Leg pain during pregnancy CaseFile

Maigne's syndrome referral.

Leg pain during pregnancy casefile discusses a typical patient at the clinic; it's particularly problematic for the older woman who has other children to care for, a house to clean, and perhaps even hold down a job.


Leg pain during pregnancy is clearly a common affliction as measured by my own clinic and the amount of mail I get at this contact. 

There are indeed many causes of upper leg pain so a thorough clinical examination is always indicated.

Mrs P, 38-year old woman, was not enjoying her fifth pregnancy. The first four were routine, but now she has had severe upper thigh and groin pain, and some buttock ache for the last six weeks.

The pain was particularly bad at night, and she couldn't sleep. There was no obvious cause except that she is high pregnant, or hoog zwanger as we say in the Netherlands. She is in her 35th week.

The first and most noteworthy observation was that Mrs P was clearly exhausted. She had a haggard look about her that I didn't like. What's more she was very apprehensive, never having consulted a chiropractor before, but she was desperate. Having tried all else, I was her last port of call.

This page was last updated by Dr Barrie Lewis on 31st July, 2019.


Examination of our leg pain during pregnancy casefile

Leg pain during pregnancy casefile is an interesting yet slightly embarrassing consideration from the chiropractic coalface.


Having gone through the usual clinical history, where does it hurt, when did it start, what makes the pain worse, what previous treatment had she had ... we proceeded to the examination.

  • Pain on forward bending in the right buttock.
  • A marked right sacroiliac joint fixation.
  • A less obvious L2 fixation that I could have missed, except that I was expecting it, and thus looking out for it. Why? You'll see ...
  • Extreme pain in the Adductor magnus muscle in the inner thigh.
  •  Exquisite tenderness where the Superficial Femoral Cutaneous nerve exits from the groin under the inguinal ligament.
  • No sensory, reflex or muscle weakness abnormalities.
  • Full and normal range of motion of the hip, albeit with discomfort in the groin.
  • A positive femoral nerve stretch test.

Treatment of Leg pain during pregnancy CaseFile

I always ask that the spouse accompany the patient in this instance. Firstly to reassure them both about the condition and the proposed treatment, secondly because the cross-friction is painful and thirdly because it is in an intimate area; the inner thigh, the pubic bones and the groin.


It's good to take your spouse along. 

The activator technique lends itself well to the pregnant patient. So I used this little instrument to adjust her sacroiliac joint and L1.

The treatment of the groin is awkward and painful for all concerned. I do not like inflicting pain, and chiropractic treatment is not usually so, and she didn't like receiving it.

I gave her the Maigne's syndrome exercises to try; very gently, and recommended massaging bed rest several times each day.

OUTCOME @ Leg pain during pregnancy CaseFile

It was gratifying this morning to see a very different patient. She looked rested and at ease.

Mrs P reported that she had slept normally for the first time in weeks for the last two nights.

All this after only two treatments.

There was not much improvement in the sacroiliac joint pain, so we attempted a gentle general chiropractic adjustment, and a drop toggle on her hip bone whilst lying supine.

Whilst we have a ways to go yet, as she says if it simply remains this much better for the next four weeks she will be more than delighted.


DISCUSSION of our Leg pain during pregnancy CaseFile

Meralgia paresthetica is what we call a double-crush syndrome. There is always an upper lumbar subluxation, from where both the Femoral nerve and the Lateral Femoral Cutaneous nerve originate, and an entrapment in the groin.

To find links to the topics in bold copy and paste them into the site search function in the navigation bar on your left.

Meralgia paresthetica causes upper leg pain and numbness.


Meralgia Paresthetica

Notice where the Lateral Femoral Cutaneous nerve emerges in the picture above from under the Inguinal ligament. That's exactly where Mrs P was exquisitely painful. It's a condition often related to pregnancy (and obesity, and tight clothing) but certainly not exclusively.

Double crush: Lumbar facet syndrome at L1-2-3 area + impingement under the inguinal ligament.

The condition responds very gratifyingly to both doctor and patient if the correct careful, and I'm sorry to say, not too gentle treatment is applied. I make only three swoops through the area and it hurts. A lot. You may have some bruising. She didn't fortunately, but it does happen.

Maigne's syndrome

Maigne's syndrome and Meralgia Paresthetica have an important common feature - they both originate from the upper lumbar spine. However, Maigne's affects the nerves that emerge and go posteriorally, whilst MP affects the anterior nerves, in particular the Femoral nerve and its little branches like the Lateral Femoral Cutaneous nerve.

Both need to be considered in every leg pain during pregnancy casefile.

Maigne's has a negative Femoral nerve stretch, but both can have a concomitant sacroiliac joint fixation, buttock pain and upper leg and groin pain. Distinguishing between them isn't always easy, though in theory it should be. I call them first cousins.

Maignes syndrome exercises are pertinent to both conditions. The treatment of both conditions has many common features.

Chiropractic

The chiropractic differential diagnosis of conditions like this LEG PAIN DURING PREGNANCY CaseFile is not without difficulty. A sacroiliac joint syndrome is very common in pregnancy, and something like this slipped disc symptoms case file is certainly not uncommon at the chiropractic coalface during pregnancy. A lumbar facet syndrome  whether pregnant or not is probably the most common condition we treat. Maignes syndrome casefile and even hip joint conditions like Femero Acetabular Impingement syndrome come into the equation.There are many causes of lower back and leg pain ...

Purely 'medical' conditions too, like swollen lymph nodes, inguinal hernias, hip arthritis (rare, but does occur in this age group, especially after a poorly managed Perthe's disease or Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis).

Your Chiropractor will examine you carefully to make a correct diagnosis and apply the appropriate treatment. X-rays obviously are discouraged during pregnancy except in very exceptional circumstances which makes his/her work more difficult.

Low back exercises for pregnancy

Keeping fit during pregnancy is not easy; weight gain, fatigue and the extra demands of doctor's visits and prenatal classes make it difficult.


Because pregnancy and lower back pain are almost synonymous I recommend that all pregnant women do some simple lumbar exercises; they take only two minutes before getting out of bed in the morning, and the trick is to start them before the trouble begins.

At this page you'll find exercises for the lumbar facets, discs, sacroiliac joints, and more for strengthening the core. If you have no pain, or only mild discomfort then all are suitable.

Just remember, you're not preparing for the Olympic squad. Take them slowly, get to know your own body, because there is no set of exercises that are suitable for every back. If in doubt, get advice from your chiropractor.

Mind you, that big day is not unlike your own personal Olympics. Get into training. This little test will give you an idea of your overall level of fitness.

Nutrition in pregnancy

This is not intended to be an exhaustive page on the subject. It deserves a full page, even a whole site.

Foods with high folate levels are vital for us all because of its necessity to break down toxic homocysteine, but it's especially true in pregnancy when DNA is being rapidly synthesised. Also known as Folic Acid (B9) it is vital in preventing anaemia too.


Folate is also vital in the early weeks of pregnancy when the neural tube is forming. Spina bifida is not to be messed with. Prevention with foods rich in folate.

Two vital fats are omega-3 and oleic acid making up a large proportion of the brain and the covering the nerves and growing foetus.


IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS




Did you find this page useful? Then perhaps forward it to a suffering friend. Better still, Tweet or Face Book it.

Share this page:
Enjoy this page? Then forward it to a friend. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.