Pregnancy Pain

Discomfort during pregnancy is common, particularly in the hips and lower back as the body prepares for birth, and your center of mass comes further forward placing stress on the lower joints of your back and hips.  

If it becomes more painful and starts impacting your day to day activities, it is worth booking in for a physiotherapy assessment in order to diagnose the issue, and begin a treatment plan.  

Some common conditions include: 

Pelvic Girdle Pain: Pain across the joints of the hips and front of the pelvis into the groin.  

Sacroilliac Joint Pain (SIJ pain):  Pain across the joints between your sacrum (lower back) and hips 

Round Ligament Pain: Pain across the front of the hip or lower part of your abdominal muscles 

DRAM (Abdominal Muscle Separation): Where the abdominal muscles stretch in order for the baby to have more room to grow and there is a separation in the middle of the abdominal muscles. This is particularly evident with sitting up from a laying position, and you may see a doming effect as the tissues under the muscles bulge out momentarily on strain of the abdominal muscles. This is particularly common in the second and third trimesters. 

These conditions are commonly seen in the clinic, and can be assisted with manual therapy, exercises, stretches massage and various sorts of bracing supports if required. We also offer the option of TENS hire for back pain as well as to help with pain during contractions in first stage of labour. Our female physiotherapists can assist you, and if required, can refer you to the Womens Health team if further specialist interventions are required to help you.