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Leg Pain During Pregnancy: Exercises to Try

Medically reviewed by Janine Kelbach, RNC-OB — By Natasha Freutel on February 24, 2016

While you await the arrival of your precious baby, you may be feeling new kinds of aches and pains. Leg and joint pain during the second or third trimester may be the result of added weight, changing body shape, and biomechanics. It can also be caused by fluid retention and joint laxity.

Pregnancy pain can have an impact on daily life and cause changes in sleep quantity and quality. Some common pregnancy aches include swollen and painful feet and legs, and calf cramps. Some women also report radiating pain down the back of the legs and hip pain.

Another common pregnancy symptom is swelling. Many pregnant women report swelling of the:

• face
• legs
• ankles
• feet

Mild swelling is a normal part of pregnancy. It happens because of the 50 percent increase in blood and bodily fluids needed to support the growing baby. But excessive swelling can be a sign of a more severe pregnancy complication. If you experience severe swelling, it’s important to be evaluated by a doctor.

Pregnancy back pain is widely studied, but there’s less research on hip, knee, and foot pain during pregnancy and postpartum. A study published in the Journal of Family Practice reports a high occurrence of low body pain among pregnant and postpartum women. It’s most likely related to changes in the way a pregnant woman moves due to a growing baby belly.

Try these exercises to help decrease swelling, pain, and discomfort during pregnancy.

Swollen feet and ankles are common during pregnancy. This simple exercise helps increase circulation and blood flow to the feet to decrease swelling and pain.

Equipment needed: none

Muscles worked: ankle dorsiflexors, plantarflexors

1. Lie on a bed with your feet slightly elevated on a pillow.
2. Begin by pulling your toes toward your face to flex your feet, then point your toes away from you.
3. Repeat 10 times continuously.
4. Perform 3 sets.

Some women suffer from sore calf muscles during pregnancy. This might be caused by weight gain, poor body mechanics, or improper footwear. Stretching can help promote relaxation of the muscles, leading to decreased pain.

Equipment needed: a wall

Muscles worked: gastrocnemius, soleus

1. Stand to face a wall. Place both hands on the wall for support.
2. Put one foot up against the wall with your toes pointing toward the ceiling.
3. Lean toward the wall, keeping your leg straight until you feel a stretch in the back of your lower leg.
4. Hold for 20-30 seconds. Repeat on other leg.

Tight hamstrings can cause low back pain and discomfort during pregnancy. This exercise helps stretch the hamstrings. It also activates and strengthens the muscles of the buttocks.

Equipment needed: none

Muscles worked: hamstrings, glutes

1. Stand with your feet parallel, hip-width apart.
2. Put your hands behind your head and stand up tall, keeping your chest wide.
3. Keep your legs relatively straight with a slight bend in your knees. Bend at the hips, moving them back as you lower yourself toward parallel. Bend until you feel a stretch in the back of your legs. Try to keep your back in a straight line.
4. Move slowly through this movement 10 times.
5. Perform 3 sets.

This exercise can increase strength and stability in the muscles of the lower back and core. It also works the quadriceps, the important muscles that support the ligaments of the knee.

Equipment needed: exercise ball

Muscles worked: gluteus maximus, hamstrings, deep core muscles

1. Stand against a wall with an exercise ball positioned between your midback and the wall.
2. Place your feet far enough away from the wall so that when you lower down into a squat, your knees can bend to 90 degrees. Having your feet too close to the wall will put stress on the knee joint. Feet should be parallel and a little wider than hip-width apart.
3. Lower your body down into a sitting position while rolling the ball up your back.
4. Hold for 1 second, return to starting position. Repeat 10 times.

Sciatic pain is common during pregnancy. It can cause shooting or aching pain down the buttocks, back of the leg, and foot. Foam rolling is a great way to soothe and relax tight muscles that may be contributing to increased pain.

Equipment needed: foam roller

Muscles worked: hamstrings, calf muscles, glutes, piriformis

1. Place a foam roller on the ground.
2. Sit on the foam roller, supporting yourself with your hands behind you.
3. Cross one foot over the other knee in a figure 4 position.
4. Slowly move your buttocks back and forth over the foam roller until you find a tender spot.
5. Continue this movement over the tender area for 30-60 seconds.
6. Try rolling the foam roller down the back of your upper leg until you find another tender area.
7. Repeat on other side.

Exercises and stretching can have a positive effect on mobility during pregnancy. They can also help decrease pain and dysfunction. The 2002 guidelines for physical activity during pregnancy recommend regular exercise for its overall health benefits to both mom and baby.

Always see your doctor before starting an exercise program to make sure it’s safe. Discontinue exercise and seek medical help if you have any of the following symptoms:

• vaginal bleeding
• dyspnoea before exertion
• dizziness
• headache
• chest pain
• muscle weakness
• calf pain or swelling
• preterm labor
• decreased fetal movement
• amniotic fluid leakage

Calf or leg pain can be a symptom of a more serious condition like a blood clot or thrombosis. Seek immediate medical attention if you have pain accompanied by redness, warmth, or swelling in the calf.

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Last medically reviewed on February 24, 2016

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• Pregnancy
• Pregnancy Health

How we vetted this article:

Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

• Artal, R., O’Toole, M., & White, S. (2003). Guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 37(1), 6-12
  doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.37.1.6
• Dumas, G. A., & Reid, J. G. (1997). Laxity of knee cruciate ligaments during pregnancy. The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, 26(1), 2-6
  doi.org/10.2519/jospt.1997.26.1.2
• Swelling During Pregnancy. (2015)
  americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/swelling-during-pregnancy/
• Vullo, V. J., Richardson, J. K., & Hurvitz, E. A. (1996). Hip, knee, and foot pain during pregnancy and the postpartum period. The Journal of Family Practice, 43(1), 63–68
  ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8691182

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

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Medically reviewed by Janine Kelbach, RNC-OB — By Natasha Freutel on February 24, 2016

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Reduces legs during pregnancy: what to do?

Pregnancy is a time of waiting and doubts. Probably, women never have so many questions. Why does it bring her legs together so often? What to do if you wake up with cramps at night? How to deal with this scourge and avoid bouts of pain in the legs? We are looking for answers to these and other questions.

What are seizures?

Legs cramps not only during pregnancy, from time to time every person faces unpleasant painful cramps. A cramp is a sudden, uncontrollable muscle contraction that a person cannot relax. This condition can be caused by neurological disorders (for example, seizures are characteristic of epilepsy), a number of diseases (such as diabetes mellitus, osteochondrosis, and others), and can also be associated with physiological conditions. After all, convulsions occur, for example, after a strong overload, dehydration, hypothermia, etc. Sometimes cramps cause severe sharp pain. Sometimes it seems that the legs are pulling. During pregnancy, this condition, unfortunately, is noted quite regularly.

Why do pregnant women cramp their legs?

The mechanism of muscle contraction is quite complex, it involves different ions (charged particles): potassium, calcium, sodium and magnesium. If we are talking about a cramp, that is, a condition when we cannot relax a muscle, then magnesium ions play a leading role here. It is their lack that leads to the fact that women cramp their calves during pregnancy at night.

The lack of minerals in the body of the expectant mother is simply explained: such consequences are the restructuring of metabolism and functioning in the "double load" mode. In particular, the expectant mother needs one and a half times more magnesium than usual.

In addition to helping muscles relax, magnesium is also involved in a number of important physiological processes. In particular, magnesium is needed to regulate the processes of formation and expenditure of energy, it is involved in several hundred enzymatic reactions, and if there is little magnesium, then disturbances can occur in the work of almost any body system. Therefore, if magnesium preparations are prescribed during pregnancy, this recommendation should not be ignored.

Why do pregnant women cramp their legs at night?

The answer to this question is very simple. The fact is that during the day the body of the expectant mother bears an increased load. And the longer the gestation period, the greater this load. Violation of blood circulation, increased stress on the muscles - all this can cause night cramps.

What should I do if my legs cramp during pregnancy?

To begin with, tell the doctor you are seeing about this. The magnesium preparations already mentioned, which he most likely recommends to you, can help solve the problem.

However, the reason that the expectant mother cramps her legs during pregnancy may be not only a metabolic disorder. Often muscle spasms begin as a result of varicose veins - the "faithful" companion of pregnancy. The veins of a woman carrying a baby are subject to increased stress. In addition, hormonal changes in the body seriously affect the state of blood vessels. All this contributes to the development of varicose veins. And a violation of the blood supply to the muscles of the legs, in turn, leads to convulsions.

If the expectant mother is faced with varicose veins, then the best prevention of its progression is to wear compression stockings selected by the doctor in accordance with the gestational age. You also need to give birth in stockings, so that during a particularly intense load on the veins to avoid worsening their condition.

It is important to remember that any discomfort in the well-being of a pregnant woman must be discussed with the doctor who is seeing the expectant mother. Even if the legs cramp infrequently, what to do during pregnancy should be determined by a specialist. This is the only way to avoid serious problems and ensure the health and comfort of both mother and child.

Complain

Updated 26 Jan 2022

Content:

Causes of pain

Which doctor will help solve the problem of

as get rid of pain in the calves of the legs

How to prevent the appearance of pain in the legs

During the period of bearing a child, the body experiences an increased load. Chronic diseases are aggravated and new ones may appear. If the calves of the legs hurt during pregnancy, this is not always associated with pathology. But you need to find the right way to reduce discomfort, which depends on the cause of the condition.

Causes of pain in her legs

All changes in the body of the expectant mother are aimed at preserving the fetus and preparing for childbirth. From early gestation, the concentration of progesterone and the hormone relaxin increases. Together they act on the connective tissue, which leads to the following effects:

• the ligamentous apparatus relaxes;
• vein tone decreases;
• the outflow of blood worsens;
• fluid retention increases.

Connective tissue is part of the ligaments. Under the influence of relaxin, it relaxes, becomes loose. This is an adaptive reaction, which leads to a divergence of the pubic joint and an increase in the volume of the pelvis. But the action of the hormone is universal, it extends to other parts of the body.

Venous walls and valves are formed by connective tissue cells and fibers. During pregnancy, there is a decrease in tone, the valves do not close completely. Blood in small quantities flows in the opposite direction, which leads to vasodilation. At the same time, the calves of the legs hurt in women, and later swelling appears, spider veins appear under the skin.

If not treated early, varicose veins develop. The risk of getting sick increases in the following situations:

• sedentary lifestyle;
• overweight;
• work in a standing position;
• large weight gain during pregnancy;
• hereditary predisposition;
• smoking;
• initial degrees of varicose veins before conception;
• connective tissue pathology.

Pain may occur when walking. Sometimes it extends not only to the calves, but also to the arch of the foot. This is a sign of developing flat feet. An additional symptom is a flattening of the foot, a decrease in the clearance and an increase in the size of the shoe. With longitudinal flat feet, you can notice that one of the toes has become longer.

Women's calves hurt due to a lack of trace elements. In pregnant women, the need for potassium, magnesium, and calcium increases several times. These substances are involved in the transmission of nerve impulses, blood clotting, maintaining vascular tone. If the pain appears at night and is accompanied by cramps, a feeling of crawling, it is necessary to tell the doctor about this.

The cause of pain in the calf muscles is sometimes a shift in the center of gravity. This becomes noticeable in the later stages as the abdomen grows.

At the same time, the pelvis is shifted back, and the lumbar region is forward. The load on the muscles changes, spasm and pain appear. Less often, pain in pregnant women occurs due to myositis. This is inflammation of the muscles, which can develop after injury, hypothermia.

Which doctor will help solve the problem

Pain in the legs does not need to be endured - if you eliminate its provocateur, the discomfort will also go away. Which doctor should a pregnant woman consult:

• gynecologist;
• surgeon;
• orthopedist;
• phlebologist.

The first specialist to examine a woman should be a gynecologist. It is necessary to indicate the time of the onset of pain, whether it worries after sleep or at the end of the day. To clarify the diagnosis, the doctor will prescribe a biochemical blood test and electrolytes. A decrease in calcium, potassium or magnesium is a direct indication for the appointment of vitamin and mineral preparations. Pregnant women are recommended the following combinations:

• calcium with vitamin D3;
• magnesium with vitamin B6;
• potassium as part of vitamin complexes.

Magnesium is recommended to be taken throughout pregnancy in courses of three weeks with a short break in between.

In case of swelling on the legs, the appearance of spider veins, you need to consult a surgeon or phlebologist. Signs of varicose veins are:

• the appearance of cyanotic stripes under the skin;
• swelling after prolonged standing or sitting;
• cold extremities;
• heaviness in the legs;
• convulsions;
• paresthesia - a feeling of crawling goosebumps;
• pain in the legs.

To make a diagnosis and choose the right method of therapy, the doctor will prescribe the following examination methods:

• Ultrasound of the veins with Doppler;
• duplex scanning;
• bandage samples.

MRI, occlusal plethysmography, scintigraphy for pregnant women is performed only in severe cases.

If a woman is suspected of developing flat feet, she will need to consult an orthopedic traumatologist, who will be able to choose the necessary treatment.

How to get rid of pain in the calves

Correction of the condition depends on the cause of the pathology. Women with micronutrient deficiencies are prescribed vitamin-mineral complexes.

In case of varicose veins, the doctor will select compression garments. Pregnant women should not wear medical stockings due to pressure on the abdomen. Therefore, stockings are selected for them. The compression class depends on the symptoms of varicose veins:

• 1st class - with the initial degree of pathology, with the appearance of swelling, pain in the legs and spider veins, pressure 15–22 mm Hg. Art.;
• 2nd class - used for severe symptoms of varicose veins to prevent complications, pressure up to 32 mm Hg. Art.;
• 3rd class - in severe forms of the disease, pressure up to 46 mm Hg. Art.

Compression underwear is put on in the morning immediately after waking up, without getting out of bed. This allows you to avoid the appearance of pressure on the veins, reduce their blood supply.

Drug therapy is selected individually. The doctor prescribes phlebotonics, which include diosmin. It increases the tone of the veins, improves microcirculation, reduces venous congestion. The action extends to the lymphatic vessels, improves lymphatic drainage.

Women who are prone to thrombosis due to varicose veins may need anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents, which reduce blood clotting.

Pregnant women stop giving them one week before the expected date of delivery. Repeatedly prescribe anticoagulants on the next day after childbirth.

The elimination of flat feet involves the choice of shoes with a small heel and the use of orthopedic insoles. They are selected by the doctor individually, taking into account the type of flat feet and the curvature of the arch of the foot. Helps foot massage, walking barefoot and hardening.

How to prevent the appearance of pain in the legs

Pregnant women need special exercises to prevent leg pain. They will help maintain muscle tone, improve venous blood flow.

Shoes with high heels worsen the condition of the feet, increase the load on them. It is discontinued in the first trimester. But a flat sole is also harmful. Recommended heel height 2-2.5 cm.

Women who are expecting a child should stop smoking and drinking alcohol, tobacco smoke components and ethyl alcohol have a bad effect on the state of blood vessels. Food should be varied and contain a large amount of vegetable fiber. This will prevent constipation, which impairs blood flow in the pelvis and contributes to venous congestion. Pain in the legs while carrying a child is a sign of increased stress. For treatment, you need to make an appointment with a doctor and undergo an examination.

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