Best for SPD, chiro/oesteo/accupuncture?? advice plz...

[busyalexsmummy]

have started getting constant spd pain which is really scary as im only 13 wks pg and didnt get it with ds till about 32 weeks in.
I know everything i should/shouldnt be doing and am being reffered to physio but has anyone else tried either a chiropractor/oesteopath/accupuncture and if so did it work? was the pain lessened? did it dramatically reduce the pain?

any advice on this would be very very much appreciated TIA xx

[mogwai]

sorry, I've only seen a physio for mine, which I'm sorry to say hasn't helped. She ran through some exercises with me while I was lying in an uncomfortable position but didn't give me any written info, so I forgot them instantly. She also gave me a belt but it's almost impossible to wear because it digs into your thighs when you sit down, so unless you stand up all day long, useless.

I hear chiropractic treatment is excellent.

Get a single airbed and put it on your side of the bed. This revolutionised my getting up and turning over in bed and has also helped with leg cramps. The air in the bed helps you turn without much effort and seems to redistribute the weight from your pressure points

[busyalexsmummy]

The air bed suggestion-how did that work? wouldnt that be a little dangerous?! or did you attatch it to the bed somehow?

[mogwai]

Well the airbed works best if your dh is working nights and you can put it right in the middle of the bed (or spare room bed!). You can put a foot onto the mattress to start yourself turning and let the air do the rest!

I find turing in bed so painful with SPD that I'm always awake when I turn over, so I have the presence of mind to make sure I don't fall off the bed. Also, if you don't have it fully inflated, you kind of sink into the middle of it a bit. Fully inflated is just as hard on my SPD and joints as the regular mattress, to be honest

[Skribble]

I was given a giant tubi grip bandage to wear around middle wasn't to uncomfortable to wear but it did get a bit warm. I went from bottom of my cheeks up to under boobs. Slept with pillow between my knees. Wasn't offered anything else.

[mogwai]

the belt I have been given is sturdier than a tubigrip, but it fastens with a large panel of velcro at the front. The physio said I have to wear it under all clothes, including underwear (so let's get this straight....velcro under your knickers.....hmm). She acknowledged that I'd have to take it off to sit down (so constantly putting it on and taking it off.....at work....going to the supermarket in the car...

It's totally impractical. Now that tubigrip thing sounds much better, but with the warm weather coming it's not so attractive.

Incidentally, how quickly does this SPD clear up after the baby is born???

[Skribble]

Mine went almost immediatly. Mind you baby was 11lb6oz so phew!!!

[mogwai]

Oh Skribble, I could WEEP at the thought of it disappearing quickly.

I could also weep at the size of your baby! Let's hope one isn't symptomatic of the other!

[busyalexsmummy]

mine went immediately after the birth thankgoodness. ho hum only anougher 27 weeks........ :-(

[mogwai]

let's hope it goes quickly for you then. I have 5 weeks left, been suffering since about 23 weeks. I hasn't worsened much, so I've been lucky.

I feel such sympathy for you!!

[busyalexsmummy]

hmm, anougher thing, has anyone used a walking stick? i know some people get given crutches when it gets too bad but has anyone used a stick as i was thinking of getting one for when we go on holiday, i will be 20wks by then and we will probably be walking around alot?

[mogwai]

I went to France at 26 weeks. I must admit, the walking wasn't too bad, but I suffered every night with dreadful pain, I assume as a result of all the walking we did. We had to change our flights and came home two days early.

I think a stick would help if you were able to lean lots of weight onto it. I use the table to support me when I get up after a meal and I use the bedpost to help me get out of bed. In my experience, crutches might help your SPD but they really hurt your armpits! You could be swapping one problem for another (I used them for an ankle problme, nothing to do with SPD)

[CrazyDi]

Crutches are a godsend for me...with dd got spd at about 34 weeks but recently with ds it appeared at about 20 weeks and was horrendous!

my midwife swears by accupuncture for helping, but i passed on that one so cant really swear by it myself!!

Unfortunately I havent been as lucky as some as I had ds almost 3 weeks ago and still have it..just hope it goes soon!!

Good Luck

[mogwai]

Thanks for your experience, aviatrix. I'll probably see a chiropractor after my baby is born, then, even if it clears up. The first physio I saw in occupational health thought I had one hip slightly higher than the other, so this makes sense to me. I guess it means I'll suffer again unless I have it looked at between pregnancies.

[mogwai]

It's sooooooo miserable! I'm also worse after sitting for long periods. I have tried to stay reasonably active (used to go to the gym and actually run), we went on long walks until about 29 weeks, now it doesn't seem worth the pain afterwards. When I go for a walk I also get very uncomfotrable Braxton Hicks.

Feel a bit miserable about having to be less active (thighs growing by the day!) but not long now.....I want my body back!!!!

[Skribble]

My friend used crutches, she found it helped to lean forward on her elbows.

It does usually ease quite soon after birth because the pressure is off the joint and the ligament starts to toughen up again.

Dont over do the exercise especially if it makes it worse I'm sure they mean gentle exercise not running half marathons .

[mogwai]

Oh I just re-read my previous port - I haven't been running since pregnant, only beforehand. Still, it kills me when I see people jogging and I'm limping about like an old woman

[bossykate]

hi there

the most useful thing for me was specialist physio with ultrasound treatment.

couldn't wear the fembrace during the day - too uncomfortable - but wore it at night, when it helped.

found osteopathy a big letdown.

most useful thing was rest and taking it easy (avoiding walking long distances etc) - otherwise would suffer dreadfully as price for past exertions the next day

[mogwai]

I tried to wear the fembrace at night but I'm worried it squashes the baby, who is now head down but not engaged. The baby seemed to wriggle a lot underneath it.

[busyalexsmummy]

Did anyone manage to get anything done on the nhs? or did you ask only to be told to go private? m-i-l thinks whatever i have done im looking at at least 5-6 sessions at £30+ a time eeeek -some hard saving coming up for me then!

[ghosty]

I had SPD with DS from 34 weeks and was told there was nothing to be done.
With DD it started at 17 weeks and by 22 weeks I could only make it from house to car
I had physio ... just gave me exercises and one of those belts that i never wore because it was so uncomfortable.
The tubigrip helped although it was murder in the height of the NZ summer.
Not much help am I?
Don't know about nhs help as I am not in the uk.
My pain stayed until dd was 4 or 5 months
Another reason why I do NOT want a third child!

[99redballoons]

Hi all, what does SPD feel like? I'm on my 2nd pg and I keep getting twinges in the inside of my pelvis, kind of down in the groin area. I am 16wks, not sure if this is the first sign of it or something completely different. Had no pains like this in first pg. Does SPD affect all of your hips or just certain bits?