Pregnancy Piriformis Stretch

Commonly Used For: Pregnancy-Related Pain.

Video Transcription: I'm going to show you how to do a Piriformis Stretch, which is a stretch for the muscle back here in your bottom of your glutes, which can sometimes contribute to sciatic nerve pain that is common during pregnancy. So, if you can do it laying down on your back and bringing your leg forward, as I did in previous exercise videos, then go ahead and do it that way. If your stomach's getting larger and it's too hard to either lay on your back, it's uncomfortable, or you can't get your leg pulled up, then another way to do it is with an elevated surface, so a table or the back of a couch, something that's just higher up for you. What you're going to do is hold on for balance, bring the leg up that you want to stretch, have it supported across your lower leg up through your knee, and then you're just going to sit down into the stretch here. If you sit down and you already feel a stretch there, then you can just hold that position. If you don't quite feel a stretch yet, you can lean forward over it, depending on how big your belly is, if you can get into that position. Again, just waiting until you feel a stretch right through here. Hold that position, about 30 seconds to a minute, whatever's comfortable for you. And then come back out of it, repeat sides. If you feel any pain, cramping, or contractions during this stretch, then definitely stop and get ahold of your doctor. This is your Piriformis Stretch.