Joint pain is a common aftereffect of having gone through the ordeal of delivering a baby. This article provides some information about what is the link between both of them.

Joint pain is a condition often experienced by women due to the tough time her body goes through during pregnancy. Consequently, some of the aftereffects do not get over even until after the baby is delivered. For all the mothers-to-be therefore, you might want to know about the relation between joint pain and pregnancy.

Causes of Post Pregnancy Joint Pain

DHA Deficiency
As mentioned above, a woman's body goes through a lot of strain during pregnancy. The body is busy nourishing and developing the baby. In this situation, there is a lot of possibility that the woman does not get all the essential nutrients. One of such nutrients is DHA. It is an essential fatty acid which is necessary for healthy joints as it lubricates them. All this helps in keeping them in good health. What happens is that the DHA in a woman's body is consumed to give nourishment to the baby. Naturally, its effects are felt afterwards when the body starts coming to normalcy.

Hormonal Changes
During pregnancy, a hormone relaxin is produced, resulting in relaxing and loosening of ligaments and tendons. This is specially the case with the hip bone and pelvic bone. That is a reason why hip pain is experienced by some women after delivery. Even though, the relaxin does its work, postpartum pain is experienced as the body is coming back to the earlier condition causing pain and inflammation. If a woman already has a joint-related condition like arthritis or the likes, the condition might exacerbate further.

Variations and Areas of Pain

Hip joint pain is one of the most common after effects of pregnancy. Along with that, knee pain and pelvic pain have also been observed. These are the obvious targets, but other susceptible areas includes pain in the neck, arm, and wrist, post delivery. These are as a result of handling the baby, and the whole endeavor of having one takes its toll on the body of a woman.

Prevention

Prevention mostly involves doing yoga, swimming, and indulging in exercises mainly targeted towards the areas which are most affected during and after pregnancy, like pilates exercises. Further massaging, physical therapy, and heat and cold compress can prove to be effective in dealing with the problem. If at all there is an unusually severe pain, it is advised that a doctor should be contacted immediately. As far as diet is concerned, taking DHA supplements and fish oil in consultation with a general physician or a pediatrician can be useful. Drinking lots of water by making a conscious effort has also been said to help deal with postpartum joint pain.

These symptoms normally fade away automatically as the time passes. Hence, usually there is nothing to worry about. A bit of care and conscious efforts are required to have a smooth post pregnancy phase of life.

Disclaimer: This Buzzle article is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.