Any back/pelvis experts around?

[HaplessHousewife]

Sorry if this goes on a bit!

So, when I was pregnant with DC1 I had a period of back pain which started off as a twinge but got worse to the point of me walking home from work trying not to cry. It was just above my bottom, slightly to one side, where the knobbly bits are and I could also feel it in my buttock and sometimes at the top of my leg. It was also quite weak there ? I couldn't physically turn myself over in bed. I was about 6-7 months pregnant so noticeable bump but not a huge unwieldy one!

I came to the conclusion that the baby was somehow resting on my sciatic nerve but never saw anyone about it. The day I walked home in agony I forced myself to go to my pregnancy yoga class and it turns out the teacher had trained in magic reiki. I don't know what she did (from what I remember I think she just touched me in certain places) but two hours later it was noticeably better and two days later it had completely gone. So either it worked or the baby shifted.

Fast forward to second pregnancy same thing happened but nowhere near as bad and went quite quickly.

So now DC2 is 16 months old and I've got the same thing in my back. I'm definitely not pregnant but was wondering if it could actually have been my pelvis shifting around and now it's moving back, does that sound feasible/likely?

If you won't go to the dr ( which I really would advise as I had something very serious that started as muscular pain in pregnancy), try a physio. I would ring pelvic partnership ( google them) who are pelvic /back pain issues.

you need to go and see someone. I go privately for Bowen Technique. Google it. Has done wonders for me (including today! I could feel the difference as she was doing the treatment). I found all nhs long to get appointments and totally useless advice.

Thanks for the replies. It seems much better today, just a little twinge in certain positions. I'll check out your suggestions.

I'm not totally adverse to going to the doctor but it's a small practice with two doctors and one of them prescribes antibiotics for everything ? eczema and insect bites to name a couple! ? so not convinced I'd get anywhere with her. I just want to talk to someone with some expertise I guess that might know what's going on.

This sounds very much like sacro-illiac joint pain, which is incredibly common in pregnancy and can vary from mild aches to debilitating. It occurs when Relaxin (a pg hormone) causes the joints in the pelvis to soften in order to allow the pelvis to flex and widen to part with the baby. If too much of this hormone is secreted, all the joints in the body (in particular the sacro-illiac joint) are susceptible to becoming too loose and lax, and coupled with the extra weight the pg puts through your lower back and pelvis this causes the SI joint pain. It is also known as pubic symphysis dysfunction or pelvic girdle pain. It can radiate down through the buttock (and resemble sciatica) and also around to the pubic bone (at the front). Treatment is usually one or two appointments with a maternity physio, education re: posture and self-care, moderate rest, and not weight-bearing through one leg (i.e. sit on bed to put knickers/socks on instead of standing on one leg, and be careful getting in/out of cars).
Hope this helps, and hope you get some relief from it from seeing your GP for a physio referral. Good luck with your pregnancy!