Tips to Reduce Back Pain: Correct Posture During Pregnancy

Back pain is common in pregnancy. However, by taking care of your posture, you can prevent muscular aches and joint pain. Always remember to gently tighten your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles before and during movement for additional support. Here are more tips to help you with your daily routine during pregnancy.

Tips to help with your daily routine:

Getting out of bed  

When getting out of bed, be sure to

- Bend your knees before rolling onto your side. 

- Gently tighten abdominal and pelvic floor muscles. 

- Use your arms to push yourself into a sitting position. 

- Avoid doing a sit-up action.

Standing up

Before standing up, you should

- Move your ankles to promote blood circulation. 

- Doing so allows your blood pressure to adjust before you stand up. 

- Gently tightten your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.

- Place your hands on your thighs for support.

- Lean forwards as you stand up.

Standing

During standing, always:

- Stand with equal weight on both feet.

- Gently tighten your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.

- Relax your shoulders, bringing them slightly back and down. 

- Standing with the right posture helps to prevent back and hip pain.

Getting dressed

Take precaution when getting dresses:

- Sit on chair (instead of balancing on one leg) when putting on underwater, pants and footwear.

Sitting posture

During sitting

- Rest both legs firmly on the ground to reduce swlling.

- Lean against the chair for support.

- Use a small cushion or towel to orovide additional support, if needed.

- Work surface should be at elbow height with everything placed within reach.

- Move your feet regularly to prevent swelling.

Lifting objects

- Care must also be taken when lifting objects.

- First, tighten your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles before loweing yourself onto one knee.

- Hold the objects as close to your body as possible.

- Use (your) other hand to push down on your thigh for additional support as you stand.

For a heavier object , move it in stages:

- One useful method is to fisrt move the item onto a chair.

- Then stand up and lift the object from the chair.