10 months post partum- pain in hips/pelvis?

[is it puppies?]

I have had pain in my pelvis/hips ever since giving birth. It varies just how bad it is, and over time it has improved but it seems to have reached it's max improvement for a while. The best I can describe it is that it is possibly where the coccyx http://www.answers.com/topic/pelvis-4 is, attached along the sides. It's almost like low back pain in that area, and depending what I am doing it's quite uncomfortable. Over the months I have tried ice, heat, stretching (hard to stretch that part!), chiropractic, and walking. My core is still weak but I have always been rather out of shape lol. I am about 8lbs over my pre-preg weight now. My mid to lower back was also very bad but it is much better, and I had some physio while pregnant on the area where my legs attach to my hips... um... can't think of what that's called but I still stretch that area or it becomes tight and painful.

I am concerned now since we are thinking of getting pregnant soon and I don't want to have this pain complicating my pregnancy and continuing to complicate my life. I still get some pain shooting up the sides of my legs or low spine as well but it's generally not too bad (unless I am stuck sleeping on one side for too long as I bedshare).

Anyways, anybody else have this and know what I can do about it?

thanks

[jcregan]

My experience is not exactly the same but similar enough it might help you.

I had bad hip/back pain during my first pregnancy.  At 5 months along I almost could not drive or walk for a while.  I saw a chiropractor regularly at that point and was able to at least function but still could not walk far without lots of pain etc.

My MW said that most of this stuff improves by 8 weeks PP but I was not any better at that point.  It really was hard to hold or walk around with the baby and i was always in pain.  I finally went to a physical therapist who found my pelvis was a bit out of position and gave me things to do to help move it back.  She also had me work on ab and back strength.

I soon had some improvement but over a couple years despite feeling much better overall still had low back pain when walking for very long.  I really think what made a difference was I eventually started an exercise program that had lots of core strength focus and it really was only after doing this for awhile that I felt fully better.  I got to a point where I probably had more core strength then ever in my life and i really think that helped me avoid bad back and hip issues this recent pregnancy.  It is so nice to not be in pain all the time!!

So I recommend chiro and PT , or at least PT to find the main issue and work on correcting it which might then allow you to work on building some core strength to help prevent further issues and help with another pregnancy.

Good luck- it really is no fun and feeling better can be a long slow process.

- Oh, and massage also helped me during my first pregnancy.

[is it puppies?]

Thanks for your reply! I think you had some good ideas.

I did go to massage during PG and a few times after, it seemed to help a bit but nothing permanent.  Ditto to the physio and chiro but I'm going to try to focus now on doing more chiro and core strength then if that doesn't work, it's off to physio again I guess (it's just so darn expensive :()

[aphel]

I struggled (am struggling with) a lot of these same issues, especially the coccyx pain. I did chiro and some standard PT for a while, without too much improvement. Lately, I have been seeing a PT who specializes in pelvic floor issues, most of her patients are postpartum women. It's definitely not standard PT care, think lots of kegels with biofeedback machines. But it's helping quite a bit, and might be something worth checking out.

Good luck!

[CookAMH]

What kind of chiropractor were you seeing, do they specialize in pregnant women?  One that does might have enough experience to help post partum as well, and chiro can really vary. What are your adjustments like, how did you feel after, how often did you go, etc?

I wonder if some proper ab exercises would be in order, along the lines of the Tupler technique with engaging the transverse abs, and also glute work to support the pelvic floor. Kegels would be probably good but will only go so far. Check this info http://mamasweat.blogspot.com/2010/05/pelvic-floor-party-kegels-are-not.html and go to the owners site that is linked (Katie someone). It's really interesting info. And the book Maternal Fitness teaches the right kind of ab exercises to do post partum (Tupler). It does focus on the ab separation but may help your whole middle. http://maternalfitness.com/

I also agree very much with PT with someone who specializes in pelvic floor and women's health. It can be hard to find one but maybe post on your local tribe, or other local women's message boards for your area, ask your midwife to ask around, etc.  The PT I did in early pregnancy for pelvic pain included work in those transverse abs and it helped.