Being told that pelvic pain during pregnancy is normal and just related to your hormones
Just because pelvic pain during pregnancy is common, does not mean it should be considered normal, or endured unnecessarily. Thankfully there are ways to alleviate and manage your symptoms throughout your pregnancy to ensure you remain as active and pain free as possible.
Pelvic girdle pain (pelvic pain during pregnancy) is caused by a combination of factors, including biomechanical changes around the pelvis, disrupted sleep, stress, joint mobility, daily postures, activity levels (too much or too little), strength and muscular endurance, as well as hormonal fluctuations in the body.
Pain is normally felt through the lower back, sacrum, gluteal muscles, pubic bone, groin or inner thighs and is exacerbated by walking, moving from a sitting to standing position, turning over in bed or sitting for prolonged periods of time. Symptoms can occur as early as 6 or 7 weeks into your pregnancy, but rarely persist for the duration of the pregnancy.
There are a number of ways to help prevent pelvic girdle pain and reduce the risk of your symptoms escalating.
One of the most effective is to strengthen your pelvic muscles to support your joints and help your body adapt to pregnancy. A Pelvic Health Physiotherapist can show you how to alleviate your symptoms and strengthen your pelvic and abdominal muscles. There are always ways of adapting exercises to allow you to strengthen pain free. At Ten Health and Fitness, we also run tailored Prenatal Pilates classes that specifically target the pelvic muscles, allowing you to exercise throughout your pregnancy without the fear of pain.
A support belt such as the Serola Belt, offers additional support to the pelvis when you’re walking or standing. They are safe to use when you’re upright and moving but should not be worn when sitting or lying down. Again, a pelvic health Physio can show you how to use one effectively if you’re unsure.
Wearing supportive and cushioned trainers can increase gluteal function and reduce stress on the pelvic joints when walking. Taking regular rest breaks and even lying down for 10 minutes allows your pelvic muscles to recover and can reduce overall muscle tightness.
Pregnancy massage is a great way of easing tension in over-worked muscles and if done regularly, can allow you to continue with your daily activities pain free.
If you have pelvic girdle pain, speak to one of our pelvic health Physiotherapists to find out how the team at Ten can keep you strong and pain free throughout your pregnancy. Just complete the following enquiry form and we’ll contact you to arrange a convenient time.
Self-paid pelvic health consultations can also be booked online.