Hip pain, please help

[Princessbb1]

Hi

This is my first post and I could really do with some help. I am 30 weeks pregnant with my first. Over the past couple of days I have been to L & D with 'tightenings' twice. Everything seems fine on that front.

But this could or could not be linked, I kept waking up with severe hip pain in my right leg. I'm now struggling to walk or move my right leg and I really don't know what to do. It's a Sunday, do I contact my midwife or out of hours GP or Labour and Delivery? I've found something called SPD online which sounds about right but I really don't want to be a nuisance.

If I wait until tomorrow I would end up missing a day from work, can they make me start my maternity early? It's straight after Christmas and I've had two weeks off. It's going to look terrible.

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

x

[rubyboo2]

Hi Princess its prob spd .I am 35 wks . I have hurrendous hip pain just in my right hip which wakes me . Its sadly a normal part of pregnancy . I sleep with a pillow between my legs laying on my side and take some pain relief .
Make an appointment to see your gp they can refer you for physio which may help .
Take care x

[leanne963]

I am only 20 weeks but I woke up last night with a really achey/throbbing left hip, then when I changed sides and led on my right hip it started to ache pretty soon after :( feel exhausted through not sleeping!

[applecore0317]

I sometimes get hip pain when my sciatica plays up, and it can cause pain and or numbness right down my leg. If you are worried though give them a call and see what they say

[eastcoastmum2014]

Hi there, sounds like SPD or Pelvic Girdle Pain as they also call it. Don't worry about being a nuisance I have had it since about 22 weeks and it only gets worse without help. If you speak to your midwife she should refer you to a physio who can help free up your hips and help you walk. They should also get you a belly support as well. A pillow between your legs when you sleep can also help with comfort!
They cant make you start maternity early, one sick day is not the end of the world and you shouldn't feel like you cant take one every now and then. Pregnancy takes a lot out of your body and while I was at work I had an entire week off just down to a cold! It knocked me for 6- I would not normally be like that!! I think starting maternity early depends on your job. I started it early at 30 weeks because of the SPD but this is because I'm a zoo keeper and work on my feet every day and my body couldn't take it. I think if I worked in an office I would have kept working until 36 weeks as I intended to do originally!
I hope you get everything sorted out! :)

[comeagainforbigfudge]

Does your maternity unit have a physio attached? If so self refer.

They will probably be busy as hell but they may run pelvic girdle clinics. The receptionist (think triage - she was lovely) at the physios I phoned listened to my problem when I had hip pain brought on by cramp, suggested I go to the clinic, she also got a physio to phone me back.

In the meantime, don't worry about work. If you can't walk, you can't walk.

Try taking paracetamol to see if that helps with any pain.

I was advised to sleep with a pillow between my legs from knees to ankles and one at my waist. (To help keep everything inline) although I find the pillows on the floor more often than not when I get up in morning!!

I hope you feel better soon.

[Princessbb1]

Hello everyone!

Thank you all for replying, pregnancy has not agreed with me at all and the thought of 10 more weeks with this pain is horrible.

I will call the midwife tomorrow and hopefully I can hobble into work until I speak to a medical professional. I was due to finish at 35 weeks but I think if I can make it to 32 it will help enormously financially and I won't feel so bad.

The pillow between my legs seemed to make it worse for some reason. I guess it's process of elimination of what works best for me.

I hope you're all doing well during your pregnancies! It's nice to reach the 30 week countdown at least

xx

[Trooperslane]

Don't separate your legs unless absolutely necessary.

Yy to pillow and to Physio plus girdle/belly support.

My Physio told me it would be gone by the time I got onto the ward posted delivery - I didn't believe her but she was right.

Good luck

[saturnvista]

Hi OP, I'm (sadly!) an old hand at this one. Google 'Pelvic Partnership' and read through the information there on Pelvic Girdle Pain. There's also a helpline number you can call to talk through what's happening. You need to see your GP and insist on a referral to a Well Woman physiotherapist. Don't listen if your GP says it's just your body getting ready for labour or that you'll have to grin and bear it - these are common misconceptions in the NHS. An experienced physiotherapist will offer a combination of manual therapy and exercises. Manual therapy is simply some clicking and clacking to get your hips aligned again because that's what is causing the problem. The exercises will hopefully keep you that way. It's important that you get the treatment as quickly as possible. NHS guidelines are that GPs should make an urgent referral to a physiotherapist - but be prepared to insist on it. You can also access treatment from a qualified and experienced private physio or osteopath, provided they have a track record of successfully treating Pelvic Girdle Pain (also known as spd). In my experience, every physio and osteopath claim to have experience of treating it but few specialise in treating it. On the Pelvic Partnership website, there's a checklist of things that should happen when you go for manual therapy so you should be able to tell if someone knows what they're doing. If you want to find a private practitioner and not sure how to go about it, Pelvic Partnership also have a list of practitioners who've been recommended by members. In terms of medication, it depends how severe the pain is. I had to take solphadol (I think) in the later weeks of my pregnancy. There were concerns about how my DD would be when she was born, but she was absolutely fine.

[saturnvista]

Yes, do try and avoid asymmetric movements like stairs etc. Satin sheets or pjs can make turning over in bed much easier. Don't expect the pain to disappear straight after birth. It can do but it may be a more gradual thing. And don't let anyone tell you not to breastfeed, that's a myth :)

[comeagainforbigfudge]

I cornered a physio in my work. (Pelvic floor exercises is her thing) anyway, her advice was to, when needing to lift things etc, rather than widening your stance, I need to step one foot forward and lower self that way. No bending from the back.
kneel to put bed sheets on/clean the bath.
Oh and sit down to put pants/socks/trousers/shoes on. So your not putting too much weight on either leg.

If you interested she also taught me how to sit and do pelvic floor exercises. Dunno bought any of you ladies but I quite often find I am just squeezing my butt cheeks.

Basically sit on a proper chair, as neat to the front as you dare, feet under knees. Lean forward, elbows on knees and raise heels off of ground. Then start your pelvic floor exercises. If doing it right you won't be able to engage your bum muscles, just your pelvic floor. It does help honest!