Learn the Key 4 Areas to Focus On

Pregnancy is filled with lots of changes for the female body. There’s a myth out there that experiencing back pain during pregnancy is normal. We’ve got some news for you Mama - it may be common but not it is not normal.

As a pregnant women, there can be an overwhelming amount of information available throughout your pregnancy on what’s the best choices are for baby, but we also want to address where there can be a gap in the information about what’s best thing for you and baby to have a healthy, safe pregnancy when it comes to your body. This blog will give you 4 areas to focus on for addressing and reducing low back pain during pregnancy.

Like we mentioned earlier, back pain during pregnancy is common, but not normal. Let’s take a look at some reasons why this may happen. We’re going to use the analogy of a home. If we think about it in a simple way - you have the foundation, the walls and the roof. When building a home (or building a “home” for our baby to grow and develop in) we need to ensure our foundation is strong, stable and dynamic to take on the demands of the environment. If you have an unstable house because the foundation is unstable, deteriorating and poorly built, that’s a bigger problem than just some drafty windows. We’re talking about a full on renovation needing to happen.

Our core is a dynamic system that includes the muscles of the pelvic floor, your diaphragm, transverse abdominis muscle (deep “corset”), and multifidus muscles (deep rotators in your back). As our bodies change throughout pregnancy we must be adapting in our approach to provide an anchor in our system, when we don’t find ways for our core to adapt we will compensate with a less efficient movement pattern, which can lead to over working of muscles groups like back muscles, pain and dysfunctional movements and postures. We must address the issue at the foundation. 

This is where finding an effective program to help with fitness and performance throughout your pregnancy and beyond. We’re going to take a look at the 4 main areas to start when looking to build strength in your core, reduce occurrence of low back pain and feel confident throughout your pregnancy. 

1. Core Strength

• Foundational Core Brace - Transverse Abdominis → “Hug your baby” is a great way to see this deep abdominal muscle engage during pregnancy. Another thing I like to remind mamas about is to practice relaxing your muscles as well. We don’t constantly contract our biceps, so why should we feel like we need to constantly keep our deep abs “tight”.

• Bird/Dog - *Helpful cue to engage deep abdominals - exhale like you’re blowing petals off of a flower **

• Pallof Press 

2. Hip Strength

• Glute Bridge 

•  Side Lying hip abduction 

3. Posture

• DB Renegade Row in 4 Point Position  

•  Scap Push ups in 4 Point Position

4. Breathing

• Core Connection Breathing

Mamas - if you’re ready to build a more supportive environment from the inside out and follow an exercise program that is thoughtfully designed for a strong, pain free and confident pregnancy - check out The Powerful Pregnancy Program. This was created just for mamas like you! 

If you have questions or want to learn more about ways to strengthen your body during pregnancy and postpartum -  connect with us by signing up for a free consultation with our Inside Out women’s health specialists to address your symptoms and create a plan to feel strong and confident as a mother.