The phase of pregnancy is the most beautiful in a woman’s life. This phase reveals a lot of information about one’s body and even helps to accept the rapid changes that take place during and after pregnancy. The changes do not take place only during pregnancy, but even after the delivery of the baby as well. It is seen that most expecting mothers feel pain in joints, legs, etc, even after the surgery is over and the baby is out. The pain after delivery is consistent and severe pain that can make one’s life difficult especially as age progresses.
The phase of arthritis, post-pregnancy is stressful for women, as they undergo many hormonal changes and they must take care of the newborn baby. Having a nourishing diet helps in recovering from postpartum depression etc. To have a better understanding, let us see what it means, its causes, ways to manage it, and a few remedies. Let us study them one by one as follows:
In This Article
- What Is Arthritis?
- Causes Of Arthritis After Pregnancy
- Tips To Manage Arthritis After Pregnancy
- Home Remedies For Arthritis After Pregnancy
What Is Arthritis?
Arthritis is a term that defines joint pain. The pain and the inflexibility in one of the joints or even more are the major reasons for arthritis. This disease can gradually develop with time or can even happen suddenly. This can affect adult as well as children. Having good information can help the people suffering through it and even help the patients to be able to manage it in a better way.
There are different types of arthritis and they are as follows:
- Gout or sudden pain and redness in the joints
- Osteoarthritis or chronic joint condition
- Rheumatoid arthritis or chronic disease of the joints
- Fibromyalgia or disorder in the joints
- Lupus or chronic pain.
Causes Of Arthritis After Pregnancy
Pregnancy is quite a difficult yet amazing phase of a woman’s life. It is commonly seen that expected mothers suffer from the problem of arthritis, especially after the birth of the child. There are many underlying causes which could be lack of nutrition, fitness, etc. However, a few of them need to be looked at and they are as follows:
- The pregnancy can bring about the reduction of cell-mediated immunity, which can be the cause of arthritis after pregnancy.
- After pregnancy, the immune system of the mother becomes strong. Therefore, it may trigger allergies and inflammation in the mother’s body as it tries to fight off harmful factors (from food and environment). This leads to an increase in different types of arthritis leading to bone and tissue damage.
It is common for women who have had this issue prior to the pregnancy phase, as this problem decreases once the women are pregnant as the immunity system shifts off, but it again revokes after delivery. To make it more complicated most of the medicines that effectively managed arthritis during pre-pregnancy time cannot be taken during the breastfeeding phase of the mother (some drugs can pass through the milk to the baby).
Tips To Manage Arthritis After Pregnancy
The problem of Arthritis is a common one and can occur at all ages. This problem generally aggravates post-pregnancy. It deteriorates for the women after the pregnancy phase is over as the body is already fighting from the changes that have taken place during pregnancy and arthritis adds up to weaken the system further.
There are a few tips that can be used to control the occurrence of Arthritis after pregnancy and some of the measures are as under:
- It is important to seek medical assistance while having any type of Arthritis as the doctor can devise a strategy to be able to control arthritis.
- It is crucial to let the doctor know that since you have recently delivered, that the ways he will only advise medicines that are safe for the mother and the baby as she is breastfeeding the little one.
- Another viewpoint is to control the factor that triggers it, be it food or environmental elements.
- If required, the doctor can reduce the frequency of medicines in the long run.
- It is also of significance to know the recommended diet.
- It has been noticed that women are suggested to consume more vegetables, fruits, and less fatty stuff.
- Doctors also advise getting rid of coffee and poultry items like beef, pork, etc., as well as wheat products to get relief from Arthritis.
- It has been seen that people who complain of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension are more prone to suffer from arthritis.
- It is also advisable to get rid of the extra kilos post pregnancy by consulting medical help as the excess weight of the body only worsens it further.
- Drugs (which will not affect the breastfeeding baby) shall be prescribed by the doctor to manage the pain of arthritis after pregnancy.
Home Remedies For Arthritis After Pregnancy
It has been seen that arthritis is a very common problem among expecting mothers. There is no set process for getting rid of the joint pain after delivery. There are though certain home remedies apart from the medical help that one can resort to for reduction of pain to a certain level.
Some of the common home remedies that can be applied are as follows:
Physical Activities To Maintain Muscle Tone
It is advisable to follow a light fitness regime daily. These are done to keep one active. This helps to regulate the pain. Doing exercises that put less pressure on the joints like swimming should be encouraged. It is highly recommended to seek medical assistance before starting it though.
Hot And Cold Treatment
Another common technique is the application of the hot and cold technique which helps in reducing pain. One can use hot bags or take hot baths then use cold packs to get rid of the pain in the joints. But care should be taken not to put them directly on the skin. It should always be wrapped in a towel and then applied to the concerned areas.
Massage
Body massage is the mantra for healing the pain as a good and light massage on the joints by oneself or an expert works great. One can even resort to the application of different oils, and ointments, which can help to reduce joint pain.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is yet another technique that can be used to get relief and it can be done with proper help or by oneself if one is aware of the right movements.
Therefore, one should be able to do exercises that help in strengthening the muscles and along with medical assistance get into a fitness regime. The pain and the twinges are a natural phenomenon that is a part of the pregnancy and post-pregnancy phase. If the recovery time is offered to the body, with a balance of relaxation methods the pain automatically starts to subside. So, it is important to follow the home remedies and tips along with proper nutrition and care and help to alleviate the pain.
