Pelvic girdle pain and no NHS support... Advice please?

[Pumpkinlady]

Hi!

I am currently 29 weeks pregnant, I've had very mild PGP type pains in the second trimester which seemed to ease if I didnt push myself too hard, went swimming, or when baby moved positions (second baby, he seems to have a lot of room for manoeuvre haha!)

Anyway the last 2 weeks or so it's suddenly got much worse, now in the last two days it's dramatically taken a turn and causing me issues in every day movement.

I'm suddenly at the point where I can barely stand to get out of bed first thing and I'm hobbling to the kettle for that morning coffee, having to sit down when toddler wants to play, my leg keeps threatening to give way beneath me if I step wrong.

My named midwife is on annual leave, I've spent an hour on hold speaking to community midwives and then the hospital im due to give birth at and they (nicely) said take some co-codamol and deal with it because the wait list for physio is so long you'll have given birth by the time anyone sees you.

I'd rather not just drug up and get by when I'm still working and looking after a 3 year old... Can anyone offer me some advice on what helped with your PGP?
Will pain killers cause me to push myself too hard and wake up in agony?
Can anyone link me to some exercises which may help?
Or any advice on support bands, crutches, basically anything that helped you? I feel this is a massive grey area with no support so I'm now in pain and a little lost :-(

Thanks in advance x

Your best best it probably going to see a physio privately. Though from the friends I knew who had it seemed that they only really had any relief once the baby was born. I don’t know if that is because of poor availability of care for it.

Somebody else with more useful information might be along soon but having had chronic pain for many years a big part of pain management is acceptance. If it turns out there isn’t much anyone can do then accepting this, planning and moving through your day as best you can will be much easier than being in lots of pain and being very upset/angry/frustrated about the pain.

I have had PGP since 9 weeks. I'm now 27 weeks.
Was referred to NHS Physio at my 17 weeks appointment, but they didn't help, just sent links to YouTube videos.

So I'm paying to see a specialist private physio.
The exercises she has given me are very specific to my anatomy and what she thinks is causing the pain.

But general advice -
Two pillows between legs to sleep (she said one often isn't good enough), so I popped two into a large pillow case.
Tense stomach muscles prior to rolling or getting up as this holds things in place and takes some of the strain off the other muscles.
Always move legs together, don't split them.
Pop a folded over double duvet under the sheet on side you sleep on. This takes pressure off the hip and spreads it across the whole side of your body by filling the gaps.

I would also check out the pelvic partnership website as there is a lot of advice on there. It also has a list of physios that specialise in PGP if you decide to go private.

I got it late in my.second trimester, had difficulty walking with the pain

It started after a day I carried my toddler too much

I started sitting on my pregnancy ball/ yoga ball at work and the pain was gone the next day...

I had 4 days off sick where I didn't sit on the ball and it came back

My blue maternity notes have a page with a link to exercises for pgp which was helpful

I’d look up the exercises and I did find that a bump band helped a little bit. Pillows between your knees can help too. I found sitting up straight made it worse so driving and my office chair were awful but if it was a bit reclined it was better.

Thanks for the replies ladies. Going private isn't an option for me, and I don't have maternity notes only that bloody badger app which is useless!

I have had a pillow between my legs at night but I'll try a thicker one and the quilt trick! I've had a look at the support bands, interested to hear if anyone has found they helped x

Feel you re Badger notes, mine says absolutely nothing at all. Completely useless, although having never had a baby before I'm not sure what I'm meant to know.

Definitely being on a soft surface and having a supported back when sitting helps me.
Went to a gig last week and sat on hard bench-style seating. Couldn't move at all by the time we got home. Crawled up the stairs and into bed and had to get DP to move my legs where I wanted them for excruciating pain for two days, including him lifting them up into the bath to have a shower.

I also use an exercise ball at my desk or sit on the sofa to work. Which really helps limit the pain.

My physio was £70 for the initial appointment and then £45 after that. I go roughly fortnightly.

Also check out
https://pelvicpartnership.org.uk/pgp-is-treatable-ebook/

£35 ish would be normal for a physio session near me. Still a lot of money if you don’t have much but it might not be as expensive as you think.

Whenever you turn in bed, first pull our knees up to your chest, then turn your knees together and then let them down. If your knees are together and higher than your pelvis the weight isn’t being supported through your pelvis and causing you pain.

I developed similar pains suddenly at 20 weeks and felt quite anxious about coping through the rest of my pregnancy. I saw a women's health physio who advised me on appropriate exercises, ways to stop aggravating the pain, and also massaged my lower back which was very locked up and tight. I was quite shocked at how quickly the pain subsided, and stayed away through rest of pregnancy. If you have the budget, would strongly reccomend an appointment with a women's health physio who will be very knowledgeable about what you're experiencing and advice on specific exercises to your symptoms.

In terms of not aggravating the pain - avoiding walking on soft/undulating ground, sitting down to put shoes on, sitting on a dining room chair rather than soft sofa, sitting on a wedge cushion when in car, and not standing for long periods (eg in kitchen, I'd sit to chop vegetables etc and take regular rests). A physio would be best placed to advise on exercises. All the best, hope you feel better soon.

Congrats on your pregnancy @pinkpirlie and thanks so much for the link!
I had my daughter at the end of 2019 and had paper notes throughout, there was so much informative stuff in there, plus I loved that I could see all my results, growth charts, it was great and in comparison with the app you're just blind to everything! 😳

I found a support belt really helpful. I just got it on Amazon, think it was a brand called baby go. I'm a teacher so lots of standing and it really took the pressure off. Otherwise, I'd echo the advice from pp about not standing for long periods, keeping legs together, and sitting on a yoga ball instead of the sofa. I also found warm baths really helpful. And be reassured that it eases up straight after birth!

Unfortunately the NHS is absolutely shit when it comes to PGP. When I was pregnant it was hard to get proper treatment but not impossible, since COVID they've slashed it completely and just give out info sheets. I would honestly look at selling items or asking relatives to give money instead of items for the baby so that you can go private as your baby really needs a mum who can walk.

I had my first child at the end of June and 24 hours after giving birth naturally I found myself not been able to go to the toilet without the use of a wheelchair. I had to use crutches for a week.
One if the midwives in the birthing centre tried to say that I am attention seeking and there is no reason for me not to be able to walk. After explaining to another midwife who clearly saw I was in agony, that I feel pain in my pubic bone, she explained to me what PGP is and how to deal with the pain, how to move and what to avoid doing.
After reading a few horror stories were women who have given birth could not walk unassisted even 15 years later, I was determined to get help quickly.
Following quite an extensive research, it became evident that an osteopath has highest success rate with the treatment of this condition so I found an osteopath in Tunbridge Wells, Quentin Shaw.
He has been treating women with this condition for 16 years and just with one look, he was able to tell me what was wrong and why I was not able to walk without crutches. After the first treatment, I was able to walk without the crutches and he discharged me after 6 weeks.
The biggest issue I had which was resolved last, was my inability to turn in bed and sleep on my side. I think having the pain completely resolved within 6 treatments is quite a good result, because trust me, my condition was really bad. It became apparent to me that I had PGP during the third trimester but I just assumed it is normal feeling in pregnancy and it did not affect my day to day life really. On reflection, I wish I had done some research to realise that the aches and pains were not normal and seek help earlier. I would not have needed so many treatments after or felt so much pain.
PGP is treatable! Osteopathy regards human body as a whole and treats both skeletal issue and muscle issues, which is probably why it has such a success rate. Misaligned pelvis due to change in posture, gaining weight and growing bump, and the body compensating due to this is the reason for our bodies to develop PGP during pregnancy.