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Pregnancy Foot Problems

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Causes & Symptoms Of Pregnancy Foot Pain
Diagnosis
Treatment
What Happens If I Ignore My Pregnancy Foot Or Leg Pain?
The Benefits Of Seeing A Podiatrist For Pregnancy Foot & Leg Pain

Pregnancy is an exciting time for expectant mothers. With regular scans, blood tests and appointments to monitor the health and growth of both mother and baby, the feet and legs are often forgotten, despite being expected to bear the increases in weight, the balance and centre of gravity changes, and the effects of all the pregnancy hormones. Here’s a look into how pregnancy affects your feet and what you can do to stay comfortable and active throughout all three trimesters of your pregnancy.

Causes And Symptoms Of Foot And Leg Problems In Pregnancy

Many of the causes of foot pain and leg aches during pregnancy occur due to changes in hormone levels, particularly of the hormones relaxin and progesterone that lead to increased laxity in the ligaments - meaning the ligaments are much more flexible than normal. This added flexibility is essential to help support changes around the pelvis to accommodate the growing baby, as well as assist in the birthing process.

You’ll tend to see the biggest changes in the second trimester and into the third, particularly between weeks 12-34 of your pregnancy. While many of the changes you experience in pregnancy will naturally resolve after giving birth, it may take some time, and you may need added support for your feet in the first post-partum year or even longer.

Feet Can Grow In Pregnancy

Previously we mentioned a hormone called relaxin that is plentifully produced by your body in order to help loosen the ligaments and tissues around your pelvis in preparation for childbirth. Unfortunately, relaxin isn’t limited to the pelvic area but flows freely through the body to also act on your feet. When looser ligaments are combined with the increased weight from your rapidly-growing baby, you get more pressure on the looser joints of your feet and the feet can flatten, making them appear bigger and wider.

Most pregnant women find they go up between half a size to one whole shoe size, sometimes more. While some feet return to their normal position during the postpartum period, others maintain a permanent increase in shoe size - and unfortunately it’s impossible to predict which category you’ll fall into.

Swollen Feet And Ankles

During pregnancy, a woman holds anywhere up to twice her regular blood volume. This blood is circulated through your veins which places a great demand on them, especially when it comes to the veins working against gravity to return blood back up the legs to the heart. For approximately 80% of women, this leads to swelling of the feet and ankles. This is typically seen from 20 weeks gestation onwards. As swollen feet and ankles are also a sign of a serious medical condition called pre-eclampsia that puts both mother and baby at risk, if you notice swelling in your feet or ankles, you should always let your doctor or midwife know.

Unsteady Or Off Balance On Your Feet

During pregnancy, particularly during the third trimester when your baby and uterus are both at a considerable weight, your centre of gravity shifts forwards, meaning that your natural balance is very different than it used to be. Combine this with weaker ankle ligaments due to the effects of the relaxin hormone, and many women feel less steady and off balance on their feet.

Tired And Achy Legs

Our legs are managing a lot of changes during pregnancy that makes it common for them to regularly feel tired and achy, especially in the third trimester. These changes include managing greatly increased blood volume which can cause swelling, keeping steady and balanced when our natural centre of gravity has shifted forwards, counteracting the effects of relaxin which can reduce stability in our ankles, and generally managing a much heavier load and using muscles in ways they’re not used to.

Foot And Leg Cramps

Foot and leg cramps are more common in pregnancy, particularly in the second and third trimesters. While it is medically unclear exactly why this is the case, it may be related to the increased weight the feet and legs now support, the pressure the uterus is placing onto the surrounding veins, changes in mineral levels in the body associated with a greater blood volume, or even from insufficient water intake.

Varicose Veins

Varicose veins occur when our veins become damaged and become more prominent beneath the skin. They are more prevalent in pregnancy because the veins are working with a much higher blood volume which they are not used to handling and supporting. As a result, the veins can become damaged and take on a more prominent, bulging or twisted appearance.

Back Pain

Back pain can occur during pregnancy because the weight of the growing uterus and baby accentuates the curvature of the spine, placing excess stress on the spinal joints. This causes tightening of the spinal muscles, while the overall increased weight means the back muscles have to work much harder than they are used to. This is why back pain is common in pregnancy.

Diagnosis

All of the causes and symptoms of foot problems in pregnancy that we have described are easily detected and diagnosed at an appointment with one of our podiatrists. Medical imaging is not required. If there are any abnormalities with any of your symptoms, we’ll refer you to the best practitioner to help promptly.

Treatment

If you’re struggling with foot pain or discomfort, we recommend seeing one of our Brisbane podiatrists. We’ll conduct a comprehensive exam of your feet and legs, assess what’s going on and if any of the muscles, ligaments or joints have been injured, and then start you on a treatment plan designed to reduce your pain and improve your comfort on your feet throughout the rest of your pregnancy and through your post-partum period. We may use:

• Compression socks to reduce and prevent swelling in your feet, ankles and lower legs. We will recommend the right medical-grade compression socks with an appropriate mmHg rating to help keep you comfortable and moving well.

• Custom foot orthotics to support your new (and potentially flatter) foot posture, maximise your comfort, and help reduce the likelihood of muscles and tissues being overused and strained.

• Footwear advice to help you get the best shoes for your new foot size - especially the width. We have a range of recommended styles for both inside and outside the home, and in summer and winter seasons, to keep you supported.

• Foot bracing - if weak and unstable ankles are making it difficult for you to walk confidently or comfortably, or you’ve had a fall, we may recommend specific ankle bracing like the Exo-Brace which is proven to prevent 90% of ankle sprains.

• Recovery methods such as shockwave, laser, foot mobilisation and more - if you’ve sustained a foot or leg injury throughout your pregnancy, we have a range of evidence-based treatments to speed up your recovery so you can get back to pain-free movement and stay active in your pregnancy. Your treatment plan for this will depend entirely on the specific injury sustained, your symptoms and your goals. Please use our search bar to look up the specific condition you may have to learn more about our approaches to treatment.

What Happens If I Ignore My Pregnancy Foot Or Leg Pain?

As the weight of the baby and uterus continues to grow exponentially until birth, aches and pains during pregnancy are likely to worsen. Your podiatrist can help relieve your symptoms and help keep you comfortable throughout your pregnancy. 

The Benefits Of Seeing Our Podiatrists At The Feet People

We’re proud to have an experienced and knowledgeable team of podiatrists that go above and beyond for our patients. Choosing us to care for your feet throughout your pregnancy and beyond means:

• You get access to a range of innovative treatments such as the Exo-Brace, laser treatment, shockwave and more.

• You’re in the best hands: we put people first, and we consider ourselves to be a unique team in that we’re genuinely passionate, motivated, we love what we do - and we’re perfect at it.

• Your treatment is grounded in evidence-based principles with practitioners that are constantly learning and staying up-to-date with podiatric research.

• We’re parents too! Many of our team have either gone through pregnancy (or our partners have!) so we know first hand how you feel, what you’re going through, and the best way to treat it.

• We’re not a set-and-forget service. We stay with you every step of the way, modifying treatments (such as making orthotic adjustments) until we get the very best results for you.