Pregnancy Butt Pain? Try These Tips!
Pregnancy can be challenging as is, don't let yourself live with pain if you don't have to
If you’re having pain right in the middle of your butt during pregnancy, let’s talk about what you can do about it.
Hi! I’m Ally. I’m a women’s health Doctor of Physical Therapy & I’ve helped countless women with this very issue.
Why does it happen?
Most commonly you get pain in your glutes due to weakness. During pregnancy, ligamentous laxity sets in due to hormonal changes in preparation for delivery. As your ligaments become more relaxed, your muscles need to be even stronger to hold your joints (so to speak) before delivery itself.
ANYWAYS, here are 3 tips to get you some pain relief —
Tennis Ball Massage
Grab a ball of your choice (golf ball, tennis ball, baseball). Smaller & softer = less aggressive. Then, place the ball on the spot that hurts & lean against a wall. Hold for 60-90 seconds. Find another spot & repeat. If you want something more aggressive, you can sit on the ball instead.
Stretch It Out
Take a seat. Cross your ankle over your knee. Then, lean forwards. You should feel a nice stretch in your glute. If this doesn’t work try the following: sit and cross your ankle over your knee like before, but this time, use your hands to pull your knee across your chest. Whichever stretch works for you is great. Hold 30 seconds. Try 2-3 reps.
Strengthen
There are SO many options to strengthen this area. I like to have people try a good morning because it’s functional & you can tailor it to your pain level. Start standing with your hands behind your head. Hinge at your hips thinking about pushing your butt back. Allow the stretch in your glutes to happen. Then, squeeze your butt to stand. The more you hinge, the more aggressive the exercise will be. You’ll want to keep the pain to a minimum. You can always get lower in the hinge as you feel better. This is functional because it’s a similar movement to picking items up from the ground or emptying the dishwasher or lifting the toilet seat.
Do you or did you have pain in your butt during pregnancy? What has helped you?