Thigh Muscle Pain During Pregnancy: What Are the Causes?

Pain in, and around, the legs is a common part of pregnancy and often is associated with changes in muscle requirements during the latter part of pregnancy for women. If you are pregnant and suffering from complications involving thigh muscle pain, it is important to consider what the causes of that pain may be and to determine when, or if, treatment may be needed.

This muscle pain can be attributed to many causes in healthy adults, for both men and women. Muscle tearing, nerve damage, and even complications involve metabolic abnormalities can all cause muscle pain to develop. For many adults with this sudden onset of pain, a bodyweight exercise routine often helps to alleviate the condition naturally.

For women who are expecting a baby, the development of thigh muscle pain can be associated with an injury involving a muscle tear but, typically, this is not the case as most pregnant women do not engage in strenuous exercise. Instead, if you have a sudden development of thigh muscle pain, you will want to consider how a nerve impingement, in the lower back, may be playing a role. As your baby grows, and as your belly enlarges, it is not uncommon for a pinched nerve to develop and often the only sign may be thigh muscle pain and even numbness along the outside of the thighs.

If, however, during your pregnancy you find that you may be at risk for gestational diabetes or thyroid complications, the pain you feel in your leg muscles may be associated with these metabolic conditions. When diabetes is a concern, there will be neuropathic changes that range from thigh muscle pain to pain in the wrists and hands. Ask your obstetrician about testing for diabetes and thyroid disorders and, if confirmed, treatment should be administered as appropriate for an expectant mom.

With proper exercise, stretching, and medications, most expectant women can overcome thigh muscle pain during their pregnancy. Once your baby arrives, the issues with thigh muscle pain should dissipate no matter what the underlying cause of the condition may a have been. The key to controlling that pain during pregnancy, however, will rely upon the testing necessary to determine if a nerve or a metabolic condition is to blame.

Sources: Pregnancy Pain Relief, by Keith Cox