SPD

Liam McPoyle

Hi all.

Unfortunately it appears that Mrs RM has developed SPD (she has all the symptoms but cannot get an appointment with a pregnancy physio until Wednesday)

In the short term, can any of you offer any tips to help to relieve the pain?

She is almost 25 weeks gone.

She has pain / discomfort when walking, sitting, sleeping etc.

She mentioned to the physio the belt however yer one said not to get one.

I've been trying to help her with gentle yoga stretches and the like but other than that I feel completely helpless.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Ninjini

I suffered severely with this, so much so that I was offered an induction to try to give me relief from the symptoms.

I was given a belt by my physio, but told not to rely on it too heavily.

Take a break when walking.
Sleeping with a pillow between your knees helps.
Silk pyjamas help when turning over in bed.
Keep your knees together as much as possible when getting in/out of a car.
Heat packs helped me a great deal and my GP advised me to take paracetamol when the pain got especially bad.

It really is awful, hope she gets some relief soon.

Love2love

Rod Munch wrote: »

Hi all.

Unfortunately it appears that Mrs RM has developed SPD (she has all the symptoms but cannot get an appointment with a pregnancy physio until Wednesday)

In the short term, can any of you offer any tips to help to relieve the pain?

She is almost 25 weeks gone.

She has pain / discomfort when walking, sitting, sleeping etc.

She mentioned to the physio the belt however yer one said not to get one.

I've been trying to help her with gentle yoga stretches and the like but other than that I feel completely helpless.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Pelvic floor exercises are great at strengthening muscles which in turn will help with the pain.

Make sure she keeps her legs closed turning in the bed, getting in and out of bed or into the car. Actually a plastic bag on her seat will make getting out a lot easier.

Take the stairs 1 at a time.

A body pillow or even an ordinary pillow between her legs in bed will keep the pelvis aligned while she sleeps

As for pain relief - buy sanitary pads, wet them and freeze them. Put them onto the area but not directly onto the skin! This sounds weird but I've been attending physio since week 12 and this is by far the best tip she's given me.

Get a exercise ball and get her to sit on it in the evenings for like 20 Minutes. It will improve her posture whilst sitting.

Oh and a spiky massage ball. If you could massage the tops of her legs, buttocks - it would help with the muscular pain.

This is off the top of my head, if I think of any more I will let you know

catrionanic

Rest as much as possible

Avoid stairs unless you really have to

Try to tense your abdominal muscles as you walk to lift the weight of the baby

Try pelvic tilt exercises often

Put a plastic bag on the car seat to make turning easier as you get in and out of the car, and keep knees together as you do so

Avoid standing on one leg - put on trousers, socks etc whilst seated

Pillow between legs in bed

Silk pyjamas to make turning easier, and turn under rather than over - i.e. Turn over with your face facing the pillow rather than facing the ceiling

But most of all, just rest reat rest. It's the only thing that makes a significant difference

I'm 37 weeks now and my SPD has been manageable with enough rest (it started around 25 weeks and was worse than than from 30 weeks onwards as I reduced my hours in work). It's just come back really badly over the last few days (currently unable to even sit on the sofa, it's all about the birthing ball now), but I'm glad I was able to go for so long without it getting as bad as it could have done

Lucyfur

All of the above. Plus swimming (not breaststroke. It'll feel fine in the water but it's still big no no). I had the serola belt. It really helps. I found housework destroyed me so do all of it yourself or get a cleaner (I'd strongly advise a cleaner )

I was signed off at 29 weeks. The pain is rotten. Even on a day with less pain, encourage her to take it slow. And if work is too much talk about her finishing up early.

Liam McPoyle

Thanks for all the replies ladies.

We have a cleaner already so that's taken care of.

She had been attending aqua aerobics and a Pilate's class but neither of those reconvene til mid January.

She has one of those big ball yokes and is getting relief when she uses it.

She will just have to take it easy.

She can work remotely for a lot of her job so that will also help.

My heart goes out to her as she is in so much bloody pain.

Gatica

All of the above.. plus I'd second the pelvic tilts on the exercise ball and on the mat. Gentle bridge too. She should know these if she's done Pilates. The ball should be high enough that her knees are lower than her hips - this is important.
Don't do these continuously, just maybe 30 tilts on the ball not for the whole of the evening. I'd been told this can tire you out and make pain worse next day.
And rest. Can't over emphasise it enough. I'd been very active before pregnancy and you can work on recovery post partum but during pregnancy there's really not much you can do as hormones are a bitch..

Jasmine_16

I'm so envious of the ladies that never see a day of it, truth be told. Every pregnancy, I've developed SPD. It's unfortunate that if you've suffered with it with one child it will likely occur again. I'd never heard of it until I became pregnant myself.

This is my first pregnancy in quite a while, there's a sizable age gap between this little one and my last. At the time I don't believe a physiotherapist was ever mentioned to me. The hospital issued me with a maternity belt, and a pair of crutches if I wanted to get around. I was also told to get as much rest as possible to not aggrevate the condition. I also took my maternity leave from work early, because getting to and fro was a nightmare.

Sitting, standing, lying down, you name it.. agony. My SPD began in my other pregnancies between late second and early third trimester. It started at 11 weeks with this baby. I haven't mentioned it to the hospital yet, but will do at the next appointment.

Referring to a physiotherapist seems to be done thing now, but I basically had to suck it up and get on with it. A physiotherapist will be able to help her cope with it and make things a bit more comfortable, but it's not curable as such. Paracetamol is allowed as previously mentioned. I practically lived in the bath for my other pregnancies, the warm water was a great relief. I don't know how I didn't sprout gills. Myabe some baths will help relieve some of her aches

Pillows in bed will help balance her weight. My OH bought me a body pillow which I use from time to time. Ordinary pillows will do the same job though. If she lies on her left side with something under her bump, and one between her knees / thighs it will balance the weight and the pressure on her pelvis. She will have to fiddle about till it feels right to her, but when you get the placing right it's bliss.

My sympathies go to your lady, it's not easy. But at least she has a supportive OH, which will mean a lot to her