What Is Sciatica Pain During Pregnancy

Sciatica is one of the less common causes of.

What is sciatica pain during pregnancy. Sciatica is pain that irritation of the sciatic nerve causes. The sciatic nerve runs under your uterus to your legs. You may already know that as your uterus grows larger it becomes harder to wait between restroom visits. This feels great during pregnancy.

Causes during pregnancy. This nerve provides sensation to the back of the thigh the lower part of the leg and the sole of the foot. Causes of sciatica during pregnancy in the general population sciatica is usually caused by herniated discs but sciatica due to a herniated disc is actually pretty rare during pregnancy affecting roughly 1 percent of moms to be. The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the body providing a sensory and motor function to the lower extremities.

This inflammation often occurs as a result of the pressure being placed on the nerve by the growing belly. It helps stretch the muscles of the back buttocks and the back of. The sciatic nerve the largest in the body starts in the lower back runs down the buttocks and branches down the back of the legs to the ankles and feet. Sciatica is a shooting burning pain that can radiate from hip to foot.

When tight it can irritate the sciatic. Sciatica usually occurs when the sciatic nerve is pinched by a herniated disk or a vertebral bone spur. Sciatic nerve pain during pregnancy is thought to be associated with pressure on the nerve caused by the developing baby. Obesity or weight gain including weight gained during pregnancy and prolonged sitting can also increase risk of developing sciatic pain.

Causes of sciatica pain during pregnancy the major culprit of sciatica pain in pregnancy is an enlarged uterus. Unlike your average pregnancy back pain sciatica is a sharp shooting pain tingling or numbness that starts in the back or buttocks and radiates all the way down the backs of your legs. This pain is caused by compression of the sciatic nerve the large nerve that innervates the lower half of the body. Adding sciatica to this mix is just one more burden for a pregnant woman to bear.

Ways to relieve sciatica pain 1. Pregnancy can be very tough on a woman s body and enacts all sorts of changes to her anatomy and emotional mindset. Sciatica during pregnancy is a somewhat common occurrence as is general lower back pain. The sciatic nerve often becomes slightly inflamed in order to cause sciatica pain during pregnancy.

However the sciatic nerve can be compressed by other things that are very common in pregnancy. This is because the uterus puts pressure on your bladder making it hard to hold a normal amount of urine like you used to.