overdue post!
back while i was pregnant, i was having really bad low, lower back pain. i just figured it was part of pregnancy and that it would go away after i delivered zee little bebe.
while sleeping, it was hard to turn over, not because of my belly, but because the movements that i made (with my legs really) while doing this put pressure on my lower back in way such that the back of my pelvis would make deep cracking noises and would hurt. this part wasn't that bad. the worst part was the first steps after waking up, or first steps after sitting for a long period. these hurt really badly, felt sharp and deep, but it wouldn't take long for the really bad pain to turn into just an annoying throbby ache.
well, after i had the baby, this pain didn't go away. in fact, it just started getting worse, so back to the doctor i went.
turns out that my sacro-iliac joint was falling out of place, and getting inflamed. it all probably started while i was still pregnant, as hormones started loosening my ligaments and joints (per my complaints above) and then was possibly exacerbated by graham's sunny side up delivery.
and while my left side hurt worse than my right, both were a-hurtin'.
the sacro-iliac joint is where the sacrum (base of the spine) and iliac (back of pelvis) join together, and looks like this:
and since my days on maternity leave consisted of summertime with two kids, there was a lot of stroller pushing, kid lifting, and even in-and-out of the car going on. not being able to lift my kiddies without pain was making me super sad and frustrated, which is what drove me to the doctor and hence, to PT. not to mention, i really wanted to work out again!
my physical therapist specializes in women's health, and was pregnant herself. she was too chatty at first, but i grew to enjoy our conversations. she'd do some magic and i'd do some exercises, 1-2 times per week. i wasn't supposed to put my feet on the coffee table while breastfeeding -- just a very common position for new mamas -- and sitting cross legged while breastfeeding was an even bigger no-no, because of how it would throw my joints off. wasn't supposed to push the double stroller, either.
the physical therapy only provided temporary relief until i popped one of the joints back out. my lower back/back of my pelvis felt like it might accidentally break apart. but as i continued with my exercises to strengthen the surrounding areas, it slowly started to get a little better. i also learned how to kind of pop the joint back in. also, once i went back to work and my milk supply started suffering, the relaxin (hormone) in my system started dwindling too. and this actually helped begin to stabilize the joints, as the original cause was reversing itself.i read online about this happening to other women during pregnancy, and for some, they didn't fully recover!! i freaked myself out. my physical therapist said i'd be running again in less than six months, probably sooner, but i wasn't sure whether to believe her!!
during my last session, we did ACUPUNCTURE! i was pumped, as i'd never had it before. i should have had her take a picture of me! the needles didn't really hurt going in. then she stimulated some of muscles with little electronic waves through the needles i guess? and that was so weird. it was a pulsing sensation. some of the things she did were pretty intense and felt super weird. it did kind of hurt and made me jerk my legs! has anyone else done acupuncture like this before?
at about four months post baby i was almost back to normal. it's amazing for me that now, picking up piper is painLESS. i can push and turn the stroller so easily, and can't believe that it could have possibly caused any pain, let alone as much pain as it did. and not only can i walk without notice, even running again seems to be just fine!! it might be slow-going, but i'm so happy to be back out there! i can hardly remember that my sacro-iliac even ever hurt like it did.
pretty amazing how the body can heal!
plus anyway, little graham was totally worth it!
