painful hips???

[carang]

with my last pregnancy i experienced very painful hips. so painful that i could at times, barely walk...well, it's started again.

it almost feels like the joint is not in it's socket. it hurts when i sit, when i lie down, when i try to walk...like i said, there are times that i cannot even walk without help. on occassion, i can't walk, even with help!

last time round it didn't get bad until around 6 months. i'm now only 4 months and last night i literally couldn't sleep because of the pain. i have a small heating pad that helps a little...

has anyone else experienced this? what did you do about it?
thanks

 

[cha-cha]

i experienced something very similar during my pregnancy. it probably started around 4 months and it didn't truly go away until about 4 weeks after giving birth. i think it was just my ligaments stretching to prepare for the whole pregnancy and birth.

getting in and out of bed, turning over in bed, getting up from the sofa etc was quite painful. wot i found helpful was:-

- sleeping on my side with a long pillow wedged between my knees
- if, when i needed/ could sleep on my back, a pillow wedged underneath my legs
- swimming (the best thing), plus i would do leg exercises in the water
- wearing the pregnancy support belts that wrap around you. it seemed to take some of the weight off my bump which eased the pressure on the groin/ hip area
- sleeping on the sofa towards the end of my pregnancy, the mattress was just too hard

hope that helps

 

[nursie]

Cara,

Seems that you could use cranial osteopathy. It helped me a lot during my last pregnancy. It's also a great preparation for birth. It does your body so much good! There's a great therapist at the vitality center in hk.

 

[carang]

thanks but i need home grown remedies... $$$ a little tight with #2 on the way and my not working very much!

 

[odm_post]

It's called sciatic pain. Very common in pregnancies, I was told by my OB/GYN. I didn't have it at all with my first pregnancy, had a slight pain in the last trimester of my second pregnancy, and could barely move because of it only after the first trimester of my third pregnancy.

Just want to share my experience:
I went for physiotherapies. Initially twice a week, and reduced to once a week. I think it lasted for about 2 months. The physiotherapist would give some massages, then apply an instrument (that'll produce heat) on the painful part of your body. I understand that you're a bit tight now, but it really does help. Heat pad helps too. I used that a lot. And the physiotherapist will also explain which exercises you should do to help you loosen up certain muscles/nerves. Maybe you should consider about it....

Take care....

 

[JennyB]

Cara, wouldn't you be able to earn more money if you were in less pain, which would pay for treatment?

I had really bad sacroiliac joint pain when I was about 5-6mo pregnant - it really hurt to walk or sit down, so I was worried about becoming bedridden as the pregnancy wore on. I saw a chiropractor (not sure what the difference is between those and an osteopath - there must be some overlap in what they do) and my symptoms cleared up overnight. I only had to go back a couple of times to finetune the adjustment, but it never got as painful as before I saw the chiro the first time. Before I saw the chiro, I was seeing physios but their treatment made no difference and if anything made it worse.

You can also try those straps - you can have mine, I know you in DB so just send me a PM if you don't want to buy something that might not work! I have both Bellybra and Emma Jane strap.

 

[carang]

well... went to the doctor today....

diagnosis...

NOT sciatica
NOT a problem with the pubis symphisis

just my ligaments... she said, not much we can do and it will only get worse...
ah well... lots of rest...and try to do the exercises...

 

[BBTang]

OUCH!!! That sounds very painful.

Does that mean your ligaments are being over stretched? How could that have been prevented? Did the Doctor say?

Rest lots, and move slowly.

 

[carang]

it is the ligaments stretching too much... for me could not have been prevented... especially as i had it with my last baby.

i am resting lots... only walking when i have to and it seems to be improving a little.

thanks! here's hoping not too many women have to put up with it!

 

[JennyB]

Hi Cara,

I really think it's worth seeking a second opinion from a different type of practitioner. My physio said the same thing to me, it would only get worse, all they could do was alleviate the pain slightly, etc. I decided to try chiro out of desperation, and hey presto I was 10 times better. Support garments also can help to stop the ligaments stretching too much.

Also pelvic floor exercises can help hold everything together - when I was in pain walking, the only thing that made it feel better was to concentrate on pulling pelvic floor up and sucking tummy in (pilates style exercise). I know your condition is different to mine, but maybe worth a try - I'm sure our second pregnancies are often tougher because core muscles and pelvic floor are weaker. Don't give up yet!