If you have a bun in the oven, then you may start experiencing few changes in your body; some of these changes may leave you exhausted and tired. Until your baby comes out, you will experience body pain, tiredness, nausea, vomiting and other things. Apart from physical changes, you need to prepare yourself for joint pain and backache during pregnancy. Some women also experience severe knee pain during pregnancy due to extra weight that puts pressure on their joints.
As you gain weight during the pregnancy, it will exert pressure on your joints, uterus and ligaments that can lead to knee pain during early pregnancy. You will be amazed to know that hormonal changes during early pregnancy are also responsible for causing sore knees.
Different Types of Knee Pain During Pregnancy
Take a look at different types of knee pain that women can experience during pregnancy:
- Your knee may pain if you are standing or walking for long hours.
- You might experience continuous and dull pain in your knees if you have somehow injured your soft tissues and ligaments.
Why Knee Pain During Pregnancy Occurs?
Various reasons are responsible for causing knee joint pain during pregnancy, and they are:
Hormonal Changes
Hormones loosen up the tendons and pelvic ligaments during the third trimester of childbirth. These hormones will also loosen other tendons and ligaments around the knee, resulting in knee cramps.
Weight Gain
A gradual increase in weight during pregnancy can be one of the reasons why you witness knee pain. Increased weight can put a lot of strain on your knee if it’s your first pregnancy, as your body might not be used for supporting the extra weight.
Strain on the Veins
During pregnancy, there may be pressure or strain in the legs and knee veins that can result in causing knee pain.
Extreme Exercise
You can even experience severe knee pain during pregnancy if you are exercising too much. Exercises like squatting can be beneficial, but they can weaken your knee during pregnancy. You must perform the knee strengthening exercise after doing squats.
Excess Walking and Standing
When you are walking and standing for a long time, you can experience knee pain, and during pregnancy, it’s expected as you have to carry extra weight. Your knees will start aching while walking or standing for a longer period because of your excess weight.
Deficiency of Calcium
You can experience leg knee pain during pregnancy because of the calcium deficiency in your bone.
Injury
Sometimes knee pain can be caused because of injury, whether it’s from a fall or strain. You must consult the doctor if you are experiencing knee pain as it can be severe.
Read related- Why Do I Have Vaginal Itching During Pregnancy?
Risk Associated With Knee Pain During Pregnancy
If not examined, monitored or checked, then knee pain during pregnancy can cause serious complications. Following complications are associated with knee pain during the pregnancy:
- During pregnancy, due to excess weight, a lot of pressure is put on your knee, which causes ligaments and cartilage around your joints. It can cause you difficulty while running, bending, and walking.
- If you are suffering from knee pain during pregnancy, you have a high risk of developing osteoarthritis at a later stage due to wear and tear of your cartilage around the knee. Osteoarthritis can cause severe pain, locking of knee joints and joint stiffness.
How Can You Treat Knee Pain During Pregnancy?
As you know, knee pain can be because of an injury or an effect of your pregnancy. Knee pain due to injury needs medical intervention; however, you can knee pain occurred as an effect of pregnancy by following natural ways:
- Try doing knee strengthening exercise as they can help you in easing the pain.
- Maintain balanced body weight.
- You must eat calcium-rich foods and make sure to balance the amount of calcium you intake.
- Try to keep your feet up for most of your time and take plenty of rest.
- To relieve the pain, you can keep an ice pack or heating pad on your knee.
- Try consuming more omega-3 rich foods and herbal supplements along with your daily meals. Don’t forget to consult your doctor before adding anything to your diet.
Home Remedies Pregnant Women Can Use For Relieving from Knee Pain
Knee pain experienced by pregnant women is temporary that will diminish once you have delivered your baby. However, you can follow these home remedies to ease your discomfort:
- You should try doing low-impact exercise that can strengthen the muscles of your knee. However, make sure to consult your gynaecologist before trying any exercise.
- Try to sit with your feet supported in the up position as it will lift some of the weight of your legs.
- You should wear well-cushioned shoes like padded shoes as they can your knees and absorb shocks.
- Use splints for relieving the pain on your hands and feet.
- Try to use a knee brace to support your ligaments and tendons during pregnancy.
- Massage therapy can be helpful in stiffness and joint pain.
- Be aware of your eating habits during pregnancy and monitor your weight.
- Maintain a good and balanced diet and try to control your craving. The best way to keep knee pain during pregnancy at bay is to control your weight, which can be done by sticking to a healthy diet.
When to Consult The Doctor?
You Can book online doctor consultation with gynecologists by using Meddo, if you are experiencing any of these circumstances:
- If your knee is not because of any injury, then get advice from a doctor.
- If someone around you is infected with erythrovirus, you must immediately contact doctors as there is a high chance of congenital disability.
Knee pain is just another pregnancy symptom that a woman’s body will experience. Moreover, you can make it through your pregnancy with knee pain using home remedies to relieve it.
