Can anything be done for pregnancy back pain that's safe for the baby?

I had something very similar while pregnant and it certainly was debilitating! I ended up going to a chiropractor who did wonders for me in just a couple of visits. I was referred to her by a friend, who said she had a lot of experience helping pregnant women. I saw her three times and the pain disappeared. I went back for two more visits toward the end of my pregnancy just to make sure my body was well aligned in preparation for labor. If Tylenol is not helping I definitely recommend finding a good chiropractor and giving that a shot.

How low on the right side is the pain? Do you have any signs of a UTI as well? I’m just curious in case it’s a kidney infection. If that were the case, you’d need to see a doctor.

Otherwise, since tylenol doesn’t seem to do anything you may also want to talk to your doctor. They can prescribe stronger medications if necessary. Also, I know many pregnant woman that see a chiropractor for back pains during pregnancy. I’m not sure if you have insurance that would cover that, but you may want to look into it.

@Seaofclouds No, I don’t have any other signs or symptoms of a uti. It’s not really low. It’s about ¾ of the way down my back and it’s only one side. I give a urine sample everytime I see the dr (which was today). Would they notice that? Or maybe they don’t test for that without having reason to?

@ItalianPrincess1217 If you do a urine test at each appointment, they would pick up that you may have an infection from the urine analysis. Have you been taking regular strength tylenol or extra strength? There are other, stronger pain medications that are safe during pregnancy, but your doctor would have to prescribe them. Do you remember doing anything in particular that may have caused the pain (maybe twisting the wrong way or pulling a muscle)?

@Seaofclouds I’ve just been taking regular Tylenol because I’d feel guilty for taking anything stronger. I don’t remember doing anything in particular that would have hurt my back. I had a fall at work when I fainted but I only hit my spine and it was much lower than where this pain is. Also this pain is coming from my muscle. I’ve been having a sore feeling in my uterus since the back pain started too. That’s why I assumed it’s just the normal stretching pains that happens when the baby continues to grow.

@ItalianPrincess1217 You might want to talk to your doctor about it to be sure. I know some other pains can cause a reaction in the uterus and make it contract (such as with kidney infections/stones), that’s why they worry about those types of things. I personally haven’t had pain in my back with normal uterus stretching. It’s possible, but best to talk to your doctor about it.

A chiropractor is definitely the way to go. See if you can get a referral from your doctor. There are also a few things you can use at home to help – warm baths will increase your circulation, thus increasing the amount of oxygen supplied to muscles and flush the lactic acid from them. Lush make a bubble bar and bath bomb with masses of cypress oil in which is an anti-spasmodic, so would allow your back muscles to relax. http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/bath-shower/bubble-bars/the-comforter-bubble-bar http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/bath-shower/bath-bombs/geo-phyzz
After your bath there are a few other products you could try to help relieve pain. Oils like peppermint, cinnamon, clove, etc are known as blood oils as they increase circulation to relieve pain. Ingredients like ginger and fennel are great for warming the muscles up to relax them in the same way. Try one of these products:
http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/body/massage-bars/wiccy-magic-muscles
http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/body/massage-bars/hottie-
They also make a few shower products that you can use for achey muscles:
http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/bath-shower/shower-gels/flying-fox
http://www.lushusa.com/shop/products/bath-shower/sugar-scrubs/sugar-scrub
When I get period pains I always use a little flying fox mixed with the sugar scrub, massage into the skin and rinse off, pat dry, and massage in the Hottie massage bar and it completely gets rid of them.

As for anything else you can do, try improving your breathing, as silly as it sounds it’s the easiest way to make sure your muscles are getting a good oxygen supply if you combine it with gentle exercise like walking, allowing you to physically and mentally relax. You can also do certain yoga routines during pregnancy.

It is likely muscular. Stretching the area and strengthening should help. Since you are pregnant you should ask your doctor for a recommendation, she might have a document she can give you with exercises to do at home. Some simple things also is to make sure when you lift anything heavy you never lean over to pick it up, always bend your knees and lift the item close to your body. It gets harder as your tummy grows, which means you need to probably not lift things that are very heavy. Also, get out of bed and up from chairs slowly, swinging your feet around firmly on the floor before getting up, so your hips are square when you move, putting less strain on muscles.

When resting put your feet up. If lying down add a pillow under your knees, to take pressure off of your back.

Ibuprofen is much better for muscle pain than Tylenol, because it also an anti-inflammatory, but You should check with your doctor if it is ok to take and make sure you drink a glass of water with it and eat a little. Even if while not pregnant you never bothered with these little precautions to protect your tummy, you should now.

Make sure that you’re wearing lower heel shoes; being forward on your toes in heels can strain cause the added weight on your front to throw out your spinal alignment. You might want to try bending your knees slightly and tucking fanny in slightly when you’re standing. It will feel a little weird but will not look weird, and will straighten your spine out. There’s also this thing you can buy to wear called a belly band that will help support the out front weight of the baby.