Musculoskeletal Pain During Pregnancy

Pregnancy can cause a variety of musculoskeletal complaints, such as, back pain, hip pain, rib pain, and pelvic pain. Pregnancy related back pain is so common that as many as 80% of pregnant women experience some form of back pain and 45 % experience pelvic girdle pain.
The hormonal effects of progesterone in early pregnancy are often responsible for early pregnancy musculoskeletal pain. In addition, relaxin, a hormone produced by the ovaries and placenta, causes muscles to relax and stretch during pregnancy. However, in some women it causes pelvic girdle pain that can be severe (PGP ).

In a meta-analysis of 10 studies of 1,040 women with low back and/or pelvic pain during pregnancy, acupuncture significantly alleviated pain and improved quality of life with few side effects. Acupuncture stimulates the release of the body’s natural pain-killing chemicals, such as endorphin, dynorphin, encephalin, and corticosteroids to relieve pain and heal the area of discomfort at the same time.