Round ligament pain? (medics not helping)

[Elastigrrrl]

Sometimes (not always) when I walk or stand for more than 10 minutes or so, I get pain starting in the soft tissue between the front/left of my pelvis and my actual bump; in other words, more or less along my bikini line. Over time it radiates out front to the bump, and around the side to my hip and back, and becomes so acute I have to sit down for a while (which settles it). But it's most acute just in that little triangle of ... muscle? Between bump and pelvis. Neither the midwife (said it was a hip issue and the physio should help) nor the physio (said it was bump territory and she was not able to advise twice) is willing to help.

Before I push for a referral, it would be nice to know if others have had symptoms like this; my best guess is round ligament pain, but would it extend all the way round to my back? Can it be brought on by walking/standing? My best Googling doesnt make this totally clear, so your thoughts are appreciated.

Thank you!

Hello- I have just written on another post about this. I have just come back from hospital because mine were so bad! They started 1pm Wednesday and paracetamol did nothing. Went to get checked, everything was fine with baby, it IS just ligaments stretching. Trust me it's bloody painful I couldn't even put my left foot on the ground it was so bad! I'm not on crutches and already it's helped! I also have a bump support, which I got from the hospital, it takes lots if pressure off your muscles and ligaments under your bump and really does work. Just make sure you wear it. So. This is what you need to do:

1. ring your midwife and ask for a referral to the Physio at your local hospital -mine did mine over the phone and left it at a school so I could collect it en route to hospital
2. take referral to hospital and get the crutches and straps to support you! Honestly, I'm still only taking paracetamol but it's really helping. The biggest factor is rest. Lay on your back with your feet up for a whole everyday. Alternatively you should get on all fours and rock and stretch very lightly- I stress the lightly!!

If you need to know anything else let me know. I'm currently 25.2 weeks but I'm a big 25 weeks. Hope this helps.

Oh and I'm guessing it's RL psi because when I sat down, all the pain went yet I couldn't bloody walk!

I suffered with this too mainly one-sided. My MW said referral could take weeks (catchment areas) so suggested I tied scarves under my bump to lift it up, instead of spending money on expensive mat belts. Also got a yoga ball which defo helped too.

i have EXACTLY the same pain on my lower right hand side....i actually started a thread seeking advice a few weeks back and a lot of people said that they had the same. I've discussed it with my MW, the obstetrician AND with the GP yet no one gave me a clear answer. Am now nearly 30 weeks preggers and it has not got worse recently so am guessing it IS RL pain....it's a proper pain in the neck however i don't believe it's anything to be majorly concerned about. x

Thanks so much ladies. I will see if my midwife or Gp will refer me, sounds like some kind of bump support is my next step, along with the stretching on all fours and resting (getting awfully good at that last bit...).

Mlbear, I have a yoga ball; what did you do on it to help you? Sit and do pelvic circles or similar?

I just bounced on mine, MW suggested just bouncing to encourage baby to shift to stop the pain.
Baby was laying low which made it worse, shaking him about soon moved him!
I found just sitting on the ball helped, it encourages me to sit with correct posture instead of slumping in chair/ sofa.

I had this and pretty bad (no crutches though) SPD

Definitely push for Physio and a belt. The Physio can help with lots of things eg getting in and out of the car, steps, rolling over in bed.

It's a shocker. Good news is that I was 100% fine when I got to the ward after dd arrived. Like a magic wand had been waived.

I won't mention the carpal tunnel syndrome and hyper mobile ankles, no no no

Many thanks! Bouncing on my ball as we speak, and will be sure and ask about a belt/other advice.

Was about to post something on this myself....I'm 20 wks and pregnancy has been pretty good to me so far but woke this morning feeling a bit nauseous again and on my walk to work developed a pain on my right hip and lower back that just got worse and worse. Got better as soon as I sat down in the office. Then I made the mistake of walking home (it's a good 5k) and by the time I got to the front door I could barely breathe, it was so painful. As soon as as lay down on the sofa it disappeared. Does this sound like round ligament pain then?

Well it sure sounds like what I have, so maybe you should follow the above advice too. Pain on walking after a while, feels better when you sit, sometimes gets so acute you feel you can barely stand it (I tell myself it is gentle practice for labour...)

I have something similar (though am just 17 weeks so maybe milder) and am currently holding a hot water bottle (not too hot!) to the affected spot. Not sure if it helps with the actual pain but it has definitely made a difference by helping stop other muscles, my thigh in particular, tensing up too, which makes the pain much more manageable. Warm baths are lovely too.