Okay, so let’s talk about this tailbone pain I dealt with during my pregnancy. It wasn’t something I had really heard much about before, and honestly, it’s not super common, but it definitely happened to me.
I started noticing it more in my late second trimester and then it got worse in the third. You know, as my belly got bigger and bigger, my center of gravity started to shift.
At first, I thought it was just regular back pain, which I knew was normal during pregnancy. But this was different. It was right at the bottom of my spine, like, at the very tip of my tailbone. It’s called Coccydynia, which I didn’t even know how to pronounce at first! Turns out, your tailbone is this little tiny bone at the very end of your spine.
So, I started to feel this aching pain, especially when I was sitting for a long time. Getting up from a chair? Ouch! Bending over? Forget about it! Even just walking around sometimes would make it sore.
I did a little digging online, trying to figure out what was going on. I found out that there are these changes that happen to your body when you’re pregnant that can make this tailbone pain worse. Your body’s preparing for childbirth, and there are these joints around your tailbone, called the SI joints, that can get all out of whack.
I also stumbled upon some stretches that were supposed to help with SI joint pain. I was desperate, so I started doing them every day. Honestly, they provided some relief, not a miracle cure, but it did help me manage the pain a little better.
- Simple Seated Twist: Just sit up straight in a chair, twist your upper body to one side, hold for a few seconds, then twist to the other side.
- Knee to Chest: Lie on your back, pull one knee up to your chest, hold it there for a bit, then switch legs.
- Figure Four Stretch: Lie on your back with your knees bent, then cross one ankle over the opposite knee, and gently pull that knee towards your chest.
I also found that using a cushion when I sat down made a big difference. I got one of those donut-shaped pillows, and it took some of the pressure off my tailbone.
The pain didn’t completely go away until after I had the baby. But doing those stretches and using the cushion definitely made those last few months of pregnancy a bit more bearable.
So, if you’re pregnant and dealing with tailbone pain, you’re not alone. It’s a real thing, and it sucks! But hopefully, some of the things that helped me will help you too.
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