What causes Pelvic Girdle Pain in Pregnancy - and what you can do about it

 

Since launching the EMP, we have had a lot of our members ask us about Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) in pregnancy - and what they can do to reduce the amount of pain they are experiencing.

We have just launched our live Q+A series for our EMP Members and we wanted to share this small part of the Q+A session where Women's Health Physiotherapist Lyz Evans touched on PGP in pregnancy and postpartum.

PGP is something that affects so many women and is widely misunderstood. Through research and clinical experience, we know that with every pregnancy, a woman is more likely to get PGP and it usually presents earlier in the pregnancy.

What causes Pelvic Girdle Pain?

Pelvic girdle pain is caused by a number of factors:

  • Hormonal Factors The increased levels of relaxin, progesterone, and estrogen all combine to soften the strong ligaments surrounding the pelvis. Those ligaments start to hold more water and become more elastic so that when it comes time to birth your baby, the sacroiliac joint can open and allow the sacrum and coccyx to create space. 
  • Increased Load During Pregnancy there is a significantly increased load going directly through your pelvis from the weight of the uterus, baby, placenta, and amniotic fluid.
  • Non-Optimal Biomechanics  When you aren't pregnant it easy to get away with small issues such as weak glutes or tight hip flexors.  However, during pregnancy, these little issues often exacerbate and the biomechanics around the pelvis starts to become problematic resulting in pelvic girdle pain.  Factors such as hormonal changes increased load, change in direction of load, and often reduced level of exercise will add to this.
  • Asymmetrical Loading When you load your pelvis asymmetrically such as when you hold a toddler in your ‘good arm’, or a heavy handbag on one side we will often see an asymmetry between the two sides of your pelvis. One side becomes stiffer and one side is more mobile, which means with every step you take, there is an uneven force going through the two sides of the pelvis. This means that one side of your pelvis has a greater ‘shearing force’.  Over time this can lead to inflammation and an unhappy pelvis.

So what can we do about it?

There is so much you can do, but the first step is education and understanding what is going on with your individual pelvis.

Step One

Make an appointment with a Women's Health Physio or your local Physio for a one-on-one assessment. We know this is not achievable for every woman, but if it is possible for you, we highly recommend this as your first step. The purpose of this appointment is to assess for symmetry, biomechanics, and motor control.  You may also need some initial manual therapy to help release any compensatory muscles, and help with pelvic alignment.

Step Two

Regardless of the pain, ALL women will benefit from exercise to help create support for the pelvis. The glutes, pelvic floor and deep core (transversus abdominis) and multifidus are muscle groups that work together to create closure and strength around your pelvis.

In the Empowered Motherhood Program, we have a complete series of pilates and strength workouts for women who are suffering from pubic bone pain and pelvic girdle pain. We offer a free 7 Day Trial if you would like to check it out. Having done these workouts ourselves during our own pregnancies, we know what a huge difference they will make in your life.



The biggest mistake women make when they are suffering from Pelvic Girdle Pain is to stop moving. Stopping exercise leads to increased weakness through those key muscle groups, which in turn leads to more pelvic girdle pain.

If you have pelvic girdle pain - you need to move but move with the best exercises for your body.

Step Three

Pelvic support belt is also a handy tool woman can have up their sleeve, especially when spending long periods of time in feet or doing activities that may aggravate such as shopping or walking.

We hope this has helped you to understand pelvic girdle pain a little more and given you some practical tools you can take away.

 

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