Pubic Symphysis Pain

[~BEXTER~]

Has anyone had this before?

I think i have had it for the past few months but last night and this morning it is more painful then ever, I couldn't walk when I first got out of bed, getting out of bed took 5mins because it was just so painful.

For anyone that has had this, did anything help you?
Is there anything I can do to try and make it better, I still have 5 weeks for pregnancy left and if it is going to be like this i don't know how I will cope!

For anyone else who is having pain around their pelvis/pubic area this site might help you to understand it.

http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/pubicpain.htm

[naomi83]

I have this pain. I have 10 weeks left and am starting to worry!

My middys referred me to a physio who showed me some excercises and handy hints (main thing is not to seperate your legs too much, so when getting in and out of bed or the car, spin your whole body round and put both legs on the floor at the same time. So you aren't putting your weight on just one leg).

I also got fitted for a belt/girdle thing but to be honest it hasn't helped very much.

I also am taking regular panadiene on the worst days which my ob assures me is sage in the third trimester.

I feel for you, here's hoping the next 5 weeks go by nice and quick for you xxx

[emma2938]

Hi,
i always get this whewn im pregnant from around 25 weeks, its absolute agony!! Im 39 weeks now and, well, yeah, its pretty awful. I take some panadol before bed each night, but its just so ridiculously painful!

The only good news i have for you is that mine clears up completely within a day or so of having the bubba. That the only things keeping me sane right now! :yes:

[Teegzie]

Yep I've had SPD with both of my pregnancies now. This time around it kicked in big time at 16 weeks! :(

I saw the hospital antenatal physio last time and she gave me some gentle exercises to do to as well as recommending swimming (or just floating in a pool if actually swimming was too uncomfortable) to relieve the discomfort.

The best way to relieve the pain though I've found is pressure on my pelvis. A pair of support knickers like these ones (http://www.recoveryshorts.com.au/src-pregnancy-shorts) are meant to be great, but I couldn't afford any last time and have just found ways to put up with the pain this time without spending money on any special products. If it's getting really unbearable for you though they might be worth investigating.
To apply pressure to my pelvis I just put a cushion between my legs and push it right into my crotch if I am sitting up. It looks silly, but providea a lot of relief! It's the same sort of idea as when you have a sprained ankle or wrist, strapping the area tightly helps take away the pain in the ligaments.

It might be worth going to see a physio if you can afford it, or if you have access to a free antenatal one though your hospital.

[becca022]

I had it in both of my pregnancies.
With dd I could barely walk by the end.

I saw a physio with dd & got a support belt that helped ease the pain a little bit, but not completely.

Try not to put too much pressure on one leg... I found that made it feel worse.
When you get up from laying down roll onto your side & ease yourself up that that way.. it helped with the pain especially if you keep your legs together.

I really feel for you... spd is awful & wouldn't wish it on anyone.

[~BEXTER~]

I have been trying to roll out of bed, that part is fine until I sit myself up, that hurts like hell, then when I stand I can't life my leg to move for a few seconds.

I was using the broom this morning as a crutch, trying to take some of the weight off my leg, it didn't work out to well. lol

I cant afford physio.

[RHJ]

Yep i had this with all 3 of mine. And it started earlier each time!
Best thing i found was sleeping with a pillow (or lots of pillows in my case) between my legs. Get one of those body pillows, as it was excellent. I am a side sleeper (well when i am pregnant i am) and i found this supported my belly, and my legs, and it did help. When i went to roll over in bed, i held onto it tight between my legs and rolled all of it and me together. Annoyed my hubby, but i didn't care, i was in a lot less pain doing it that way!
Yeah, mostly just pretend your legs are tied at your knees AND ankles. Use a plastic bag on your car seat to assist you to lift your legs in to the car at the same time (it slides nice and easily)
I found the elastic physio belts helped, and also belly belts a size too small just around my hips was good. Try to avoid standing on one leg only. Sit on the bed to put your pants on - then stand up on both legs and slip them up over your bum.

If you have other kids and need to clean up their toys- use a broom to sweep them all into one area, then sit down to put them in a washing basket or something so you make it easier to put them away. Don't push things with your legs or feet either!

HTH.

[~BEXTER~]

Thanks for the tips, I have noticed I can not push things with my legs, I had to get my daughter to put my slippers on this morning as I just could not bend down.

For the girls that have had it, how long did it take to go away after the birth, or do you still have pain?

[Teegzie]

Mine was gone within a few days of the birth last time. I wasn't really moving around huge amounts (emergency CS) and wasn't as focused on the pelvic pain, but I'd say definately by day 4, when I left hospital, I had no pain at all. :thumbsup: I still took it easy though because there is still a fair amount of relaxin pumping through your body and I didn't want to risk injuring the ligaments by trying to be too active. So no cancan dancing right after the birth! :laughing:

If you want a way to look at SPD in a good light (almost impossible I know!) because you spend so much time trying not to use your legs the way you would usually (can't really go swinging them around one at a time) you will end up with a much stronger core! :yes: You'll find you brace yourself better and have better posture etc because you will need to rely on other muscles other than your inner thigh and similar. Plus a stronger core is meant to help with birth and result in a better recovery. Not a totally great pay off for having to put up with the horrible pain of SPD, but a little light at the end of the tunnel. ;)

[Sugarplum2809]

I had a the pain for most of the pregnancy as I had a fall at 11 weeks. Could hardly walk some days.

[~BEXTER~]

Does it get better, or does it stay painful?

[Gracie's Mum]

I'm so glad to hear i'm not alone with this pain! I am only 27 weeks this week and I am in so much pain a lot of the time I feel like I am totally useless, and i have another 13 weeks of this to go :( Even simple things like stepping into my pants is a massive chore, and luckily I have a 4x4 so getting out of and into the car is a lot easier as my hips/pelvis dont have to bend downwards. Ahhh its so awful getting out of bed isn't it? Especially when we're getting up a few times a night to go to the toilet! I try to keep my legs as tightly together as possible and swing around, pulling myself up is the bad part! Even just getting up from the leather couch can be hard sometimes, I love when my partner helps me up its just so painful sometimes!! I feel completely useless with so much time left to go, I can't work because of the pain (I'm a nurse) I am going to start physio next week so i hope it helps!! I really feel for all you ladies, its no fun at all!

[FearlessLeader]

re. not being able to afford a physio- if you are a public patient they may have a maternal physio you can see at the hospital, i did that and only had to wait a week for an appointment, and it was all on medicare. One thing the physio recommended for pain relief was to fill condoms with water and freeze them, then wrap in a facewasher and pop in your pants for pain relief. You will feel like an idiot buying condoms when clearly pregnant, but OMG this was the one thing that gave me some relief.

Also make sure you have them put it on your notes at the hospital that you have it so when you're in labour the middies can help you get into possies that won't hurt your pelvis.

Oh, and mine was gone straight after the birth as well.

[Bemused]

I found I was aggravating mine by waddling. I was overly self conscious about having put on a bit of weight on my bum and thighs and started waddling unnecessarily! Now that I'm walking normally again, no more pain for 2 weeks! And I'm still even jogging and riding my horse, which I initially thought were the causes of the problem.

[JenH]

Thanks so much for the link! This describes exactly how I've been feeling. I've been saying to people it feels as though I am bruised down there, like I have jumped on my bike for the first time in months. So painful. Never thought to say it to the midwife as I thought it was normal at this stage (I'm 37 weeks)
Hope those of us suffering find relief. I might pop to the hospital physio this week and see what they say.

[~BEXTER~]

JenH- My bub is 4.5 months old now and I can still remember the pain I was in. lol

It was not fun at all

I had alot of problems with my pelvis up until my son was about 13 weeks old, like I couldn't sleep on my side as it was painful, rolling over in bed, but I was told I may have fractured mine in the pregnancy as my baby was so big, not sure about that but I was sore for a while.

When I told the doctors and midwifes about it, they just brushed it off, until I was birthing my son (on my knees) and I was told I had to life my leg... There was not way I could so the midwife had to do it for me.

Good luck with everything.

[First time parent]

Hi, can someone recommend a physio for Pelvic Instability? I am from Fairfield, Melbourne. This is my first pregnancy (and possibly last), pain started around 24 weeks. Am sooo nervous about birth, according to online research, C-section would be best as its reduces pelvic stretching.

[becca83]

OK... I had the exact same thing with my first two prenancies, as mentioned in another post... it starts earlier with subsequent pregnancies as the ligaments are already "lax" the extra boosts of the hormone "relaxin" doesnt help in the slightest.

I am now onto my 3rd preg (god knows why... my body does NOT deal with this well at all). i was hospitalised several times with both previous preg, for pain management and a string of other hidious medical issues.

No amount of physio helped me at all, but that is just me, every one is different. if anything it made it worse because they managed to manipulate the muscles and ligaments to the point both of my sacroilliacs in my lower back went, which meant that for the last 3 months of my pregnancy i was unable to walk and was heavily medicated on tramadol for the pain... this was the worst 3 months of my life!

i too had the support belt which is fine, but it's basically a placebo, it masked the problem, they only really work if they are used in conjunction with proper exercises, these "should" be tailored to "your" specific condition and not just handed a leaflet of generic strength building exercises.

along side the belt they can also strap your pelvis, but be warned make sure you have a s#&t load of vegetable oil on hand when you remove it.... or your skin will go with it! :eek:

if the pain is to the point it is debillatating your GP/OB/Gyn, should be able to prescribe you panadine forte at the very least.

it's perfectly safe to take codine based medications (provided they are prescribed to YOU DURING your preg) as it's what they classify as a class A drug, (safe during pregnancy).

i HATE taking anything even when im not pregnant, but if you are in pain your blood pressure can increase and that is not usually a good thing considering a constant high BP (which can happen when you are in pain all the time) means the blood vessels in your heart tend to narrow making it harder for the blood to flow. but being pregnant we all have our BP checked and you OB/gyn will know if that is an issue at all that is being caused by pain and discomfort


im now 15 weeks again and i can feel it already... and with 2 kids, a household and a hubby that works away all the time... ITS NOT FUN!!!! :freakingout:so i can totally sympathise with everyone that is in the same boat!

I must say that the only thing that kind of bought any kind of small relief was a TENS machine, some chemists hire them out, even physios do as well, they are worth their weight in gold, my hubby's best friend lent me one for my entire preg and it was a god send! and when you use them in conjunction with medicated pain relief they can be a very big help with the whole pain management thing!

you may even be able to pick up a cheap one online, if not ask your physio at least what their thoughts are on a TENS machine!

Good luck... hope you find some relief soon!:)