Hypermobility in pregnancy

[biscuit13]

I have hypermobility and always thought I would suffer because of it when I was pregnant. I'm 13 weeks now and my back is in agony.
I've always had a problem with my left Sacroilliac joint (left lower back) and if I've done a bit more during the day I'm in agony, so much that I can barely put any weight through my left leg and can barely walk, it does ease off over night, but for half the day it's so painful.
I've tried gentle stretching, foam roller, ice. The only days it doesnt hurt is when I have a quiet day on the sofa.
Today ive been sorting out the spare room, so lots of bending and kneeling on the floor, and now it really hurts.

Any advice at all please?

Outside of coronavirus times I would have said physio, but everything is upside down at the moment. Run it by your midwife, maybe she will have some suggestions.

I feel your pain. I have hypermobile type Ehlers Danlos and also suffer with my lower back. I had really bad back pain at the start of my pregnancy and had to constantly sit down, it eased off and is back at 28 weeks :( I've invested in a pregnancy pillow to hopefully help ease it, honestly the only thing that has truly helped is a warm shower and taking it easy. Take this time to rest, I've learned that if I'm having a bad pain day then that's my body telling me to stop and rest.

@Mc3209 yeah that would of been my next choice if it wasnt for covid :/ trying to get my husband to get his thumbs on it to massage it.

@erised early on when I was still working I had to reduce my hours because being on my feet would slowly bring on bad backache. Then I got furloughed so I've been taking it easy at home. But I'm trying not to just sit on the sofa all day, but I must of really overdone it today. I'm scared that if it's bad now... what's it going to be like in another couple of months. Midwife appointment in 3 weeks, will ask then if it's still bad

I have hypermobility -- I'm only just over 10 weeks but at my booking in the midwife said she would get the physio to make contact, even if just by video call. Definitely ask the question :-)
Are you already doing strength training and exercises to help support your joints? Lots of those exercises are still fine for pregnancy :-)

Hi, I know nothing about hypermobility but my next door neighbour is aN NHS physio (she’s shielding at the moment) but is working full time seeI got all her patients via video.
So if you’d normally see a physio for this, I’d suggest still trying to contact them as it’s seems to be a service that is still up and running.

Oh I’m so sorry OP. I had terrible SPD in my first pregnancy related to my EDS. Am 8 weeks into second pregnancy and dreading it starting again.

Anyway physio (even just by telephone) is the only answer really and lots of rest.

I found that mine actually improved after 20 weeks weirdly but have heard others say the same. Maybe I was forced to rest more by that point though.

I'm a physio, although not a specialist in women's health I have done a bit of work in that area a few years ago. Generally the area needs support because of the hormone relaxin which is released in pregnancy there is more movement than normal in the pelvic ligaments. If you're already hypermobile then your ligaments are now not supporting the pelvis very well, and the movement of the sacro-iliac joint can be painful, it's also common to get pain at the front of the pelvis.

You might find pregnancy Pilates helpful as it strengthens the muscles that can help to compensate a bit for the lax ligaments. Also a maternity belt is helpful for a lot of people as it compresses the pelvis and reduces movement.

There might be some form of physio available over the phone depending on where you live, so definitely worth asking the question.

@EithneBlue my body has also been quite strong, I was a dancer and then a fitness instructor so always exercised and strengthened. Maybe it's because I'm not doing as much at the moment.

@Foreverbaffled oh dear, I remember my mum saying she suffered with SPD and ended up seeing a physio every day for 10 mins to release it, and I'm scared I'm going to be the same and not be able to get any help/relief.

@Lola871 ah thankyou it's nice to hear from a physio, I will look into both the pregnancy pilates and the belt, thankyou.
Is it better to rest or to be more active if I'm getting this pain? Generally in the morning it's not too bad, but by early afternoon it's getting bad and by the evening I can barely walk.

@biscuit13 in general it's always good to try and stay active but there's no point pushing it so far that you then can't move, try and find an activity that doesn't aggravate your pelvis so much if you can. Normally swimming would be good for example, although I realise that isn't possible atm.

As I said I'm not a women's health specialist so do see if you can get in touch with one as they will have much more specific advice for you!

I have hypermobility and suffer with my right hip and sacro-illiac joint when I'm pregnant. This is my third pregnancy and I'm now 35 weeks. The only thing that has really helped me is to have been doing gentle stretches at yoga (perhaps you could find an online class) and wearing a support band. I got the support band from promedics, expensive but worth it. I'm suffering with sciatica now which I think is caused by that area. Really hope you can ease the pain. I've had one good NHS physio but then moved in between my 1st and 2nd pregnancies and the ones I've seen since haven't been great. But hopefully that won't be the same for you!