Leg Pain in Pregnancy

Hey preggo-moms! You might be experiencing a lot of changes in your body at this time. While it was already tough to handle the constant urge to puke and extreme fatigue, now, probably when you’ve landed your second or third trimester, your body would be changing physically in a drastic manner too.

Normally, in the mid of the second trimester, the foetus grows into a considerable size. To make itself some room inside your womb, your abdominal muscles stretch and it seems as if your tummy is growing. With all this extra weight onto your body, there might be body pains, backaches, leg cramps and swollen feet.

Should you be worried about leg pain in pregnancy?

Absolutely not! Don’t worry! Your body is just adapting itself so that your baby can have a more comfortable place to be in. While you’re in pain providing this comfort to your baby, it is just taking a big toll on your body. To bear the increasing weight, your feet might be swelling up. To carry the baby, your legs pain. It’s a constant struggle to carry such a paining body everyday when, in fact, your doctor keeps expecting you to walk a lot. Yes, that’s the truth! Your doctor is actually worried about you being able to deliver your baby normally without any complications and thus convincing you to walk and walk and walk.

Instead of being upset and worried about the constant leg-feet cramps and pain, there are a few ways out that might relieve you from this war you’re fighting against your own body.

What can You do to relieve the leg pain during pregnancy?

While these cramps and pain aren’t exactly preventable, but there are a few things you can do to minimize the pain. Trust me! Even if you’re relieved from 0.1% of the pain, you’ll feel heavenly.

• Flexing– You can try this while lying on the bed or while standing on your feet, both ways. Straighten your leg, stretch your feet and gently flex your ankle and toes back-and-forth. Repeat this several times.
• Oil massage– Take some warm almond oil, massage it onto the lower side of your feet. Also massage it on your knees. Warm oil massages relieve the straining muscles inside and provide soothing sensations to make you feel relaxed.
• Stretching– Before going to bed, stretch-release your calf muscles. Repeat this a few times. This would ease the stiffness in your muscles.
• Move Around– Instead of sitting at the same place or standing long for a while, keep moving around. The best way to prevent cramps is by rushing the blood circulation inside the body. This way, each cell gets ample amount of oxygen and there are lesser chances of facing cramps.
• Hot Towel Remedy– It is an age-old remedy used by our grandmothers for swollen feet. During the late third trimester, feet are usually quite swollen up and cause constant pain. To curb, this struggle, dip a towel in hot water and cover your feet with it. The warmth provided by the hot water helps in pumping blood flow inside the feet and thus relaxing you from all the pain.
• Fluid Intake– Keep your muscles hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids. Drink atleast 4L of water each day. Coconut water, citrus juices, citrus fruits are other options to keep your body hydrated during this time.
• Nutrition– Usually, prolonged leg pain is a sign of calcium and potassium deficiency inside the joints and muscles. Proper diet and nutritious foods can help curb this problem. Milk, Curd, Paneer, Eggs, green vegetables and fruits are an essential part of pregnancy diet.

Although leg pain and cramps are very common amongst pregnant ladies during late second trimester and the third trimester, we still advise you to reach out to your health expert if the problem increases and persists for a longer time even after trying out our remedies.