Is it normal for back to hurt after epidural

Getting a massage, either from a professional or a partner, is a great way to help soothe the sore muscles in your back. Hot and cold therapy refers to alternating between using hot and cold compresses to minimize pain and discomfort. As soon as you notice back pain, start with cold therapy. Place a cold compress — a bag of ice or even a package of frozen vegetables — on your lower back. Make sure to wrap the ice or frozen package in a towel to prevent any risk of frostbite.

This can happen if you leave bare skin exposed to the ice for too long. But resting your back is one of the best things you can do to ease back pain. This may help reduce any potential strain on your back. You might be surprised to find that exercise can actually help reduce back pain. Keep in mind, though: You should be engaging in low-impact exercises only, especially in the early weeks as your body recovers from labor and delivery.

Core exercises that help strengthen your pelvic area and abdomen can be great options. Likewise, research has shown that yoga can be effective in helping to relieve low back pain, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. If you feel that your back pain is too uncomfortable, you might want to consider an over-the-counter OTC medication like ibuprofen Advil or Motrin.

They might recommend that you get professional physical therapy. Along with physical therapy, chronic back pain that interferes with your quality of life should be managed with the help of a physician. Remedies can vary from prescription medications and cortisone injections to surgical procedures, depending on the severity of your back pain. And a self-reported survey suggested that general postpartum back pain usually subsides within 6 months of delivery.

Your body is adjusting back to its former alignment, which can cause aches and pains. These should go away within 6 months after delivery. Epidurals are the most common form of pain relief used during labor in the United States. During an epidural, an anesthesiologist inserts a needle into the lower back. A catheter, a small tube, is then inserted into the epidural space, the area surrounding your spinal cord.

Medication is then introduced into the epidural space using this tube. This medication is used to help numb pain in the lower part of the body. So, can an epidural cause lower back pain?

Studies have shown that there is no correlation between having an epidural and lower back pain. These studies show that mothers that did not have an epidural are just as likely to have lower back pain after delivery as mothers that had a epidural. However, in rare cases, an epidural can cause nerve damage. In this case, there could be lower back pain associated with the epidural, but I believe that in the vast majority of pregnancies, there is another cause for lower back pain after delivery.

At this time, the ligaments of the pelvis are under a large amount of stress, which can lead to lower back pain. It involves taking a small sample of your blood and injecting it into the puncture.

Not all headaches from an epidural require a blood patch. Your anaesthetist will discuss your options with you. The needle or epidural tube can damage nerves, but this is uncommon.

Nerve damage can cause loss of feeling or movement in parts of your lower body. The most common symptom is a small, numb area with normal movement and strength. This usually gets better after a few days or weeks, but can sometimes take months. It's rare for the infection to spread. Antibiotics may be necessary or, rarely, emergency surgery. In rare cases, an epidural can lead to permanent loss of feeling or movement in, for example, 1 or both legs.

These are rare events, and anaesthetists have extensive training to reduce the chances of these complications. Nerve damage can also happen for other reasons during surgery, which are unrelated to the epidural. Page last reviewed: 11 March Next review due: 11 March Side effects - Epidural Contents Overview Side effects. Low blood pressure It's normal for your blood pressure to fall a little when you have an epidural.