How Pregnancy, Child-Birth, and C-Sections Can Cause Back Pain

Back pain during and after pregnancy is a common phenomenon.  A woman’s body undergoes a lot of change during pregnancy and after giving birth.  There are changes in how a woman walks, hormonal changes that cause the ligaments to be more relaxed, postural changes from carrying a child internally and after birth (think of holding a child on the hip), and often weakness from muscles having been stretched.  If a cesarean-section was required, then there will be weakness of the abdomen and possible limitations in mobility from scarring. 

Let’s be honest, women are ‘tough mothers,’ and often live through their discomfort as they raise their child(ren).  But there is no need to suffer.  Back pain after childbirth is treatable.
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One of the first questions we ask our female clients of child-bearing age is have they had children? Was it a natural birth or Caesarean section?  We know the effects childbirth can have on a woman’s body and back pain is often a result. 

​Back pain can happen when the spine does not feel supported.  Childbirth can impact the pressure system of your abdomen that supports your spine.  The pressure system is made up of the diaphragm, the ‘core, and pelvic floor.  These three components work together to make sure your spine feels strong and safe when you perform activities through the day.  If one of those components is out of sync, then the body will rely on the other two to do all the work.  Childbirth typically results in weakness of the abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor.  This weakness may have you relying on the muscles of your lower back or other areas of the body that cause more pressure on the spine.

These changes in the pressure system can be seen years after a child is born.  We have seen how C-sections performed decades ago still have had an impact on the function of the abdomen.  This can be assessed by how well a muscle group can contract under light pressure from the therapist.  If the body feels stressed or under threat it will reduce the capacity for those muscles to function properly.  This can still happen years after all the tissues have healed.  The brain does not forget that it did not like having that area compressed or stretched all those years ago even though you have moved on with your life. 

It is best to take care of your back pain as soon as possible after giving birth, but it is never too late to help.  Sometimes the back pain does not happen for years because your body adapted so well after childbirth.  Occasion we see a new onset of back pain relating back to changes from childbirth that happened years before.  No matter whether your back pain is old or new it is frustrating when it gets in the way of playing with the kids or enjoying your daily activities.  Please don’t wait any longer to get help for you back pain. 

Come in for a FREE Discovery session to see how we can help you get back to a fun, pain-free life filled with adventures with the kids.

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