What Are Some Good Back Exercises For Pregnant Women?
My friend is about 8 months and her back is killing her. I don’t want her lifting weights but since she is so small I know the extra baby weight is hurting her. Any suggestions?
My friend is about 8 months and her back is killing her. I don’t want her lifting weights but since she is so small I know the extra baby weight is hurting her. Any suggestions?
Pelvic Rocks! They are fabulous for lower back pain, even when you’re not pregnant. There are super pictures at the “Wanna be big” website
(http://www.wannabebig.com/article.php?ar… :
Here’s the easiest way to do them without any equipment except her and the floor. They also help the baby “hang” away from her spine and other muscles and reduce the swelling in her pelvic floor, etc.
To do it:
She should get on the floor (put padding of some sort, even a folded towel or a nice yoga pad). Get on her hands and knees with her back straight and her knees hip-width apart. Put her hands on the floor in line with her shoulders. She will be rolling her pelvis back and forth, which will help her spine roll and stretch out section by section. It feels great!
As she exhales, tighten her abdominal muscles and arch her lower back UP. Let her head hang loose. Hold for five seconds.
She should inhale as she relaxes her back to the starting position, and then letting her back sag down toward the floor. Use the pelvic muscles — hips, pelvic floor, etc. — to move, rather than using her shoulders.
Do them slowly and carefully; she can do cycles of 5-10 reps or about 10 minutes whenever she feels stress in her back.
She can also do this on an exercise ball, or leaning against the wall, which will let her feel the pelvis move forward and backward.
Good luck. Massaging her back is great, too, and the physical contact feels good to everyone (even if you’re not romantic).
Another alternative will let her rub her own lower back — give her a great, cheap useful present, too. Get a pair of long athletic socks and three tennis balls. (The used-up ones are fine if you know someone who plays)
Take one of the socks. Put one tennis ball in, and tie off the top. This is a “single fist” back-rub tool.
Take the other sock. Put one tennis ball in the toe. Tie a knot in the center of the sock. Put the other tennis ball in the sock, and tie off the top.
When her back hurts, she can use either of these tools to rub where it hurts. Put the ball/sock between her and the wall, against her back where it hurts. Have her lean back, with her back flat against the wall, and “roll around” on the ball. If she needs two places rubbed simultaneously, she can use the other sock.
These are great labor tools, too, but are wonderful now as her back and cartilage is changing to get ready to get that baby out!
She’s lucky to have a good friend to help!
exercises may not be the right thing to suggest unless her doc approves it then let him suggest an exercise program for her
in the meanwhile make sure that she is not “locking her knees”
locking the knees means her knees are straight up and down with the legs this can cause the blood in her legs to not be allowed to return to be renewed by the heart and lungs it can also add to the possibility of passing out and kissing pavement or ground ( wherever she may happen to be) if the legs are kept bent she will be removing a lot of pressure off of her lower back and it will help keep her back STRAIGHT ! ! ! !
Gaiam has an amazing Prenatal Yoga Dvd that helped me with all sorts of aches and pains while I was pregnant, especially my lower back. Plus it shows modifications for 1st, 2nd and 3rd tirmester.
SWIMMING!!!!!!!!! It will take the extra weight off of her, and let her exercise a bit. She’ll enjoy it, trust me.
Enroll in a YOGA class, there are some avalible for pregnant women. It helps strenghten muscles and is relaxing too.
doggy style
When I was pregnant by back always hurt. Then I got one of those big exercise balls to sit and bounce on and my back would feel better.