Sciatica

Hi!
Has anyone been having to deal with sciatica during their pregnancy after twins? Mine has become pretty awful, and I'm finding it hard to properly take care of my 16 month old twins (especially since they aren't walking on their own yet, oh, and one just broke her ankle yesterday!) and our home. I have an appt. set up with a chiropractor recommended to me by my OB, but I've never gone to one before. Does it truly help? Is there anything else I can be doing in the meantime?
Thank you!

 

I'm only 13 weeks pregnant and I am already having very bad lower back pain. It is compounded by lifting and carrying my boys, who are 22 months old and very heavy (about 33 lbs each). I try not to carry the boys too much, but one insists on it a lot of the time. Even if I avoid a lot of carrying, there's still lifting them in and out of the car/cribs/highchair/bath, etc. so it's a struggle. My last pregnancy I had a bad lower back in the 6th and 7th months, so this time 13 weeks seem incredibly early but I've gained 20 lbs already (I was underweight before I got pregnant) so I guess my body is just trying to work out how to carry around this extra weight. Last time my back improved a lot in the 8th and 9th months - probably because my weight gain slowed down and my body became a little more accustomed to carrying the extra weight. I saw my chiropractor this afternoon and she recommended coming back every 2 weeks for massage and adjustments. I hope it helps. I have also started putting my feet up every day when the boys nap - that helps the most, I think. I wish I had suggestions for you. I might look into orthotics, because I've heard they can help take pressure off your back.

 

:hug: I have sciatica so badly at the moment Im sorry I dont have any advice for you I just swear quietly to myself alot and whinge to DH. He has been rubbing my back every now and then and I do feel better for a little while. I hope its better for you soon. Good luck with the chiro.

 

Thank you for the advice and encouragement!

 

I had sciatica from week 8 until week 28 with my last pregnancy (my baby is 4 weeks old and my twins are 22 months). It was so hard some days to pick up my twins and to sit. It DID go away eventually but yes, it is very hard when you have two little ones to pick up. My girls didn't start walking for real until they were 15 months so it was really rough at the start of my pregnancy when they really needed to be carried a lot.

My girls' physical therapist said that there are stretches that you can do to help the pain. Good luck!!