SPD anyone?

sgautschi · July 2013

I finally figured out that the pain I've been having the past few days is from SPD, and today I can barely walk.

I should've known with my chronic back pain and sciatica that I'd end up with this too.

Anyone have tips on how to manage it? Im so uncomfortable. TIA

A37licia · July 2013

Agree about physical therapist or chiropractor. I had it the first two pregnancies but this one has been very mild - I haven't even gone to the chiro yet but am going in Monday since it's late pregnancy and I want to make sure my pelvis is aligned. In previous pregnancies, here's what I did:

1. Sleep with a rolled up towel between my legs. A pillow wasn't enough

2. Weekly chiro if needed, or every 10 days if I held well. Made a HUGE difference

3. Avoided asymmetrical movements when possible - kept legs together when getting out of bed, into bed, into/out of car, putting clothes on.

4. No exercises like thigh lifts or leg presses, and I limited the squatting I did. Some have had a lot of help with a resistance abductor move, given by some therapists.

5. Limited how long I sat at one time. After thirty minutes, get up and walk around.

6. Maternity support belt

Don't worry about labor - I didn't notice it AT ALL once labor started. And it was greatly lessened and mostly gone in the days following birth. It *could* get worse when baby drops lower, or it could get better. But if you have a noticeable change, that could be why.

sgautschi · July 2013

Thanks ladies!

My little one has always hung out low, so she's probably just dropped even lower now. At least on the bright side she's not all up in my ribs. Lol

hungryhippo · July 2013

Thanks for these tips, all. Mine has been ramping up in the past two days. Not ideal, at all.

kat81again2 · July 2013

A37licia:
Agree about physical therapist or chiropractor. I had it the first two pregnancies but this one has been very mild - I haven't even gone to the chiro yet but am going in Monday since it's late pregnancy and I want to make sure my pelvis is aligned. In previous pregnancies, here's what I did:
1. Sleep with a rolled up towel between my legs. A pillow wasn't enough
2. Weekly chiro if needed, or every 10 days if I held well. Made a HUGE difference
3. Avoided asymmetrical movements when possible - kept legs together when getting out of bed, into bed, into/out of car, putting clothes on.
4. No exercises like thigh lifts or leg presses, and I limited the squatting I did. Some have had a lot of help with a resistance abductor move, given by some therapists.
5. Limited how long I sat at one time. After thirty minutes, get up and walk around.
6. Maternity support belt
Don't worry about labor - I didn't notice it AT ALL once labor started. And it was greatly lessened and mostly gone in the days following birth. It *could* get worse when baby drops lower, or it could get better. But if you have a noticeable change, that could be why.

This is great and I would second the PP's post about labor. I had a really easy one, no SPD pain during it, and recovered quickly after labor. If anything, I wonder whether my SPD, which is pelvic separation, helped my labor progress so quickly.

That being said, "don't worry about labor" is not actually the best advice. There are things you can do to yourself during labor (esp if you have an epi and don't feel what's going on) that can make your condition worse, and some women have it last for a long time after delivery! For these people, sometimes therapy afterwards is really long and involved.

I recommend reading about SPD from a book like this one:

Relieving Pelvic Pain During and After Pregnancy: How Women Can Heal Chronic Pelvic Instability

I just got it from amazon and it has a bunch of suggested exercises and movements. I found it to be pretty accurate based on what other medical professionals have told me and what else I have researched on the topic.

A37licia · July 2013

bumping for new post about this

SaraSKC · July 2013

A37licia:
bumping for new post about this

Thanks for bumping, and the advice is helpful! I don't think my insurance will allow physical therapy or chiropractic, but I will definitely look into buying that book, assuming my self-diagnosis is confirmed.

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