Home Pelvic Girdle Pain in Pregnancy

Pelvic Girdle Pain in Pregnancy

Wednesday, 17th April 2024

Pelvic girdle pain (PGP) is a common problem women experience in pregnancy; it’s estimated that 23-36% of women will experience it. PGP causes a lot of pain in the pelvis which can start to make everyday life more uncomfortable. But, not to worry, PGP is very treatable and your symptoms can be well managed to help improve your quality of life and the enjoyment of your pregnancy journey.

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TELL ME MORE ABOUT PELVIC GIRDLE PAIN.

So, what is PGP? It is a range of uncomfortable symptoms in and around your pelvic area and is associated with inappropriate load transfer through your pelvis making standing, walking and sitting uncomfortable or painful. The changes the body goes through during pregnancy can contribute to these symptoms, including; increased body weight and load through the pelvis as your baby grows, hormonal changes that cause your ligaments to soften and increased mobility of the pelvic joints to prepare for birth.

This can be quite a stressful time for women, and it’s well known to cause higher rates of depression and anxiety and increase the need to take sick leave from work. But you do not need to be alone on this journey! PGP is commonly managed with physiotherapy along with other health care professionals like: GP’s, obstetricians, midwives, massage therapists and chiropractors.

So, what do you need to look out for? Symptoms can include pain between the top of the pelvis and bottom of the buttocks, particularly around the joints that link your pelvis to your lumbar spine. You may also experience pain that radiates down the back of your thighs.

WHAT MAKES IT WORSE?

Pain can be present with normal everyday activities, but some common aggravating factors for PGP are: getting in and out of the car, rolling over in bed, going up and down stairs, exercises that are on one leg and getting dressed.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP MANAGE YOUR PAIN.

Easy, simple changes to your day to day movements can provide huge amounts of pain relief.

Getting in and out of the car

More carefully getting in and out of the car can improve your PGP. Sitting onto the car seat with both legs together, and then swivelling into or out of the car, keeping your legs together helps prevent the shearing movement at the front of the pelvis and help manage your pain. You can also use a plastic bag as a tool to help you swivel your bottom to help get into the car.

Moving in bed

You want to roll in bed in one smooth motion that allows the pelvis to stay in alignment. Try and avoid swinging your legs apart and moving one leg at a time as this can aggravate your pain. Instead, let’s aim to roll onto one side while keeping your knees together with a slight bend in the knees. Push yourself up with your hands and turn over keeping your knees together. Or if you’re getting out of bed, slowly swinging your legs together in one smooth motion and placing both feet on the ground.

Dressing

Dressing can be a common issue for women with PGP, so let’s make this easier by dressing sitting down. Try sitting on the edge of the bed to get your pants on, putting one leg in at a time and then move to standing to do them up. This will reduce your PGP as you won’t need to balance on one leg to get dressed.

Exercise

Research shows that exercises can be incredibly beneficial throughout pregnancy for both your physical and mental health, and also help your PGP. Walking is a great place to start with getting your body moving. If you are getting pain with walking, try taking smaller steps and walking at a slower pace. If you need to go up or down stairs, try taking the steps one at a time. This can help reduce the aggravating movement through your pelvis.

Other exercises shown to be beneficial for PGP include glute, adductor, abductor and core exercises. A women’s health physiotherapist can provide recommendations to guide you through developing simple and effective home exercise program.

Manual therapy

PEAK Sports and Spine have Physiotherapists and Women’s Health Physiotherapists who can offer hands-on therapy to give you effective pain relief to manage your PGP. Relieving the tension in the muscles around the pelvis and glutes can be effective in relieving your symptoms. Physiotherapists can also recommend other additional treatment options like an SIJ belt to manage your symptoms, where appropriate.

PGP will most likely stop after the delivery of your baby, with only 10-30% of women having ongoing pain after birth, but there are many treatment options for you during pregnancy to make you more comfortable. Managing PGP will allow you to enjoy your journey through pregnancy. The earlier we diagnose PGP the better in avoiding discomfort throughout your pregnancy. Please do not hesitate to seek help and talk to one of our skilled Women’s Health Physiotherapists.

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