6 Effective Tips To Prevent Joint Pain During Pregnancy

While you are pregnant, do you feel that only regular constant in your life, along with your growing baby, is joint pain? Do you feel that this pain is becoming more severe with each passing day and interfering with your everyday life and routine?

Aches and pains, while you are pregnant, may not always be a cause for concern, but they can sure make you feel out of sorts and hamper your daily life. So, if you want to find out what could be causing the aches and painful joints during pregnancy, and what you can do about it, read the post below.

Experiencing Joint Pain During Pregnancy:

When you are pregnant, your body goes through a gamut of changes as you move through the days and weeks and then the months of pregnancy. With so much going on, it is natural for your body to feel stressed and sometimes react in ways that are a clear signal that your body is tired and needs help. One such signal that your body may send out while you are pregnant is joint pain.

During your pregnancy, there are many changes in your body, some of which are directly responsible for your joint pain. From a lack of sleep to exertion to a change in levels of fluid in your body to your growing body weight, there could be many reasons for your joint pains during pregnancy.

Common Causes Of, And Preventive Measures For, Joint Pain While You Are Pregnant:

Here are some of the most common causes that could cause joint pain in pregnancy:

• Hormonal changes

• Excessive weight gain

• Retention of fluids in your body

• Deficiency in nutrients

Now that you know the causes, here is a look at what you can do to prevent joints pain during pregnancy:

1. Joint Pain Due To Hormonal Changes:

While you are pregnant, your body releases the hormone relaxin in your system. Relaxin is a hormone that helps your ligaments grow in length. It is an important change, which will help to make more space in your body for your unborn baby to grow. Even though the lengthening of the ligaments is necessary, it can hurt your joints that manifest itself as joint pain. As Relaxin is a hormone that is produced naturally by your body while you are pregnant, you cannot help control it at your end. However, there are certain measures that will help to reduce the hormone’s effects on your joints and will reduce the extent of pain you experience.

What You Can Do About It?

• Once your ligaments start to lengthen, they will not be able to hold your joints as firmly as they did earlier. To help keep your joints in place and give them the support they require, you will need to strengthen your muscles instead.

• You can help to increase your muscle tone by performing exercises such as walking, swimming or even basic weight training (make sure you speak to your doctor about it first and get a confirmation before doing any of the exercises).

• Stay active and include some form of activity or chair yoga in your everyday schedule as it will help your body stay flexible and will also keep your muscles strong and toned. Once your muscles are in good shape, they will be able to provide the right amount of support to your joints, which will help prevent any joint pain.

[ Read: Common Body Changes During Pregnancy ]

2. Joint Pain Due To Excessive Weight Gain:

As your baby is growing inside you, it is obvious that you too will start gaining more weight. It is rather important to gain weight while you are pregnant, as it means that your baby is gaining weight too and growing in the right way. However, it is also important to understand the difference between a good weight gain and a not-so-good or excessive weight gain.

Once you start gaining too much weight or gain it within a short span of time, it will add a lot of excess pressure on your joints. In addition to the excessive weight gain, your body will also release the hormone relaxin (as mentioned in the first point), which will lengthen your ligaments and reduce the support that your joints were earlier used to. Once there is a combination of both the weight gain and the lengthening of the ligaments, it can add a lot of stress to your joints, which will then experience pain.

What You Can Do About It?

• Speak to your doctor at the start of your pregnancy to understand how much weight you need to add over the course of your pregnancy. The amount of weight that you have to put on while you are pregnant differs for every woman. Your doctor will first assess your pre-pregnancy weight and current weight and compare the BMI (body mass index) reading to get the correct number. Your doctor will also ask you about any medical conditions that you may have that could result in a higher weight gain, or any medications that you take that could result in a higher weight gain than is normal. Based on the results, your doctor will inform you about how much weight you should gain while you are pregnant.

• Once your doctor has told you about the right amount of weight you should gain during your pregnancy, you should make it a point to track your weight gain. A great way to do this is by keeping a weekly entry of how much weight you gained. It will also help you to understand your current weight and the amount of weight you are putting on each week. You can then compare it with the numbers your doctor has given you about how much weight you can gain in a week that will be a healthy amount.

• Make sure you include exercise in your everyday schedule. Speak to your doctor about your daily exercise routine and what all exercises you can safely do while you are pregnant. Again, some women are allowed to do certain types of exercises while they are pregnant while others are asked to avoid them. It depends on your body type, health, and medical history.

• If you have always been exercising before, the chances are that you can still continue with most of the exercises, including swimming, which will be a great way to take care of your joint pain. But remember to speak to your doctor about it.

• If you have never exercised before, or maybe exercised in only irregular bits, you can start with brisk walking and include more forms of exercise as you get comfortable. Make sure you speak to your doctor about it first.

[ Read: Benefits Of Walking During Pregnancy ]

• An important aspect that will help your regulate weight gain while you are pregnant is what you eat. It is important that you eat right whether you are pregnant or not, as it will have a direct impact on the amount of weight you will gain. Keep a healthy balance of nutrients in your diet.

• Do not cut out on fats, but instead include good fats that will help you maintain your weight at a recommended level. Have foods such as raw cultured butter, which are great sources of good fat. Increase your protein intake and include meats and eggs in your regular diet. In case you are a vegetarian, or you want to avoid meat while you are pregnant, include legumes, soy, and other such products in your diet.

• Consult your doctor about what you should eat to make up for your protein quotient. One ingredient that you should get rid of while you are pregnant or if you want to maintain a healthy weight is processed or packaged food. During pregnancy, you may feel tired and may not always be able to cook or eat homemade food, which is when you may want to go for processed foods instead. While this is understandable, the problem is that it will only keep increasing as a problem as your pregnancy progresses.

[ Read: Tips To Maintain Healthy Weight During Pregnancy ]

3. Joint Pain Due To Fluid Retention:

During your pregnancy, your body will retain more fluid, which can also result in a swelling in different parts of your body. As a result of this fluid retention, you may also notice swelling in your feet, your ankles or knees and such. The swelling and the fluid retention can often give rise to pain in your joints.

What You Can Do About It?

• A good way to avoid pregnancy joint pain, which occur as a result of swelling or fluid retention, is to add more protein and magnesium in your daily diet.

• Taking enough protein and magnesium will ensure that you do not retain too much fluid in your body, but only as much as your body requires while you are pregnant. It will also make sure that you will have less swelling in your body.

• Make sure to check with your doctor whether you require additional supplements along with your regular diet, to make up for any deficiency.

[ Read: Tips To Reduce Swelling During Pregnancy ]

4. Joint Pain Due To A Deficiency Of Nutrients:

Sometimes, a lack of vitamin D in your body could be a reason for the amount of pain you feel in your joints. Not having enough magnesium in your body is another reason that could lead to pain in your muscles and joints while you are pregnant. Some other nutritional deficiencies that could cause joint pains in pregnancy are a deficiency of the vitamin B6, good fats and especially omega-3 fatty acids and protein. The lack of vitamin B6 will result in pain in your joints while a deficiency in protein will make it difficult for your joints to heal in case of any injury or damage. In case you are deficient in the omega-3 fatty acids, it will mean that your body cannot prevent the pain that occurs due to inflammation, which is quite common when you are pregnant.

[ Read: Health Benefits Of Omega-3 Fatty Acid During Pregnancy ]

What You Can Do About It?

• To know whether or not you are deficient in some nutrients, it is important for you to get some tests done. Make sure to speak to your doctor about it to understand the different tests that you should go for and when.

• You can get a vitamin D test done as well as ask your doctor if you need to take any additional supplements to make up for the levels of vitamin D.

• Depending on the result of your magnesium test as well as your vitamin B6 levels tests, your doctor will suggest whether or not you should go in for some magnesium supplements as well as for some vitamin B6 supplements.

• If your test comes back with a protein deficiency result, make sure you increase your levels of protein by going for foods that are rich sources of protein.

• Speak to your doctor if you have any dietary restrictions so that your doctor can adequately guide you about the suitable alternatives.

[ Read: Magnesium Rich Foods During Pregnancy ]

Lesser Known Causes Of Joint Pain During Pregnancy:

Having looked at some common causes, let’s look at some lesser known causes of joint pains during pregnancy:

1. Pelvic Joint Instability:

• On each side of your hip, there are two bones that are attached to your pubic area in the front and also to the area at your back. The various ligaments and cartilages that are present around the area help to keep these hip bones in place.

• As mentioned earlier, when you are pregnant, your body releases various hormones, and one of these is the hormone known as relaxin. When your body releases the hormone relaxin, it can cause some of your ligaments to grow in length, which makes them loose, and can make it difficult for them to hold the muscles in place.

• When the same happens in the case of the bones that are there on both sides of the hips, it can give rise to a condition known as pelvic joint instability. The condition can cause a lot of pain in the joints that are right there around your hips.

• Make sure you speak to your doctor about the same and find out ways in which you can get some relief.

[ Read: Symptoms Of Pelvic Girdle Pain During Pregnancy ]

2. Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction (SPD):

• Symphysis pubic dysfunction, or SPD, is a type of joint pain that affects a lot of women while they are pregnant. It is most common during your second trimester and later, but it can also occur at any other time throughout your pregnancy. In severe cases, it can also continue even after you give birth.

• SPD is a condition in which you may feel pain in your lower back area as well as your hip joints. The type of pain associated with SPD is also accompanied by pain in your groin area, pain in your pubic area or pain in your inner thigh area.

• In some cases, you may notice an increase in your SPD related pain, especially while you are climbing the stairs or moving your legs wide apart. You may also feel a grinding or clicking sensation as you do so. If the joint pains you suffer are as a result of symphysis pubic dysfunction, chances are, that you will also experience them in your later pregnancies.

[ Read: Hip Pain During Pregnancy ]

3. Diastasis Symphysis Pubis (DSP):

• Diastasis Symphysis pubis, or DSP, is another type of joint pain that is also related to symphysis pubic dysfunction, but in a less frequent manner.

• When you are not pregnant, there is a gap of about four to five mm between your two pubic bones. When you are pregnant, the gap between these two pubic bones increases from four to five mm by another two to three mm.

• In some cases, the gap between the two pubic bones can increase further, causing a gap of at least ten mm or more. When this happens, you will experience a severe form of pain your pubic area, and this condition is known as diastasis symphysis pubis.

4. Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction:

• The sacroiliac joint is formed by the joining of the two pelvic bones on the side and the sacrum at your back. It is also the joint that helps to connect your pelvis area and your spine.

• The sacroiliac joint bears the maximum impact of the weight gain that you have during your pregnancy.

• While you are pregnant, if your ligaments around this joint are not strong enough and become loose due to some reason, it can result in severe pain in your lower back.

5. Pain In The Joint Of The Knee And The Ankle:

While you are pregnant, your weight increases with each passing week and month.

• The increase in your weight causes significant pressure on various joints that act as the supporting joints and bear the most of your weight.

• Two such joints that will bear the maximum amount of weight as your pregnancy progress are the joints in your knee and the joints in your ankle.

• With the increase in weight and the increase in pressure, there is a chance of damage to the joints in your knee and ankle, which could result in pain in the related joints.

[ Read: Tips To Relieve Knee Pain During Pregnancy ]

6. Pain In The Joint Of The Wrist:

The pain in the joint of your wrist is also known as the carpal tunnel syndrome.

• During pregnancy, many women suffer from the carpal tunnel syndrome, in which case you will experience swelling in your wrist, which is mainly due to fluid retention.

• If you are suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, you will also experience some additional symptoms such as numbness in your wrist or fingers, a tingling sensation in the wrist and fingers and in other parts of the palm and surrounding area.

• In some cases, the pain can be quite severe, so strong that you may not be able to use your fingers or wrist at all, and may need immediate medical care. Carpal tunnel syndrome usually gets better on its own once the baby is born.

[ Read: Treatment Of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome During Pregnancy ]

Tips To Prevent Pain In Joints During Pregnancy:

While you are pregnant, the pain in your joints can occur due to many factors that are a natural part of your pregnancy, such as gaining weight and the like. While you cannot eliminate the occurrence of joint pain during pregnancy, you can at least try to follow a few tips that will help prevent it to some extent. Also, if you are already suffering from joint pain while you are pregnant, following the tips that are mentioned below may help you to reduce the severity of the same. Consult your doctor before you follow any of these steps. Here are some tips that can help you deal with pregnancy joint pain:

• Use a heating pad on the area where you are feeling the pain, but only if there is no redness or swelling. If you notice redness or swelling, speak to your doctor about it.

• Lie back and elevate your feet, as it will improve the flow of blood and help to prevent any blood clots that may further cause joint pain in the foot.

• Exercise regularly, even if you take a brisk walk, as it will help to keep those aches away.

• Eat properly and make sure you include all varieties of nutrition in your diet.

• Rest as and when you can to help get your body energized and avoid fatigue.

[ Read: Ways To Cope With Fatigue During Pregnancy ]

• Massage the sore areas gently.

While joint pain and discomfort is quite a common part of pregnancy, it is important that you discuss your condition with your doctor to make sure that nothing is wrong and that you receive the right treatment at the right time if needed.

Moms, did you experience joint pain when pregnant? What part did you mostly feel the pain at and what did you do to get comfortable? Share your tips here to help other soon-to-be moms. Leave your comments below. We would love to hear from you. A very happy pregnancy to you mommy!