SPD- Pelvic Pain at 29 Weeks

I had that. What helped me immensely was FEndelkreiss by a trained preggie-instructor. It actually gave me 4 days of relief and then I had to suffer 3 days until my next appointment.
Good luck

Hi L.,

I am 28 weeks PG right now and I've had pelvic pain the entire pregnancy. It tends to "move" from front to back and down my legs, but it is very constant. I started seeing a chiropractor at the beginning who specializes in pre- and post-natal adjustments. She is really helping to keep my body in line, though I still have some pain on a daily basis, it is at least tolerable. Also, she sold me a special stabilization belt which keeps my hips aligned and she says it will prevent the pregnant waddle as I get bigger. Cherie Smith, Back to Balance Chiropractic, ###-###-#### (Encinitas). www.drcheriesmith.com

S.P.D - SYMPHYSIS PUBIS DYSFUNCTION. Been there and done that! I have four kids, and when I was pregnant with my last one, I had that kind of pain. It is due to the ligaments that hold the pelvic bones together separating too soon. It normally separates/stretches out during labor and childbirth in order for the baby to come out more easily. When it happens early, it can be very painful, as you are learning! My doctor told me that it happens more often when a woman has had a previously large baby or babies, OR when a woman gets pregnant within 12-18 months of childbirth, which is the case with you. I was in Switzerland when I went through it, with wonderful health care available, and was sent to physical therapy twice a week, which helped. The physical therapist suggested getting one of those exercise balls - a big one that I could sit on, and that helped a lot, too. Try not to go up and down stairs too often, and absolutely do not ride a bike. Unfortunately, walking a lot is not good either. The pain is trying to tell you that. I was worried that the problem might continue after birth but it did not. Hang in there! Here are some other recommendations:
• Getting into a car by sitting on the seat first, and then lifting your legs inside. Reverse this procedure for getting out.
• Getting dressed while sitting on a chair rather than standing.
• Always having the knees together firmly when turning over in bed.
• Rest as much as possible. Take the body’s weight off the pelvis when you can. Try to have some daily bed rest.
• Where possible, sit down to do daily tasks like food preparation.
• Avoid lifting.
• Avoid the breaststroke if you go swimming.
• Try to avoid twisting the upper body. Think ahead, turn and face the thing you are doing.
• Avoid straddling positions e.g. sit on a bidet as you would on a toilet.
• Be aware of your body and the way it responds to certain activities. Try to avoid the activities that result in pain. These may be anything from walking long distances to hovering or pushing supermarket trolleys. Avoid sudden jerky movements.
• For those whose pain when climbing stairs is too excruciating to bear, it may well be advisable to go up and down stairs using your bottom, and lifting yourself up or down each stair with your hands. This is fairly easy on the downward journey, but quite difficult going up. Bearing this in mind, it would be best to make sure that you only needed to make one trip up and down the stairs each day, and plan for rest periods (and possibly assistance if this can be safely achieved) on the upward trip.
• Pelvic floor exercises may help in relieving pelvic pain. These exercises (also called Kegel exercises) are designed to help strengthen the hammock-like muscles which support the pelvic organs. Better control over these muscles could help take some of the weight bearing responsibility away from the pelvic girdle and ligaments. Consult a health care professional about pelvic floor exercises with regard to your particular circumstances.

I have been there done that recently. My little guy is 4 months old and the pelvic pain from pregnancy is still fresh in my mind. Toward the end it got so unbearable I couldnt sleep, walk, sit or do much of anything. That was all until I saw a chiropractor that specializes in the Webster technique. After a few visits I was back to my 'normal' self (if there is such a thing during pregnancy). Your pelvis gets out of alignment sometimes during pregnancy but that does not mean you can't deliver vaginally. If you don't correct it though, it can cause a prolonged labor for the baby to navigate through your pelvis. It helped to continue going till the birth and even a few weeks afterwards. I hope you are able to find some relief and enjoy the remainder of your pregnancy.

J. :)

Supportive straps and clothing for pregnant women. The stuff can be a little spendy but helps take some pressure of the pelvic area. Excersies your OB should have a pamplet of ones not harmful for pregnancey these strengthn the muscles and relive some of the stress from those ligaments. Chiropractics may help but be sure you deal with one trained in doing this for pregnant women. Also there are several minor activity changes that may help. check these links there is alot of info there that you may find usefull. hope you can find some relief for yourself this really is an uncomfortable condition that can take some of the joy of pregnancey away from us as moms.

http://www.baby-pregnancy-ultrasound-3d-4d.co.uk/Pregnanc...

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

L.,

I had that similar experience with my third pregnancy. My doctor also told me that there was not much i could do about the pain except use a heating pad on the area. He never mentioned that there was a name for this. SPD? What is the definition for that? My daughter is now four and I still sometimes have pain in that same area if I walk a lot or do a rigorous activity. I still contribute it to that pain that I had with her from the seventh month on. But if I recall it did feel better later on in my pregnancy. But for a good month I was in a lot of pelvic pain. Which I never had with my first two pregnancies. I look forward to hearing from you and letting me know what SPD means? I hope that it will get better with you in time. I know that pain and it HURTS!

Take care,
K.
Proud Mother of Three Beautiful Children 4,12 and 17

Oh, I'm so sorry you are dealing with this, and understand your pain. I have a 3 week old daughter, and had the same problem during my pregnancy. In fact, my pelvis eventually became separated in the public area. I'm afraid the problem only gets worse as time goes by, and is pretty unbearable once the baby drops into the pelvis. After delivery I felt great though, and have no pain now. I ended up having to have a planned c-section due to the separation, as it can be dangerous to deliver naturally with this condition. I found that I did feel better when avoiding any activity that involved lifting one leg at a time (climbing stairs, wearing pants, getting in and out of the car) and I tried to keep the pelvic ring level. I also slept with 2 pillows between my legs and have heard acupuncture can help, although I did not try it. Best of luck to you, and on the bright side remember that once you see your baby the pain will be gone.
Oh, and P.S.- my ob/gyn said that in most cases this is caused by a misaligned pelvic ring, that was either there from birth (which mine was) or was caused by the strain of a previous pregnancy. I know in my case the symphisis pubis area was overlapping causing the bones to rub against each other.

Get some of those pregnancy support straps ASAP. My sister had the same pain and when she was 34 weeks pregnant, her pelvic bone BROKE! She was taking a walk with her husband and suddenly she felt something crack inside and immediately she was in excruciating pain. They took her to the hospital and they thought she had just gone into labor. They gave her the medicine in the IV to speed up the labor (I forgot the name of this medicine) and sure enough, she had the baby. The baby was healthy and all, but after they had sewn her up she was still screaming. The nurses and doctor kept asking her why she was screaming if it was all over. She insisted on the pain she was having in her pelvic area so they took her to X-rays and found that her pelvic bones were broken. She was immobile for 9 months!! If it's hard for a normal new mom to handle the situation with a newborn baby, can you imagine what she went through with this? So be careful. It's better to be safe than sorry. Oh, by the way, her doctor had never seen anything like that happen. After it happened to her, he told her he had 10 other patients with that breakage as well. You may want to mention it to your OB/GYN. Her doctor's name is Jason Hwang in Monterey Park, CA on Atlantic Blvd. You may want your doctor to look him up and give him a call about it if he/she is unfamiliar with this type of problem. I hope this was helpful and please BE VERY CAREFUL. GET SOME PELVIC SUPPORT.

My suggestion is that you see a osteopathic physician who specializes in classic osteopathy (not family medicine or any other specialty). She should be able to use physical, hands-on therapy to help alleviate some of your discomfort. Let me know if you need help finding someone in your area. Good luck!

Two things mainly cause this.

First is the possible over-production of the hormone relaxin.

Second are weak pelvic floor muscles.

You can do something about weak pelvic floor muscles. I am sorry that you will need to start strenghtening them in the midst of this crisis of discomfort, but the sooner you do the better.

Your OBGYN should have some free pamphlets or something that outlines proper pelvic floor exercises you can do. If not, let me know, I can list some morally sound book titles you can look into.

Hi L.,
I used to have horrible varicos veins and pelvic pain. What helped me was wearing the pregnancy support hose. It doesn't look pretty but it puts just the right amount of pressure to hold you in!Be sure to ask your doctor if he thinks it will help and sometimes you can get a perscription for the hose! Hope it works, I know it is painful!

supportive preg hose or 'spanks' helped me... also, try to keep your legs together when getting in/out of bed or the car, etc... REST as much as you possibly can. maybe take shorter walks w/your little one. hang in there, this will pass once you give birth

Hi L.-
Ouch I had the same thing this spring starting when I was about 20 weeks along. My doctor said the same thing, nothing you can do about it. It hurt mostly when I got out of the car or bed, so what helped that is keeping my legs together as I got up so I didn't strain the sore area. Good news is that it went away almost immediately after delivery! Hopefully you have someone to help you witht he little one until then! Tylenol was somewhat helpful, but I didn't bother with that too much unless I had a really hard day. I hope you feel better soon!

As soon as your baby is born I'd go get a complete physical and rule out anything else. I'd also let the doctor know that what he's doing (nothing) is not working and ask him to get creative! Good luck.

I had the same thing with my third(4 months ago). Go to Babies R' Us and buy a pregnancy brace. it goes around your waist and under your belly with a strao that goes across your belly. It took almost all of the pain away. Good luck!

Hi ! My sister had a perlvic seizure during the birth of her son -
a broken pelvic bone - unheard of by any of us before -
the birth was very difficult and the baby was very big ...
she was confined to the bed for a couple of weeks after the birth ,
was not allowed to walk ...we helped with everything the best we could...
now - when I hear , that you have pevic pains during your pregnancy -
I suggest a akkupunkture or akkupressure therapy - it's safe and might do the trick ...
I would suggest talking to your doctor & midwive about everything... also the birth , may be it'll be safer - discussing a cesaerian birth .... I hope the pains will settle and you will be alright !
Much Love and Faith !
N.

Hi L., i am going through the same thing as we speak. The best thing that i have been told to do is go to a chiro or a physcial theripest. They also perscribed me lortab. It hasn't taken the pain away but it has lessened it alot. Trust me i feel your pain. If you get any better responses let me know. I would give anything to help with the pain. Good luck and hang in there.
S.