Addressing Pelvic Pain After Pregnancy

During pregnancy, hormones cause the ligaments (soft tissue bands that connect one bone to another,) to stretch, and often leave one with pelvic girdle pain after pregnancy. A recent study in Spine (Stuge, Britt MSc, 2/15/04) found that a physical therapy program which focused on specific stabilizing exercises helped reduce pain significantly. They compared this with a group that received therapy without stabilizing exercises.

Stabilizing exercises focus on exercises that strengthen the lumbo-pelvic-hip complex, thoracic, and cervical spine. Inclusive in this is the pelvic floor, which is often ignored in exercise. These exercises have been coined as “core training.” Techniques to strengthen your core can include Pilates, yoga, ball exercises, and mat exercises. A physical therapist is able to design and instruct an appropriate program for a patient’s needs that they can continue to perform independently.