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About PGP

Pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PGP) is a condition that causes pain in the pelvic joints. It affects up to half of all pregnant women and birthing people and can continue after your baby is born without hands-on treatment from a physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor.

Different women experience different symptoms of PGP. Many women say that they feel pain in and around their hips and pelvis when they get in and out of bed, climb the stairs, get dressed and walk or stand for long periods of time. 

It is important to remember that PGP is a common and, in most cases, treatable condition. It can be safely treated at any stage during or after pregnancy by a physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor using hands-on individualised treatment including manual therapy.

So if you have pelvic pain during or after a pregnancy, ask for a referral for NHS physiotherapy or see a private practitioner for manual therapy.

Can PGP occur at any stage during or after pregnancy?

PGP may come on suddenly, or start gradually. It usually starts during pregnancy, but it can occur during pregnancy, birth or after the birth, sometimes weeks or months later. 

PGP is assessed, managed and treated in the same way, whatever the cause and whenever it started.

Is PGP a hormonal or a joint problem?

To recognise the signs of PGP and understand how treatment works, it’s helpful to understand a bit about the pelvis and how it works.

The pelvis is made up of a ring of three bones. They join together at the sacroiliac joints (at the back) and the symphysis pubis joint (at the front). These joints normally move a little bit to allow you to walk, turn over in bed, climb stairs, etc. PGP can cause pain in any or all of the three pelvic joints, causing difficulty in moving and doing your usual activities.

With PGP, often one joint becomes stiff and stops moving normally causing irritation and pain in the other joints and surrounding muscles which then have to compensate for its lack of movement. There is a subtle hormonal change during pregnancy which softens the ligaments throughout the body, although this is not the primary cause of PGP.

The pain is caused by one or more of the following:

  • an underlying joint stiffness or previous pelvic or back problem or injury, that is irritated by the hormonal changes or when the baby grows larger later in pregnancy
  • a slip, fall or other accident during pregnancy at any stage
  • postural problems which irritate a joint – this may be a work-related or hobby-related repetitive movement or position
  • an underlying joint hypermobility or a hypermobility syndrome which can make you more susceptible to PGP, due to already less stable joints. 

Hypermobility and PGP 

PGP is unlikely to go away without the right treatment, and manual therapy is effective because of the mechanical joint problem – if the cause of PGP was purely hormonal, manual therapy would have no effect on your pain.

Getting treatment

Traditionally, it was thought that PGP was caused by hormones, such as relaxin which is produced during pregnancy, and many women are still told that it is a hormonal problem and that “it will get better as soon as you have the baby”. However, the reason that the Pelvic Partnership exists is that many women have found out that this is not the case. They have missed out on effective treatment and have experienced pain and mobility problems for much longer than necessary. In this way, stopping breastfeeding will NOT stop you experiencing PGP. 

Is PGP treatable?

 

YES!

It is important to remember that PGP is a common and treatable condition with hands-on treatment from a physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor, for most women.

PGP can usually be treated effectively by ‘hands-on’ manual therapy from a physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor with experience in treating the pelvis and back. The therapist gently uses their hands to release stiff or ‘stuck’ pelvic joints and relieve painful muscles to allow them to work normally again. An individual assessment is important to look at the position and symmetry of movement of your pelvic joints, to find out which joints are causing the problem and how this can be treated. Often the joint causing the problem is not particularly painful, so treating the painful point is unlikely to sort out the underlying problem.

You may then be given some exercises specific to your own PGP to work on between treatment sessions when your pain has reduced. It is important to remember that pain stops your muscles from working correctly, so exercising when you are in a lot of pain is unlikely to help or make the muscles stronger, and often makes it worse.

You should walk out of each treatment feeling some improvement in either pain or function and preferably in both. 

Getting treatment

 

Other names for PGP

PGP, formerly known as symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD), is also often called osteitis pubis, and pelvic girdle relaxation. The name really depends on whom you talk to about it.

In fact, the name is not very relevant. What matters most is that it is recognised as a mechanical joint problem and treated as early as possible, and that it can be safely treated in pregnancy.

Sports injuries

Pelvic girdle pain can also occur in sportsmen, such as rugby players, and they are treated quickly and effectively with the same range of techniques as those used for pregnancy-related PGP.

List of references

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