Pregnancy Low Back Pain: Exercises to Focus On & Avoid

Updated December 11, 2024

Low Back Pain (LBP) is the #1 most common discomfort during pregnancy. In fact, close to 70% of people develop LBP at some point during pregnancy (Wang et al., 2004). It’s so common that it may seem inevitable. However, by understanding its causes, you will be better positioned to adjust certain habits in order to minimize its effects (or perhaps avoid it altogether).

Read on to learn:

• Why low back pain is so common during pregnancy
• 7 exercises to mitigate low back pain
• What to avoid if you are experiencing low back pain

Why is LBP so common during pregnancy?

The reason for its ubiquity is that there are several physiological and biomechanical factors that coalesce all around the same time, creating the conditions for LBP to thrive. Here are some of the key contributors:

• Alignment Changes: During pregnancy, the growing belly tends to tips the pelvis anteriorly (forward), as you can see in the image below. This pulls the lumbar spine into extension, compressing the tissues in the low back, making them tight and uncomfortable.

• Shift in Center of Gravity: The other “fun” side effect of your growing belly is that it actually shifts your center of gravity (which is normally about 2″ below your navel) up and out. When this happens, the muscles in the back of your body have to work harder to prevent you from falling forward. So, they are in constant tension. In addition, the extra weight in front often leads people to compensate by leaning backward to better balance themselves (as you can see a bit in the image above as well), which can further accentuate the pressure on the lower back.
• Hormonal Changes: During pregnancy, there is an increase in a hormone called relaxin. As its name indicates, relaxin is responsible for the softening of all the soft tissues in the body. The purpose is to allow the pelvis to widen to adapt to the growing baby and to facilitate an easier labor. However, the down side of this pelvic loosening is that it decreases stability in this region, making it more difficult to resist the shift in center of gravity.
• Weak or “overwhelmed” deep core and glute muscles:  Your deep core and gluteal muscles provide support to your low back. If these muscles are weak or simply “overwhelmed” from the stresses of a growing belly and shifted alignment during pregnancy, they are not as effective in providing support to the low back.

7 Exercises to Focus On to Mitigate Pain

Now that you understand the contributing factors that can lead to LBP, it’s time to focus on the things you can do to help support your body to minimize, or prevent, the effects of LBP. Practice the 7 important exercises below.

1. Find Neutral Alignment: This first one is not really an “exercise,” but incredibly important in mitigating back pain. It’s about getting your body into neutral alignment to minimize pressure on your low back. Watch the video below to learn how to get your body into neutral alignment, and try to keep this in mind as you go about your day — especially during long periods of standing or walking.
2. 360° Breathing: Strong core and glute muscles can help resist the alignment shifts that pull the lower back into the excessive arch. Begin by practicing what we refer to as the #1 most effective core exercise: 360° Breathing. This simple movement activates your deep core muscles and gets them to work together in harmony. Practice it alone first, then learn how to incorporate it into your movements, as discussed in the demo below.
3. Cat-Cow: This is a great mobility exercise to relieve tension in the low back. However, a common mistake is to focus more of the movement in the upper back, which doesn’t provide as much of that needed stretch to the low back. Watch the video demonstration below, which shows you how to initiate the movement from your pelvis to increase the release in your low back. 
   
4. Quadruped T-Spine Stretch: Another factor that can cause tightness in your low back is when adjacent areas of your body — like your hips and thoracic spine — are tight, and therefore move less than they are supposed to. When this happens, your low back often overcompensates during movements (meaning, more stress on your low back). Therefore, exercises #4 – 6 are designed to release these adjacent areas to help alleviate stress from your low back. This quadruped t-spine stretch helps to mobilize your thoracic spine.
5. Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch: Your hip flexors are another adjacent area that can increase tension in the low back if they are tight. Therefore, this hip flexor stretch is a great way to keep your hip flexors supple to ease tension in your low back.
6. Windshield Wipers: This is a great hip mobility exercise to avoid placing excess stress on your low back.
7. Bridge: As mentioned in exercise #2 above, strong core and glute muscles are essential for minimizing low back pain. The bridge is a great exercise to strengthen your glutes, and it’s safe to perform throughout pregnancy..

We hope these exercises help you to feel some relief. If your pain is severe, you might also consider seeking a prenatal certified acupuncturist or massage therapist. Having another pair of helping hands can go a long way towards bringing relief to a body working hard to grow a little one.

What to Avoid

As you focus on the exercises above to bring relief, you’ll also want to avoid positions or conditions that provoke pain, such as the following:

• Moves that “ask a lot” of your core: If you are experiencing pain, avoid moves that require a lot of core work. For example, on the left image below, you can see a two-arm bent over row requires quite a bit of core work to hold that position. You can modify this to a kneeling row, as you see in the image on the right, using the other arm to support your body’s weight. This significantly reduces the load on the low back.
  
• “Anti-Extension” Exercises: These are core exercises that involve resisting being pulled into extension — think planks, leg lifts, and dead bugs. Like the point above, these movements “ask a lot” of the core, which can sometimes be too much if you are already experiencing LBP.
• “Lower” your weights: We mean this in two ways. First, lowering (or reducing) the amount of weight you lift is a great strategy to relieve some of the work from your low back. In addition, you can also lower the position of your weight. For example, when doing squats with a set of dumbbells, you could hold the weights down by your sides, as opposed to holding them in a racked position in front or your chest. As a rule of thumb, the higher you lift a weight above you, the more your core (or low back) will have to work.
• Avoid Provocative Positions: This one is obvious but worth mentioning. If something hurts, don’t do it. Even if you think you should fight through discomfort for the long-term benefit of doing certain activities, don’t.

Support Garment to Help Address Pain

If you have painful symptoms, consider wearing a compression garment. We love the range from SRC Health, which offers high-quality garments to wear under and over your bump (use code PRONATAL10 for 10% off).

Get a Safe & Effective Workout Program for Pregnancy

Are you looking for safe and effective workouts that will help you build the strength necessary to help prevent pregnancy pains (like low back pain) in the first place? Explore our Prenatal Workout Programs. Just select the program that’s right for you based on your stage when starting and the easy-to-use app will guide you through a complete training program for the duration of your pregnancy to help you experience an easier pregnancy, smoother delivery, and faster recovery.

Are you a Health & Fitness Professional?

Are you interested in training pre & postnatal clients or supporting them better in your current line of work? Explore our ProNatal Professional Education & Certification to find courses, resources, and community to help you build your pre & postnatal fitness expertise.

 

Sources
Wang, S., Dezinno, P., Maranets, I. Berman, M.R., Caldwell-Andrews, A.A., Kain, Z.N. (2004). Low Back Pain During Pregnancy. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 104(1), 65-70.

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Medical Disclaimer
This information is for educational purposes, to be used as general information only. It should not be considered medical advice nor should there be an assumption of a doctor-patient relationship. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment as a result of any information provided in this document.