Is getting up from a chair becoming daunting? No more tailbone pain, Mamas to be! Mamahood has shortlisted some exercises to treat tailbone pain in the third trimester. Pregnancy doesn’t always go smoothly for everyone. You may feel a continuous sharp pain radiating from the back, causing severe backache. Now that you have entered your third trimester, it has worsened. Do you think it’s due to your weight gain, or maybe your muscles have weakened? Not at all.
Your hormones are at their peak during the third trimester. The hormones like relaxin and estrogen make the pelvic ligaments flexible and loose, thus, creating more room for the baby. This makes the tailbone and hip joint movements more flexible, causing this pain.
But don’t worry! Mamahood brings you some exercises to treat tailbone pain in the third trimester.
Yoga stretches during pregnancy
According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, prenatal yoga in a modified form is helpful for women. But make sure you do these stretches under expert guidance.
- The cat-cow stretches: It helps to strengthen the lower back and decreases pressure from the tailbone. The pelvic girdle and the arms and abdominal muscles are involved in this stretch.
- Firstly, bend on your hands and knees. Keep your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
- During inhaling, lift your head gently by dropping the belly. Lift your chin and chest. You are ultimately drawing your shoulders away from the ears. This makes the cow pose.
- While exhaling, put your head down gently. Press your hands around the back and chin towards the chest. Here, you are in a cat pose.
- Inhale during the cow pose and exhale during the cat pose.
- This stretch should be repeated ten times.
- The butterfly stretch: This will help relax the hip muscles that cause tailbone pain in the third trimester.
- Sit down on the floor with your legs up front.
- Grab the right foot by bending your knee slightly.
- Gently try to pull the right foot forward towards the groin. Bend it until it’s comfortable. And the foot is now facing the left thigh.
- Now, bend the left knee and bring the left foot towards the ground until both feet meet.
- Rest your elbows on the knees by holding your feet with your hands.
- Keep your back straight with your knees facing the floor.
- Apply gentle pressure over the thighs. You’ll feel slight tension in the groin. This is the perfect butterfly pose.
- Maintain it for 20-30 seconds and repeat it 5-6 times.
- Single leg-knee hug pose: This is the best pose to treat tailbone pain in the third trimester. This stretches the piriformis muscle. It originates from the tailbone and can cause sciatica if it gets inflamed.
- Lie down on your back over the mat.
- Bending one knee towards your chest, hold on to it and gently pull it down into the chest.
- Do it for 30 seconds, then start the other side.
- If you gently increase the stretch over time, it will help increase the range of movements.
- The child pose stretch:
- Start in a kneeling position while sitting back on heels.
- Keep your hands on the floor and slowly slide the arms and the body forward.
- Keep the head down, facing toward the floor.
- Extend the arms fully by slowly shifting forwards.
- Remain in this position for 20-30 seconds.
An insight from mamahood
The tailbone pain is severe and difficult to heal during pregnancy, but lifestyle changes can improve it with time. In some women, it disappears after a few weeks of delivery, but if the pain lasts longer, consult your doctor.
