Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) Chatter #1

[Traveller]

Most of my pain was gone as soon as my last babies were born, but I do still get pain 3.5 years later and at times have been so bad I've had to go back on crutches. All I can suggest is keep icing when you get sore, and see a chiro or physio as soon as you possibly can. The removal of the weight from your pelvic floor should make things easier, but if you had a difficult birth it can exasperate the injury (especially if your legs were pulled apart for pushing) so it's not unusual to still be in some pain post birth.

[Kazbah]

Kel - I still have pain here, specially when DS1 jumps on my thighs the wrong way. I've found my back is playing up again too after a particularly agressive play with Pip

Santosha - if you're going to be climbing stairs, and before it gets any worse, I'd really be going to the doc / pregnancy health professional to get a referral to a physio and get a back support belt (plus some special exercises) to help with the pelvis as your pregnancy progresses. I know how you feel - I was still bushwalking (or rather, bushwaddling!) a week before Pip was born (after his due date even) but with Will, I couldn't even waddle to the bathroom at work at 30 weeks. The best thing though is that all this means that your body has heaps of relaxin which will help with the birth.

[LionsandBears]

How many of you girls continuedd to have SPD after bubs was born? I am still getting pain, 5 1/2mths later! Nowhere near the pain I was getting in later pg, but I still get shooting pains in my pubis , and turning in bed is still sometimes painful and I get the grinding back/pelvis bones/ligaments.
I still ahven't been to the physio or chiro (or anyone actually!) I'm waiting on our tax....another few weeks til we can afford to do anything unfortunately, then it will be a toss up over going to the dentist, or the chiro/physio. Gee, decisions!

I had it continue for the six months bw DS1 being born and DS2 being conceived and it stayed during pregnancy. I'd suggest that to get rid of it completely, see an acupuncturist.

[~Raven~]

I still have issues some days now when I don't "carry" myself properly, and now I have a car with a higher seating position I have caught myself getting in the car by stepping in with one leg and it causes pain right in that middle pelvic joint. I need to make careful movements and keep my pelvis even. If I don't then it's ouch!

Post birth I did find it quite a bit easier but then I had a relapse (that's what I call it) when the ligaments stiffened up and became inflexible. This was where I found pilates and physio invaluable for my pain management, strength and sanity.

[andi81]

Hi Ladies,

Just popping in to see if I can borrow some of your wisdom on this horrible matter! And I'm reading some real horror stories in here...don't know how you ladies got through it!

I've had lower back issues my whole life but was surprisingly ok with my first pregnancy, but now at 15 weeks of pregnancy #2 and I've been getting pain in both of my lower back/pelvis and butt cheeks. It's on and off, some days severe and I struggle to walk and pick up my 12 month old and then others it can be almost none existent (now that I'm noticing what I'm doing and not overdoing things!). I'm hardly showing at the moment so I'm hardly carrying any weight which makes me a little concerned to how it might get as I start to pile it on (and pile it on I did with #1!!!!!). In everyone else's experience - did it gradually get worse or is it something that can come and go?

Since my DD has only just started walking I still have to pick her up a lot so there isn't a lot I can do about that, however I was considering getting a support belt to help stabilise...do these work in this way?

Any advice would be great!

[Arimeh]

I could barely walk at the end of my second pregnancy, so I would say - get on top of it now, and get some excellent treatment before it gets really bad.

My third pregnancy wasn't too bad - I was having regular physio treatment through out.

My fourth pregnancy was by far the best pain wise - I was having weekly chiro treatments and that REALLY helped.

My "baby" is now nearly 17 months old and I still have pain - I don't have treatments though, even though I should.

The support belt never worked for me because it dug into my c-section scar and really hurt.

[fionas]

Get on top of it. Despite doing everything I could in my second pregnancy, I still have problems and my physio has basically told me my body will fall apart unless we can find something that helps. I may need surgery to pin me back together. I do have underlying issues that exacerbate things though (hyper mobility).

The support belt works for some, not for others. Get it. I didn't wear it properly in my first pregnancy but did in my second and that helped a lot.

[LionsandBears]

It will only get worse. Implement a number of things listed in this thread now. I recommend getting the SRC pregnancy shorts. I still wear the recovery shorts a couple of times a week. A support belt was next to useless for me. Physio, osteo, chiro, hydrotherapy, whatever you need to use your abs and thigh muscles to overcome the weakening in the pubic bones.

Keep your knees together at all times - sit to put on undies, pants etc. Reduce lifting as much as you can or anything that has you using one hip more than the other, like vacuuming or pushing shopping trolleys. If your other half can't pick up these tasks, look at getting a cleaner, grocery shopping online, outsourcing whatever you can.

[AnyDream]

Andi, the way the physio described it to me was that during certain weeks of the pregnancy, the hormones that cause the pelvic stretchiness are at a much higher level. So you have to be really careful to do all the right things as early on as you can, to try to prevent it worsening as much as possible. If you push through it then you can end up in a much, much worse state at the end of the pregnancy when you're carrying so much extra weight. So no, it doesn't come and go, as such, but the pain can definitely be worse on those days/after those days when you're putting strain on the pelvis.

[andi81]

Thanks Ladies. You've kind of confirmed what I was thinking...do something about it now!

My major concern is my DD still being so young - you try to lift correctly, but unfortunately you can't always (cot, bath etc). Plus when I'm carrying her it's always on the one hip and there is no way around it. Not sure if I'll go with a physio or chiro yet but I'll definitely look into the shorts and belts suggested.

Thanks again and I hope those of you who are still suffering are pain free soon xx

[Mum2twoBoys]

I would recommend a good supportive belt. Worked wonders.for me, even though the Physio said mine was pretty severe. Belt was a life saver. But I still had to finish work at 33weeks, coz some days it was just horrible. I could barely walk. I tried walking down the street once and could barely make it home the pain was so bad, I had to keep stopping. I saw a chiropractor who got me fitted for a correct belt and taught me how to fit it correctly. He also showed me a few tricks for when the pain was real bad.

Sent from HTC wildfire using TAPATALK, so forgive any spelling errors its a small keyboard.

[andi81]

Do you know what brand your belt is? I've been looking at the Serola one online...there's not a whole lot of info on them though.

I'm trying to decide whether I'm gonna go chiro or physio. I've seen about 8 physio's over the last few years for other issues and none of them seem to help and I do have a chiropractor who helps a bit but I'm a little weary with going to him whilst pregnant. Not sure why...I think it's because doctors generally don't like chiro's (particularly my doctor!) and I like to do things by the book when I'm pregnant - I put my trust in western medicine! Is there any reason why you picked chiro or did you try both?

[Arimeh]

I got referred to a physio once I had DD1, and then continued to see her - my hip had popped out and rotated so that made my pain worse, so it was probably best I saw a physio anyway.

Then I moved states and I went to a physio and he said he didn't believe SPD existed (I'm sure you can imagine what I thought of him) so I went and found a chiro who did believe it was a problem and she was great. I found women more sympathetic towards the problem than any male.

So no, I didn't have any specific reason for choosing them, it was just the way it went. I do think some care providers are better than others. Whereabouts are you located? maybe someone in here can refer a good person.

[Mum2twoBoys]

I saw a Physio at the hospital I went to and she referred me to a chiropractor to get my belt. But I didn't get any alignments or anything. My belt is from USA, its called serola, and its a sacroiliac belt.

Sent from HTC wildfire using TAPATALK, so forgive any spelling errors its a small keyboard.

[andi81]

Mrs NB - Wow, can't believe he didn't think it existed. I think some people just like to go against the grain for the point of it! I'm located in Perth.

WilliamsMummy - Interesting that you went to a physio who referred you to a chiro, it's great that they are getting more open minded with different treatments. I spoke with a physio supplier the other day and they said the Serola belt is the best on the market.

Isn't it crazy? When you're pregnant you start to appreciate the wonders of the human body and what it can do, however I think there is a serious design flaw there! Relaxin is great, but why can't it just kick in at the birth??!!

[PumpkinZulu]

Good this thread is bumped, easier to find Just got back from the osteo, been diagnosed it's SPD. Suspected as much because I'm in a lot of pain, lower back, thighs, groin always painful, and now I'm starting to really struggle to lift my legs high enough to put shoes or pants on. By the end of the day I'm struggling big time to walk too. So it's regular osteo for me now, and a tubigrip for my belly too, because I have a bit of muscle separation again too. I don't know much about SPD so I need to read up!

[Arimeh]

Urgh your post just reminded me on how much I do not ever want to be pregnant again PZ!!!! I swear, any time I get clucky I'm coming back here and reading all the painful posts....

[AnyDream]

Me too Mrs NB. Me too...