How I Treated Postpartum Sciatica After Pregnancy

This post is about how I developed and treated postpartum sciatica after pregnancy plus the top 5 exercises that helped the most.

Postpartum sciatica is something no one warned me about after giving birth.

I was prepared to deal with everything in regards to having a baby and dealing with the postpartum healing from birth. After 46 hours of labor and a traumatic birth experience due to an emergency c-section with complications, somehow someway, I did not anticipate any more issues.

After 5 days in the hospital, I believed it would be smooth sailing from there. Until it wasn’t.

At about 6 weeks postpartum, I began feeling an extreme sharp pain in my butt. Certain movements made it worse. And walking was incredibly painful.

My doula had previously mentioned “sciatica” throughout pregnancy, but I was now postpartum, so it never occurred to me I could still develop it.

How I Treated Postpartum Sciatica After Pregnancy

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Postpartum sciatic nerve pain is, thankfully, something that can be treated through physical therapy, exercise, and/or yoga.

Below you will find more information about sciatica, what it is, why does it affect women postpartum, and how you can treat it through exercise.

What is Sciatica? And Why Do You Get it Postpartum?

In simple terms, sciatica is typically leg pain caused by a pinched nerve in the lower back.

From my experience with sciatic nerve pain, I was extremely confused and of course, I searched it online, but it did not lead me to postpartum sciatica. And the reason for that is that I did not experience leg pain per se, it was more so my left butt cheek. If I could explain it, it was a nerve pain under my butt fat (lol) (which at the end of the day, is still part of the leg, around my hamstring).

With that being said, about 40% of people in the U.S. experience sciatica at some point in their life.

The sciatic nerve, when irritated or injured, is what causes the pain. The pain and sciatica symptoms change from person to person. The pain can go from your lower back down your leg, most typically on the back of the leg, and change based on your movements, or, like me, it can be a concentrated pain in an area, like it was for me on my left buttock.

Postpartum sciatica happens for a variety of reasons, such as:

Weight gain throughout pregnancy (Sour ce);
Childbirth due to long labor, back labor, baby’s position…etc (Source);
Physical inactivity throughout pregnancy and postpartum period (this is specially common during the third trimester as you get closer to your due date);
Weak core due to pregnancy (Sour ce); and/or
Poor posture such as hunching due to breastfeeding (Sour ce).

As mentioned earlier, I was in labor for 46 hours (luckily, it was not back labor). I also had a failed epidural during birth, gained 60 lbs during pregnancy, and was attempting to breastfeed the first 2 weeks postpartum (I ended up exclusively pumping for 12 months. Read more on that here). I could not have been a better candidate for postpartum sciatica even if I had tried. The residual effects of my pregnancy and daily activities alongside taking care of a new baby simply pushed my body in a way it could not handle it and therefore developed postpartum sciatica nerve pain.

If you have any of these characteristics and are experiencing nerve pain, call your provider to confirm if you are experiencing postpartum sciatica.

How I Treated Postpartum Sciatica After Pregnancy

Source

Prenatal Chiropractor

Throughout my pregnancy, I was already seeing a prenatal chiropractor. So when my sciatic pain became more prevalent, the first thing I did was mention it to my prenatal chiropractor. I was already seeing her on a weekly basis postpartum because I was already having issues with my hips and pelvic floor due to symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD).

My prenatal chiropractor was not knowledgeable nor qualified to diagnose sciatica, so she simply let me know she could not help me and let me know that my pain was unrelated to my hips and/or pelvic floor (and outside her expertise), so I should see an orthopedic doctor.

Orthopedic Doctor

Per my chiropractor’s recommendation, I scheduled an appointment with an orthopedic. I was seen in a few days and he immediately let me know that I was dealing with sciatica.

I still had some x-rays done to make sure there was no other condition affecting me, but he confirmed that my extreme weight gain of 60 lbs was a big contributor for my postpartum sciatica. His words were something along the lines that due to my rapid weight gain throughout pregnancy, my body was not able to physically catch up, therefore, I was straining my sciatic nerve and therefore causing sciatica pain.

Physical Therapy

Per my orthopedic’s referral, I began seeing a physical therapist. I must admit that I only went once due to my personal experience with exercise. But if you are a novice or beginner in exercise, do continue going to physical therapy if that option is available to you.

Physical therapy is needed for sciatica to help you strengthen your muscles, such as your legs, abdominal muscles, core, and/or lower back.

Exercise Moves that Helped Me Treat Postpartum Sciatica

I continued my physical therapy at home by doing the following exercises that helped me strengthen my legs and core. Within a couple of days, I felt my pain lessen and eventually, as my orthopedic doctor mentioned, my body had become strong enough to carry the extra weight I had gained throughout pregnancy, as well as work on my posture and inactivity.

Below you will find 5 exercises you can do that are focused on the lower body to help you strengthen your legs as well as your core and general lower back area.

Good news is that you can use these exercises for pain relief. A common issue you may encounter though, it that they may be too difficult, specially if you are still adjusting to your new life and still fresh in your postpartum period. You can use a chair to hold on to as well as a yoga block to help you modify the exercises.

Lunge

Squat

Supine Hamstring Pose

exercises for postpartum sciatica relief

Bird Dog

Single Leg-Deadlift

EXTRA: Glute Bridge

How I Treated Postpartum Sciatica After Pregnancy

For pregnant women and new mothers, as the baby grows throughout pregnancy, the center of gravity starts to change with the growing uterus and growing belly. There are many changes a woman goes through during pregnancy and during the postpartum period, but luckily, you are able to treat your sciatica by seeing a physical therapist and incorporating specific exercises into your exercise routine to strengthen the back of your leg (aka hamstring), abdominal muscles, and core.

By incorporating an exercise routine, you will therefore work on your poor posture which happens to most women due to breastfeeding and/or holding the baby for long periods of time.

For somewhat immediate relief, you can opt for essential oils, heating pad, ice pack, gentle stretches, or a warm bath.

P.S. If you would like to know how you can balance your postpartum hormones, I recommend reading: Fixing Postpartum Hormone Imbalance After Childbirth & Breastfeeding.

How I Treated Postpartum Sciatica After Pregnancy

How I Treated Postpartum Sciatica After Pregnancy

What is Sciatica? And Why Do You Get it Postpartum?

Postpartum sciatica happens for a variety of reasons, such as:

If you have any of these characteristics and are experiencing nerve pain, call your provider to confirm if you are experiencing postpartum sciatica.