SI support belt - BTDT?

[slgt]

I had a lot of problems with my psoas for the last 3-4 months of my last pregnancy, and I'm already experiencing a lot of problems with my hips/sacrum/SI (including PSD) this pregnancy.

I'm doing what I can - sitting on a ball, being very conscious of posture, positioning, etc., and seeing a chiropractor/kinesiologist...but it's still there. She is suggesting that I try wearing an SI support belt. Does anyone have experience with wearing one? I'm worried that, if I start wearing it this early, my body will come to depend on it rather than building it's own strength...

[chattyprincess]

I had a huge problem with this my first pregnancy. Now that I am into my second pregnancy I know exactly what caused it my first time and am avoiding it like the plague! For me it was cause from too much "work" involved with my pelvic/hip region. So this time at 7 weeks pregnant I sat down to do a leg press machine and immedietly at the lowest setting I noticed pressure and slight pain in the front of my pelvis where the cartilage connects. I immediatly stopped and only do light excersise on the elliptical now.
My last time around I was working heavily with horses, lots of lifting, jumping and just plain body stress! It was so bad at 3 months preggers when I would roll over in the AM you could hear it popping like your knuckles...just lovely.
I did have a type of Brace to wear the first time and it helped. My doc explained that it would help to lift the weight of my uterous off of the pelvis so that I could get some relief. It had a molded lower back support in it and was specially made for pregnant bellies. I only needed to wear it for the times I was up on my feet alot or sitting down alot and I did feel much better after wearing it for a month or so. I think it really took the pressure off my pelvis and allowed it to heal. I still had problems throughout the rest of my pregnancy(would still pop in the am and be painful if on my feet too much, etc) but it was definatly not as bad as it could have been.
I am not REALLY sure that your body can become "strong enough" without help. From what I understand it can actually become MUCH worse and does not begin to really heal until after the baby is born. I am not sure if you know this but your pelvis can actually begin to seperate and in rare circumstances it can fully come loose from the cartilage and require bed rest and a csection delivery. Not to scare you or anything of that matter but my physical therapist did explain to me that some women if they do not treat it when it starts they actually end up on crutches with a brace.
For myself if I was having the same problems as last time I would in a heartbeat do the brace and try to rest as much as possible. I know my physical therapist last time said there were excersies that could be done to help strengthen (I cannot remember now for the life of me though!) the area.
Good luck!