it hurts when I walk...

[whyohwhywhy]

I think I may have pulled or strained a ligament in my pelvis. It hurts when I walk, especially going up and down the stairs. Walking up hills is also a killer. There's no pain when I sit down, or stand but as soon as I move my leg that's it. I'm reduced to walking really slowly or taking tiny baby steps...

Would be fine if I could sit on my bum all day but not easy with a couple of kids to look after. Anyone had this or got any advice? Reluctant to go to the gp, what can they do?

Go to a physiotherapist, unless you have medical insurance in which case go to the GP and ask for quick referral to a physio.

keep hoping the pain will sort itself out, but its been going on for months. Think I damaged myself going down a swimming pool flume ride, that'll teach me to act like a big kid

will look into physiotherapy, thanks.

I would take it easy and see GP asap. They can rule out anything too serious and give advice on whether to rest it or try and keep active.

IME, NSAIDs (ibuprofen usually) are recommended at full dose for a few days to allow you to keep active. Resting is sometimes counter-productive as things can sieze up. But you'd need a doctor to know for sure. It might have gone by Monday morning, I get strains and trapped nerves in that area regularly and it sorts itself out. Good luck.

Oh, just read your last post. Maybe not better by Monday then! Hope physio helps, I was never convinced so didn't do my exercises. Got better in time anyway. Pelvis wrecked now by being pregnant!

yes my pelvis wrecked ever since first pregnancy when developed chronic spd after the birth.. thought I'd escaped it after having second baby 8 months ago but obviously not!

Hi there, I think physio/osteopathy are the best options. I am an SPD sufferer and getting the right kind of treatment is essential to recovery. Phone the Pelvic Partnership for recommended therapists. In my experience GPs and NHS don't deal with this very well so not worth bothering with. I have made an excellent recovery thanks to a brilliant therapist. The main thing is to get it sorted asap. Good luck.

Thanks August5, would you mind telling me more about your symptons and recovery? Really want to get this sorted, started to take over my life in that I can't go for walks with the children and am in a lot of pain.

My symptoms were severe, I was on crutches for 3 months and couldn't carry my baby when I came out of hospital. I didn't have any treatment during the pregnancy because the hospital physio said she couldn't do anything for me. After the birth of DS I started NHS physio but wasn't seeing any improvement. 6 weeks after the birth of DS I started proper treatment with a private physio and osteopath and saw improvement straight away. After 3 weeks and 3 sessions I could walk without crutches for short distances. I am now 8 months postnatal and can walk at least for 45 minutes. I can lift and carry DS, push prams and lift my 2 year old DD for a few seconds. I am about 70 % recovered and planning to go back to work in February. The treatment I've had is cranial and visceral osteopathy combined with physiotherapy. There is a lot of information on the Pelvic Partnership and PINS (Pelvic Instability Network Scotland) websites. They also have a list of recommended practitioners all over the UK.

How bad were your symptoms? How many months postnatal are you? the good news is, if you get proper treatment you can improve quite quickly, the bad news is you will probably have to go private to find it as a lot of so NHS physios are not trained properly to treat this condition.

Hope this helps, would be interested to know how you get on.

Thanks august5, I've looked at the website. Going to make an appointment with my gp, the pain is really getting me down now, walked dd to school today, only a 10 min walk but was in so much pain. Walking is definitely when its worse for me, it's as if the full force of my pain comes when I put one leg in front of another.

Glad to hear you're much better. I've made an appointment with an osteopath but at £40 a go not sure how many session I'll be able to afford. Would like to try and get some physiotherapy on the nhs if possible as the PINS website seems to imply phsyiotherapy is one of the best treatments

Sorry to hear you're in so much pain. Try and see if the GP can give you an urgent referral. I got one on the grounds that I couldn't look after my DD.

From what I've read treatment of SPD should include realignment of the pelvis, relaxing the tense muscles and retraining the core muscles. The latter should not be done before the first two. If your symptoms aren't that severe you might only need a few sessions at the osteopath. It's important that whoever you see is experienced and trained in dealing with SPD.

I'm about to start some Pilates classes, I hope this is going to give me the final push in my recovery.