Pelvic Pain during Pregnancy (PGP)

An expecting mother experiences a series of ups and downs in her 9 months of the pregnancy journey. Sometimes it’s the cravings, nausea, morning sickness while others the hospital visits and the happy moments with their partner. One such experience that most expecting mothers have to deal with is the pelvic pain during pregnancy.

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Pregnancy-related Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) or Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) is the pain a pregnant lady experiences around 1 in 5 women anywhere in the lower back, buttocks, thighs, hips, groin or pubic bones. Pelvic pain may range from mild to severe pain that restricts you from your daily activities. PGP may start at any time during pregnancy, labour or in the weeks after giving birth.

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Consult Ms. Shazia Shadab for Physiotherapy related queries

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Even normal activities can be painful during PGP:

• Walking (especially for prolonged periods)
• Climbing stairs
• Turning over in bed
• Putting on socks/tights/shoes/trousers
• Getting in/out of the car and driving
• Pain and dufficulty during sexual intercouse.

The symptoms of PGP are:

• Pain over the pubic bone at the front in the centre, roughly level with your hips and below you tummy 
• Pain across one or both sides of your lower back
• Pain in the area between your vagina and anus (perineum)
• Pain while spreading to your thighs
• Some women may feel or hear a clicking or grinding in the pelvic area

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Must read: When Your Pelvis Pulls an Elvis: Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, Explained
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What causes Pregnancy-related Pelvic girdle pain?

While it’s hard to say what causes PGP, usually there is a combination of factors causing PGP includes pelvic girdle or joints moving unevenly, hypermobility syndrome or previous trauma to the pelvis. Poor muscle function in the back, tummy  and pelvis at the beginning of pregnancy is also related to severe pain and disability throughout pregnancy, a small number of women have pain in the pelvic joint caused by hormones and occasionally, the position of the baby may produce symptoms related to PG

How to cope with PGP?

The expecting moms suffering from PGP are suggested to try the following:

• Stay active within the limits of what you find comfortable and manageable while avoiding the activities that you know makes the pain worse.
• Involve your partner, family and friends in day-to-day activities for help
• Sit down for activities that normally involve standing
• Rest more frequently
• Consider alternative sleeping positions, such as lying on one side with pillows between your legs for comfort 
• Sit on a firm chair with the help of a rolled towel or cushion to support the lower back
• Try different ways to climb stairs. You could try going upstairs one leg at a time with the most pain-free leg first and the other leg joining it on the step
• Do not indulge in activities involving asymmetrical positions of the pelvis. such as sitting cross-legged, reaching, pushing or pulling to one side, and bending and twisting to lift or carrying anything on one hip
• Consider alternative positions for sex, such as lying on the side or kneeling on all fours
• You must consult a physiotherapist

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What are the exercises you can do while 

It's important to remember that PGP affects women differently what works for one person might not work for another. Some women report pain while walking others say that swimming or aqua natal exercises are fine. It's important to be person-specific and do exercises under the supervision of a physiotherapist  to strengthen your Pelvic floor, stomach and back

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Labour and childbirth with PGP

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Women with pelvic pain in pregnancy can have a normal vaginal birth. Plan ahead and talk about your birth plan with your doctor and physiotherapist. Ask them about the positions that may be more comfortable for you during labour and the delivery of your baby. 

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With proper awareness and guidance, you can easily deal with pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain. On Cloudnine, we believe pregnancy should be the most memorable experience for every mother. We take every effort to make it the easiest for all our loving moms-to-be. Cloudnine’s expert physiotherapists can be a great help for you dealing with your physical fitness and issues like PGP during pregnancy.

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