PGP/SPD support thread!

[heebiejeebies45]

Hi all, congratulations on your pregnancy!

I thought about making this thread as I'm currently 14+1 with my second pregnancy. I've had AWFUL SPD since around 10 weeks and honestly can't believe it's started so early for me already.

During my first pregnancy I developed SPD around 20 or so weeks. I could hardly walk for longer then 10 minutes (I had a pregnancy belt which helped massively,) I was in extreme pain turning over in bed and walking up stairs was absolute hell.
Now I'm going through all of this again whilst trying to look after a 5 month old🙃

However, this time round I've self referred for physiotherapy and have my first appointment in two weeks. I've also got myself a swim membership as the water helps massively.

I feel like SPD doesn't get talked about much and a lot of health professionals are quite quick to dismiss it as it isn't life threatening or anything along those lines.
If anyone else is going through this, please feel free to vent and maybe offer any advice or exercise that you do that you find helps with the pain x

Hi great thread idea! Thought I'd share my experience with PGP.

I started with symptoms around 19 weeks & got a referral to an NHS physio. By the time I saw her at 23 weeks I could barely take a few shuffling steps using a walking stick. The pain was so excruciating it made me feel constantly sick & really low. She gave me crutches & exercises to do but I was still in agony & living on painkillers.

After reading the research on the Pelvic Girdle Partnership website I decided to look for a manual therapist. Luckily I found a local chiropractor who had lots of experience in pregnancy. After 3 sessions I was off all painkillers & haven't used my crutches since. I see her twice a week but luckily she has a payment plan so I pay once a month & get unlimited treatments.

I still have some stiffness in the mornings & if I walk a long distance I get some aches but it's like night & day the difference from how I was. I'm now 36 weeks & will be induced at 38 weeks, I'm so glad that I'll be able to stay mobile in labour.

Sending love to anyone suffering with PGP, it's a real pain - literally! x

Feel for you!! I got it at 9 weeks this time despite being in best shape of my life.

Currently 21 weeks.

Saw an experienced osteopath who's said my pelvis is all twisted up from previous pregnancies so will be a lot of work to put me back to normal. But feeling optimistic that there's a plan in place for more than just excercises from the physio.

The pain was really making me low a few weeks ago as had aggravated it and was paying the price.

Not enough resources on nhs or research into it to help pregnant women unfortunately. Very frustrating!!

Completely agree OP. I’m on crutches and took a slip in the shower in my 37th week. Getting an elcs after much thought to avoid further pelvic damage. My hospital trust have been great but pgp just isn’t on the radar the way it should be.

Currently 34 weeks with PGP (or what I have been told is PGP by my midwife).
I have pain basically in my groin and upper thighs. Worse on my left side than right. Getting up from sitting and walking is hard and I have to literally stand for a min or 2 before I try walking otherwise the pain is immense.
Turning in bed is difficult too so I have a pillow between my knees to keep my pelvis alligned.
Midwife acknowledged it was PGP, suggested physio referral but then said by the time im seen it will be a bit pointless so here I am.

At the moment im just trying to be very sensible. Taking pain relief (which doesnt work) and resting as much as possible.
I hope all these aches and pains go when baby is here.

@JackJack84 ah wow that's great you were able to find a Chiropractor who has really made a difference for you! I was suffering with such bad pain during the night I was thinking I'll need to look into seeing an Osteopath/Chiropractor or something!! I just couldn't take it anymore so it's reassuring reading your post. I've never heard about the Pelvic Girdle Partnership website so I'll have a look now thank you. Great to hear you're off of your walking stick/crutches and pain killers, you give me hope hope all goes well with the labour and you're able to walk around as planned!

@HyphenCobra that's what I'm thinking to do too. The pain has been so bad so early on this time round that exercises in or out of the swimming pool won't be enough as my belly gets bigger. I need something that's gonna make a real difference! Really happy to hear you have something in place and hope they're able to work on you effectively.
@Glasgowmix there really isn't enough research or acknowledge regarding PGP at all. I never knew it was so common until I saw loads of pregnant women complaining about it on MN! When I told my midwife that I was suffering from really bad PGP already she just said 'what's that' like hun come on now!

Also @Glasgowmix please take it easy in regards to slipping out of the shower, I hope you're okay! Yes I'm with you, I won't be having a vaginal birth this time round as it just isn't realistic.

@Flutterby8 I also have worse pain on my left than my right, I actually have no problem on my right which I find is so strange! I could have wrote this all myself Flutter, turning in bed is absolute agony. The same with getting up from sitting or lying down. When I lie down for my scan I'm in that position for so long that I can't move for about 5mins after I've sat up, it's horrible.
In my last pregnancy I had PGP all the way up until labour and had a wheelchair in the hospital. Once I returned home after a little while the pain had completely gone, it was like a miracle lol. Hoping the same happens for you too!🤞

My sympaththies to all on this thread. I had simmilar issues with PGP returning at 9 weeks with pregnancy number 2. I just wanted to recommend a snoozle www.thesnoozle.com/. It made a real difference in turning over in bed.

I think I am suffering from this at the moment, although I already struggled with re-occurring back issues before I became pregnant. I am currently 13 weeks pregnant and have been in agony for over a week. I did have a recent bout of back pain that put me in hospital but that must have been around ovulation time so not pregnancy related. My physiotherapist happily transferred me to a ladies team for physio, when I told him I was expecting. I have an appointment 2 weeks on Tuesday. My main issues are getting up from sitting, and turning over in bed. I also struggle getting out of the passenger seat of the car (I don't drive). It's mostly right sided in the back of my hip and projects across my lower back. I take paracetamol when it gets too bad but that doesn't really touch it. I have tried sleeping with a pillow between my legs but that doesn't help much. I tend to be awake 2-3 hours a night trying go get ocmfortable. I'm sure I didn't have this much discomfort with my son (aged nearly 7). I am 37 years old now and have BMI 35 which prob doesn't help! Any tips greatly received.

@Heathofhares omg thank you😍 that looks super helpful I'm definitely going to buy as turning over in bed is actual agony!

@MrsT84 PGP is definitely worse when you've already had back pains, it's so horrible. Unfortunately I have no advice, I hardly find things that help and I hope your physio appointment gives you great advice. I've just had to book an appointment with a chiropractor as the pain is literally unbearable

I am definitely considering a chiropractor depending on what the physio says. I just need to try and make it to my appointment on 9th Nov. Luckily I am on half term this week, although looking after my 6 year old is hard work as I can't get down on the floor with him. Only just starting to feel better in terms of all day nausea and exhaustion that I have been suffering with. I actually managed some housework and washing up today which is the first time in weeks (been relying on hubby so much!)

I am 36+5 and have had PGP since around 12 weeks. I wasn't happy with the "wait and see if it continues and then we might refer you to a physio” approach of my midwife, so I went to a private physio who does manual therapy very soon after it started. My pelvis was misaligned and she helped reposition it. I have been seeing her for regular checkups and advice since then.

The result has been that I am still able to walk up to 2km if needed (even if I am a bit sore for the next day and need to take it easy before another long walk).

I think it's so important to get the manual therapy as soon as you can.

One tip my physio has given me for rolling in bed, is that I should squeeze my glutes together and keep my knees together when turning over. That's been a big help, as it means that I am not exacerbating the PGP pain by rolling over any more.

@Latecomer131 couldn't agree more! Manual therapy is definitely the way forward. I couldn't walk to the end of my path when I was really bad, after my chiro I managed to walk 1.5miles yesterday.

@heebiejeebies45 definitely see someone for alignment, you've probably seen on the Pelvic Partnership website that manual therapy is the gold standard treatment. I was told, very unhelpfully, by a midwife when I first asked for help that this pain was just a normal part of pregnancy which is total bs. No one should have to suffer when help is available! Just wish the NHS would get up to date with the research & use evidence based practice.

@MrsT84 are we the same person? 😂 I'm also 37, have a BMI of 35 & most of my pain was in the right side! As I said in my first post the chiropractor has worked wonders for me & I can highly recommend it, totally changed my pregnancy for the better & worth every penny!

@MrsT84 So happy to hear you have DH to help you as the pain can be unbearable. Let us know how your appointment with the physio goes! Hopefully you're able to make it.

@Latecomer131 that's amazing that you went to a physio and it's been beneficial! The fact that you're able to walk 2km is great too. I have an appointment with the physio next week and will see what advice they give me. I'm praying someone can help reposition my pelvis if mine is misaligned too!
I'll try the tip regarding turning over in bed too, thank you.

@JackJack84 honestly!! In my first pregnancy my midwife just told me I had to get on with it. This pregnancy I've said fuck that😂 I have a 5 month old to look after I need as much help as I can get. More definitely needs to be done with the advice given by the NHS. Just because something is quite common in pregnancy doesn't mean we should have to put up and shut up!

Hey guys,

Hope all is well especially in these colder months.

I had my physiotherapy appointment yesterday where I got assessed and then referred to a team based in St Thomas' that focuses on pelvic pain. Not sure what they can really do for me but something is better than nothing!

Swimming is helping loads so I'm trying to go twice a week at the very least however turning around in bed is still HELL😵‍💫

How has everybody else been doing recently?

I have crutches which have actually been really helpful when I'm very immobile.

Driving is now quite painful and I'm only 23 weeks 😞 just doing school pickup of dd and by time I'm home I'm limping as sitting in a car or driving makes my spd worse

Hi hope everyone is coping ok! I've had a bit of a resurgence of symptoms in the last 2 weeks (38+1 today) I've had really bad lower back pain, still seeing the chiro & they've said it's the weight of the baby (thanks gestational diabetes 😂)

Just wanted to say I've hired a TENS machine & oh my god what a wonderful device it is! I had it on for about an hour today on a low setting & my pain was much reduced & mobility much better. It can't be used until after 37 weeks but if anyone is suffering towards the end of their pregnancy I can highly recommend it!

Always worth checking with your doctor/midwife before using as they aren't suitable for everyone.

Hi ladies, glad to hear I'm not the only one.
Im 29 weeks tomorrow with my first pregnancy and have been having pain the last 2 weeks. My midwife referred me and I've had a physio assessment and am waiting to see the pelvic physio specialists in my area.
I have quite an active job, on my feet most of the day in a hospital and so am struggling towards the end of every working day now. Counting down, 5.5 weeks until I switch to working from home, and getting through the paracetamol like nobodies business. Really keen to try swimming as I know that being inactive in pregnancy is no good either and can result in a more difficult labour.

Hi, I don't have an official diagnosis of pgp but can you well informed folks say if what is going on with me sounds like it could be? (Don't worry I will be phoning my midwife tomorrow morning to discuss it but I just Want to know if I'm crazy or not for considering it)

I'm 27 weeks and have had worsening lower back pain for about a week now.

Since Friday it's gotten much worse. I was on my feet a lot at work and by the end of the day I had an ache in my groin area that felt like I'd been kicked in the crotch - when I got in from work I sat down and put my feet up and then when I tried to uncross my legs and cross them the other way I found I couldn't do it without physically lifting them with my hands!

I'm sleeping on my side with a pillow between my knees but still waking up with pain in my back and I can't turn over in bed without physically pulling my top half round using the bed frame.

I've had a bath this evening and my back just ached the whole time it didn't help at all.

I'm not crazy for thinking this isn't just normal pregnancy aches and pains? This isn't my first child but I don't remember anything like this with my previous pregnancy's.

@HyphenCobra that's so good to hear you find the crutches helpful! For some reason I thought it may be harder to use when pregnant and not really help the pain much but it makes sense that you have something to depend on when you're in a really bad state. So annoying that you have such a long way to go and you can't prevent having to drive!

@JackJack84 oh really🤔 that's super good to know. I was thinking of getting one to have during labour but if it makes a difference with your back that's even more reason to get my hands on one. Thank you not too long left for you now!

@SouthwestSis hey hun, join the club lol! We welcome you with open arms:)
That's really good your Midwife's got the ball rolling and now you're waiting to see the pelvic physio specialists (we're both at the same stage, the waiting game haha.)
Ah of course that must be so challenging having to work alongside the pain, I'm still on maternity leave from having my first baby so couldn't even imagine how hard it is to work right now. Hopefully you're able to take it easier once WFH.
The pool is a Godsend! You feel so weightless so you're able to do endless amount of stretches and laps if you can swim of course, definitely try it when and if time allows.

@zonedoutallnight I'm no expert but sounds like PGP to me. Especially as you've had to use your hands to uncross your legs due to the pain/stiffness. I also have to turn around in bed whilst holding onto the top of the bedframe, it's horrible. Definitely does not sound like the normal aches of pain in pregnancy. That pain in your groin area is really hard to ignore too! Was you able to speak to your midwife?

I left a message with the midwife and she said replied to say I should take some time off work but didn't really mention pgp. I'm going to take a few days to rest and try and catch up on some sleep. I'm at the consultant next week anyway so if it's still causing me problems I mention it then.

@zonedoutallnight yeah definitely mention it to the Consultant and see if they have any advice (they rarely do when it comes to PGP!)
Taking time off sounds like a great idea. I'm not sure how you've been feeling recently, but if I'm sitting for any longer than 15/20mins, I really have to take my time when getting up so just try to do things within your means. Keep us updated and if you find anything that works, let us know!

I find sitting on a firm chair gives me massive pain in my coccyx. I use cooled gel pouches on my groin area when that bit is really sore 🙃

Crutches are great for when you feel like your hip has 'gone' as then don't need to put weight on the bad leg.

Has anyone been having bad lower stomach muscle pains (round ligaments) on their worse side for spd??

This pregnacy it's really hurting on my lower abdominal muscles on my right which is the side that hurts most with spd. I'm having to wear a bump band most days to take weight off 😩 even though I'd massively strengthened my core muscles at the gym for past 2 years!!

Hi ladies! So pleased (but sad for you all!) That others know how I'm feeling. I'm currently 12 weeks with baby #3 and suffering!!! Towards the end of my last pregnancy I was in severe pain. Nothing really helped.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a support belt? I cant really afford any chiropractors etc right now so I just need to try and minimise the pain as I have dd4 and ds2 to contend with this time to! X