Aching arms pregnancy

6 weird things that may happen to your body during pregnancy

Heartburn is a common condition during pregnancy.

Pregnancy is a very exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming when your body starts changing and suddenly you don’t feel or look like yourself anymore. You might even find yourself googling strange symptoms in the middle of the night when you can’t sleep.

Morning sickness, extreme tiredness and stretch marks are more widely known discomforts and signs of pregnancy, but there are also some lesser known symptoms and conditions that can occur in pregnancy that you might not know about.

Carpal tunnel syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common condition that causes pain, numbness and tingling in the hand and arm. It can develop during pregnancy thanks to hormonal changes – an increase in fluids during pregnancy compresses the median nerve in the wrist causing a sense of weakness in the hand and the tingling feeling.

Carpal tunnel syndrome can range from mild discomfort, sporadically painful, or severe. Symptoms of carpal tunnel are tingling and numbness in the hands, which usually resolve on their own soon after birth. Splinting and resting the wrist, physiotherapy or anti-inflammatory medication may be helpful for some women experiencing carpal tunnel syndrome.

If you are experiencing tingling and numbness in your hands make sure you let your maternity care provider know.

Skin tags

You may have been told that you’ll be glowing during pregnancy but unfortunately skin conditions like acne, stretch marks, rashes and skin tags are also common.

Skin tags are a type of skin lesion that not uncommon and are non-cancerous. They are hormonally related and can increase in number during pregnancy. Skin tags are caused by the hyperactive growth of your skin and is most likely brought on by hormonal changes and increased blood flow. They usually appear in areas that are often rubbed or hot, moist areas such as you neck, torso or breast folds.

Skin tags are not painful and there is nothing you can do to prevent them. When you give birth it’s possible they will disappear. Your GP or dermatologist can easily remove them by scalpel, or by freezing or burning them off.

Restless leg syndrome

Restless leg syndrome is exactly what it sounds like: you become restless and it often can prevent women from sleeping during pregnancy. It is a condition of the nervous system which presents as an urge to move your legs due to a burning, tingling or itching feeling. You may also experience symptoms such as uncontrolled jerky movements or have similar sensations in the arms. Treatment includes having hot baths, leg massages, reducing caffeine and managing your stress levels.

Discoloured vagina

During your pregnancy, you may have noticed your skin darkening in certain body parts such as your nipples, scars and/or face but did you know your vagina can also darken in colour? This is known as Chadwick’s Sign and can be an early sign of pregnancy.

The cervix and/or vagina can turn a deep bluish-purple colour during pregnancy, due to increased blood flow. So, if you look downstairs and notice things are looking a little unusual, don’t panic!

Cramping legs

Up to half of pregnant women will experience leg cramps. These are more likely to occur in the second and third trimester. Cramps occur when a build-up of acids cause a contraction in the muscle and will most likely happen at night.

During a cramping episode you can walk around, stretch and massage the affected muscles to disperse the build-up of acids or try applying a warm pack to the muscle. Speak to your maternity care provider if you’re thinking about taking any new supplements during pregnancy to help ease symptoms.

Heart burn

Heart burn, also known as acid reflux, occurs when the contents of the stomach backs up into the oesophagus, the tube connecting you stomach to your mouth. This can cause an unpleasant burning feeling. It can happen to anyone, but is more common in pregnancy because of the hormone progesterone.

Progesterone relaxes the muscles in the body and affects the entire digestive system. It is also likely to occur in the latter stages of pregnancy as your uterus places pressure on the stomach. It’s best to avoid big fatty meals, caffeinated drinks and spicy foods if you are experiencing heart burn.

You can find out more about treating heartburn here.

Worried about pregnancy symptoms?

It’s normal to be concerned when you notice a change in your body, especially during pregnancy when changes seem to happen daily! If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms or you’ve noticed anything else new, make sure you let your maternity care provider know or call 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) for more information.

Body aches during pregnancy | BabyCenter

As your body changes during pregnancy, you'll feel new aches and pains. Body aches in early pregnancy may be due to hormonal changes. As pregnancy progresses, physical changes can lead to back pain, pelvic pain, round ligament pain, and sciatica. Applying heat or cold and staying physically active can help soothe and prevent pregnancy aches and pains – but sometimes they indicate a more serious issue.

Is pregnancy a literal pain in your back (and just about everywhere else)? Growing a brand-new person is hard work – and it can take a toll on your body, starting in the first weeks of pregnancy.

Here's how to get relief from your pregnancy aches and pains, as well as advice about when it's time to ask your healthcare provider for help.

What causes body aches in pregnancy?

Throughout your pregnancy, hormones relax your ligaments and joints to prepare your body for birth, which may result in body aches and pains.

As pregnancy progresses – particularly from the second trimester on – you'll gain weight, which puts extra pressure on your joints. In addition, your growing belly pulls your center of gravity forward and stretches and weakens your abdominal muscles, which support your spine and back. As your body adjusts to these changes, it's very common to feel lower back pain, as well as pain in your pelvis, groin, legs, and buttocks.

In addition, beginning in the second trimester you may experience what's known as round ligament pain: a brief, sharp, stabbing pain or a longer-lasting dull ache in your lower belly or groin. This generally harmless condition happens when the attachments between your growing uterus and abdominal wall (The "round ligaments") are pulled or stretched.

You may also experience sciatica as pressure from the weight of your baby and uterus presses on your sciatic nerve, sending shooting pain from your buttocks down the back of your leg.

Is it normal to have body aches in early pregnancy?

Yes. You may experience early pregnancy body aches and muscle pains all over due to hormonal changes, especially toward the end of the first trimester.

Pelvic pain (technically known as pelvic girdle pain) and lower back pain are the most frequent complaints. These discomforts can pop up at any point in pregnancy, although they're more common beginning in week 14 (the start of the second trimester).

You may also experience mild uterine cramping in early pregnancy, similar to period pains, as your uterus begins to expand in size. You could also have stomach pains due to constipation or gas, both of which are common during pregnancy. Digestive problems are also linked to hormonal changes and start early in pregnancy.

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Relieving body aches in pregnancy

To relieve sore muscles and body aches in pregnancy, lie down, relax, and apply heat and/or cold to the affected areas. A cold pack can reduce inflammation and help to soothe muscle and back pain.

To apply heat, you can use an electric heating pad, hot water bottle, or microwaveable pad filled with flax or buckwheat. Don't apply heat to your abdomen for longer than ten minutes. You don't want to raise your internal temperature too much, as this can affect your developing baby.

One of the best strategies to prevent and treat body aches in pregnancy is to stay physically active. While it may seem counterintuitive, exercise helps relieve all sorts of common pregnancy complaints, from back pain to constipation and gas. Pregnancy-safe exercise helps to keep pregnancy weight gain in check, strengthens and stretches your muscles, improves your posture, and supports your circulation.

To relieve back and pelvic pain specifically, sit in a supportive chair, sit down when getting dressed, use proper form to lift heavier objects, and try to avoid standing for long periods of time if possible.

If these tips don't help, talk to your provider about whether to take a pregnancy-safe pain reliever (usually acetaminophen). You can also ask your ob-gyn or midwife for a referral to a physical therapist. Working with a physical therapist can help to relieve your pain and increase your strength as pregnancy progresses.

When to call your doctor or midwife

Sometimes, certain body aches and pains in pregnancy can be a sign of something more serious. Severe back pain may be a sign of a kidney infection; it's often accompanied by fever and a burning sensation when you urinate. Rarely, abdominal pain and cramping in the first trimester of pregnancy may be caused by ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage.

Generalized body aches along with fevers and/or upper respiratory symptoms can also be caused by flu or COVID-19. Pregnant women are more susceptible to complications with both of these infections.

Call your provider if body aches don't improve with the simple treatments above, or if you have:

Severe and constant abdominal pain, especially if it doesn't go away within an hour given rest
Vaginal bleeding or spotting
Fever
Unusual vaginal discharge
Pain or burning when you pee

Common body aches in pregnancy

In addition to general body aches and muscle pain in pregnancy – especially in the back and pelvis – you may experience these other discomforts:

Headaches

Feeling a squeezing pain or a steady dull ache on both sides of your head could signal a tension headache. This usually harmless pregnancy symptom is especially common during the first trimester, linked to hormonal changes and increased blood flow. (If you're in your second or third trimester and have a severe headache that won't go away, call your healthcare provider just to be safe. )

Find out more about headaches during pregnancy.

Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are unusually swollen blood vessels in the rectal area that are usually linked to constipation and straining during bowel movements. They can be merely itchy or downright painful and can sometimes cause rectal bleeding, especially during a bowel movement. Some women get hemorrhoids for the first time while they're pregnant, but if you've had them before you got pregnant, you're very likely to have them again now.

Find out more about hemorrhoids during pregnancy.

Heartburn

If you feel a burning sensation in your chest after you eat, it's probably heartburn (also called acid indigestion or acid reflux). During pregnancy, hormones relax the lower esophageal sphincter, allowing stomach acid to climb back up and burn the esophagus. Later in pregnancy, your growing baby pushes up on the stomach and its contents, adding to the burn.

Find out more about heartburn during pregnancy.

Leg cramps

No one's really sure why spasms in the leg muscles are common during the second and third trimesters, but they could be from vitamin deficiencies, electrolyte imbalances, or changes in your activity level, among other reasons.

Find out more about leg cramps during pregnancy.

Carpal tunnel syndrome

If you feel tingling or numbness in your hands during pregnancy, it could be carpal tunnel syndrome. Extra fluid and swelling during pregnancy can press on the nerves that pass from the hand through the wrist to the forearm, causing these symptoms.

Find out more about carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy.

Hands hurt during pregnancy

Carpal tunnel syndrome: characteristic symptoms

Pain occurs, as already mentioned, due to compression of the median nerve, so the most innervation is carried out not by the median nerve, but by the outgoing branches of the ulnar nerve), wrist, palmar surface of the hand.

The period characteristic for the manifestation of this disease, when the wrist of the left hand most often hurts, is the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.

The nature of the discomfort is determined by the fact that the hands and wrists hurt, swell and go numb during pregnancy, sometimes trembling of the fingers may be present.

In addition to the above, vasoconstriction, increased sensitivity of the hands to cold, and pallor of the skin are added. Most often, the disease manifests itself at night, but symptoms can also be observed during the day.

If pain occurs in the little finger or on the back of the hand, then this indicates the presence of another disease, since these parts of the hand have a different innervation.

Often the syndrome resolves after labor. A woman's normal, prenatal metabolism is restored. . However, if the disease persists, then you need to contact a hematologist (nephrologist, neuropathologist, cardiologist) to prescribe drug therapy. Physiotherapy also helps to avoid the frequent occurrence of pain.

If the situation does not improve, then surgical treatment must be applied.

Cause of pain

So, why do hands hurt during pregnancy? As a rule, during this period, a woman begins to gain weight, which is the physiological norm for this condition. However, after weight gain, edema may appear, indicating a violation of the water-salt metabolism in the body. Here, a woman may complain that her joints of the hands hurt during pregnancy. Along with the violation of water-salt metabolism, there is a decrease in blood flow.

Innervation changes due to nerve compression. Due to the current situation, the nerve cannot conduct nerve impulses normally, and this, in turn, leads to a lack of impulses in the wrist and hand area.

Most often, women who suffer from kidney and heart problems, as well as overweight, rheumatic diseases, and fractures in the area of the hands suffer from diseases. Pregnant women also have reduced immunity, so most often they have exacerbated chronic diseases.

The hands are the most painful, since everything has to be done with the hands. In addition to numbness, pain, in the hands there may be sensations such as: hand tremor; the appearance of heaviness in the hands; feeling of weakness in the fingers; itching in the palms.

Many women are forced to remove jewelry from their fingers and hands due to severe discomfort and pain.

How to get rid of the disease

If you are still overtaken by this disease, first you need to adjust your lifestyle and diet.

Taking into account the fact that the body of a pregnant woman is undergoing restructuring, she needs the so-called "building materials". These include vitamins (especially vitamins K, B12, B6, C, E - they are all involved in hematopoiesis). Therefore, you should eat meat products (poultry), vegetables (peppers, onions, tomatoes, cucumbers), fruits (oranges, lemons, apples, bananas, kiwi), berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries), also legumes, dairy products. Flour products and foods rich in starch should be excluded from the diet.

After adjusting the diet, physical activity should be put in order. So, if you are busy with one thing, during which the woman does not particularly move, you need to periodically perform exercises for the hands: shake, make circular movements with the hands, squeeze and unclench your fingers several times, bringing them into a fist.

If possible, try to avoid unnecessary stress on the hands (lean less on the hands, use special splints during a night's sleep). Do not forget that some pain sensations are a sign of the presence of severe or chronic diseases, so you need to tell your doctor about these sensations, who observes you throughout your pregnancy. Compliance with all these rules will help you reduce pain, or even completely get rid of them. And also spend your difficult, but very happy nine months in a good mood.

Why fingers hurt during pregnancy: reasons for what to do

Complaints that fingers hurt during pregnancy appear in a large number of women in the "position".

The situation is associated with the restructuring of the female body to meet the needs of the embryo, creating the most comfortable conditions for intrauterine development. In the process of adaptation, hormonal changes begin, the load on all parts of the body increases.

Why do my fingers hurt during pregnancy?

The smallest joints are located on the fingers, and during pregnancy they are affected by a lack of many nutrients. So, a lack of calcium, together with an excess of the hormone relaxin, leads to pain in the area of the hands. Often this situation occurs after sleep, when the hands become somewhat swollen.

As the fetus grows, the load on the body gradually increases, so the pain syndrome is more often observed in the later stages, from the second or third trimester. A set of body weight by a woman and the appearance of an edematous reaction provokes squeezing of the tubes with nerves connecting the hand to the fingers. Thus, the functionality of the nerve endings is disrupted, there is a feeling that the fingers hurt during pregnancy.

In addition to pain, other symptoms may be observed:

there may be some weakness when the fingers are bent;
trembling and slight tingling;
numbness of the hand or fingers;
"shooting" pain from the elbow joint to the hand.

Less often, the joints in the hands hurt due to the development of pathological processes. In this case, diseases such as osteochondrosis, osteomalacia, arthrosis or arthritis can be diagnosed, which affect the condition of the bones and lead to pinching of the nerve processes.

Fingers can also hurt as a result of various sprains or previous injuries. Cardiovascular abnormalities provoke aching pain syndrome only in the left hand. Pathology manifests itself after a strong emotional stress or stress. In this case, you will need to consult a cardiologist to make an accurate diagnosis.

When answering the question why fingers hurt during pregnancy, one should proceed from the fact that gestation is accompanied, first of all, with a colossal burden on the female body. Therefore, this kind of pain does not require special treatment, while after the birth of a child, all systems return to normal on their own.

What should I do if my hands hurt during pregnancy?

At the stage of 9 months of gestation, doctors rarely prescribe any medications. If the hands hurt as a result of the formation of a pathology or a serious illness, sparing safe medicines can be used.

Most often, complex treatment is used to compensate for the lack of vitamins D, B6 and calcium. In chronic diseases, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, hormones and salicylates are used.

To reduce pain in the fingers, under the influence of a physiological factor, it is necessary to slightly change the daily lifestyle: