and positive effect.
The specialists of the Quality of Life clinic strongly advise against mastering new types of physical activity. If a woman was a jogger before pregnancy, you can naturally continue jogging at a lower intensity if there are no medical contraindications, but you should not do jumping. Moreover, there are exercises and sports that are contraindicated: • those that increase intra-abdominal pressure, for example, squats, crunches, etc.; • performed lying on your back; • abdominal training, weight lifting; • any sports associated with a high risk of falls and injuries; • you should avoid exercises for pregnant women that strain the hip flexor muscles.
There are 4 general recommendations: high-intensity training, sudden movements and jerks are prohibited, and exercise with caution with elements of stretching and weight lifting.
When performing exercises, the main condition is a positive attitude and good health. The friendly atmosphere at the Quality of Life clinic was created specifically for patients and their success.
Physical activity and sports during pregnancy
Is it possible to play sports in a position? Definitely yes, but under the guidance of a specialist who will evaluate the pros, cons and possible consequences. All permitted exercises and the degree of load are determined by several components: initial physical fitness, gestational age, characteristics of the course of pregnancy, etc. Even if the pregnancy is proceeding ideally, and the woman herself led an active sports life. You can continue training, but make adjustments to reduce their intensity by 30-50%. And it is important not to start new types of training. The situation is more complicated with women who are far from sports and physical activity was reduced to going to the store or to work.
Movement instructors at the Quality of Life clinic will not only keep you in excellent shape, but will also select an adequate load to solve existing problems and prevent complications.