Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) and Osteopathy

Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP) and Osteopathy

31st August 2022 08:35 PM

Author: The Bridge Centre Team

Pregnancy, PGP, Osteopathy and Me

Louise here, Bridge Centre Marketing Coordinator and Receptionist. This month we’re looking at Supporting Pregnancy and I thought I would share my pregnancy experience with you all, and how Osteopathy kept me going during my second pregnancy.

Early 2013 and I was just over halfway throughout my pregnancy with my first child, one morning I woke up and as I swung my legs out of bed I felt a searing pain through my pelvis. I initially dismissed it as a pulled muscle or that I'd just slept ‘funny’, but a few days later I was still in pain and ended up at the GP being told I’d got Pelvic Girdle Pain and left with an expedited physio referral.

PGP (or Symphysis Pubis Disorder - SPD - as it’s sometimes called) is typically caused by the pelvis moving unevenly as your joints relax in preparation for delivery. The relaxin hormone softens ligaments in preparation for birth, but if the joint becomes too relaxed it becomes unstable as the symphysis pubis widens, resulting in pain and difficulty with walking, navigating stairs etc.

I was given some exercises and an incredibly uncomfortable bump support (which I think I managed to wear just twice) and I looked online for tips on how to manage. The things that helped me were to try and avoid standing on one leg wherever possible, this meant sitting down to get dressed and put on shoes, and also to swivel in and out of the car keeping both legs together to help support the pelvis. At night time I relied on a pillow between my knees to help keep everything aligned and to minimise the pain when turning over. I also learnt pretty quickly that I had to slow down and listen to my body. Going for walks and pushing through the pain wasn’t working out very well for me!

The NHS has a list of tips for managing and minimising PGP pain: https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/related-conditions/common-symptoms/pelvic-pain/

I had my eldest in the spring and things soon settled back down, but when I was pregnant with my second child I felt my first shooting pains in my pelvis as early as 5 weeks into the pregnancy. This time I had a toddler to keep entertained too so I knew I was going to have to take even better care of myself to keep mobile for the next 9 months. Scouring online pregnancy forums for help I came across many recommendations for Osteopathy. Straight away I booked an appointment to see an Osteopath at Bridge Centre and continued to do so throughout my pregnancy and it was honestly a game-changer!

During my Osteopathy appointments I received gentle manual therapy to ensure motion in my pelvis was as normal as possible and that my right and left side were balanced, which helped keep the pain manageable. I still took precautions such as getting dressed whilst seated, using a pillow between my legs at night, and listening to my body when I felt I was approaching my limit, but overall with help from my Osteopath I managed to keep moving throughout the whole pregnancy, which in turn gave me a much more positive mindset ahead of the birth.

Another benefit of having regular Osteopathy appointments throughout the pregnancy meant that any of those typical back niggles that come from growing a little person were nipped in the bud before they caused significant discomfort or threw my body out of balance!

A couple of postpartum appointments and I was pleased to find that my body was returning to its pre-pregnancy normal and ready to take on the challenges of rushing around after 2 little ones. Fast forward a couple of years and I joined The Bridge Centre team and get to share with other people how Osteopathy helped me with PGP!

Tags: Osteopathy, Pelvic Girdle Pain, PGP, Pregnancy

Treatments: Osteopathy

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The views expressed in these blogs are those of the blog authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Bridge Centre for Natural Health.