Pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy can be COMMON but it does NOT need to the norm or accepted as a mandatory part of being pregnant.
During my first pregnancy, I started to experience SI joint pain in my third trimester. The pain was interfering with my ability to walk and work out, so I brought it up to my provider at a prenatal appointment.
“There is nothing you can do about it. It will go away when you give birth.”
Well, that was unhelpful.
The good news is that THERE IS a lot we can do to address and find relief from pelvic pain!
Two Reasons for Pelvic Girdle Pain
There are two main reasons for pelvic girdle pain:
- Muscular Balance: if there is an imbalance, there may be an uneven pull on the pelvis causing a torque at the pelvic joints
- Muscular Coordination: if the muscles supporting each pelvic joint are not firing in a synchronized manner, they may not be stabilizing the pelvic joint with movement.
One of the best ways to approach finding relief from pelvic pain is not usually stretching more, but rather focusing on strength training to improve muscular balance and coordination.
1. Muscular Balance (or an imbalance)
Muscles only have the ability to PULL not push. When a muscle shortens, it PULLS the bone into a certain position. In this situation, a tight or shortened muscle will PULL the pelvis into a specific position.
What we need is another muscle to COUNTER this pull so that the pelvis can return to a neutral position.
The issue arises when one side is much stronger than the other, and it can cause the pelvis to torque.
When the pelvis is in a torqued position, the pelvis joints are not as well aligned and have a harder time compressing during movement to stabilize.
Biggest culprits with pelvic pain?
- Glute med and quad on the right leg tend to be weaker
- Adductor and hamstring on the left leg tend to be weaker
We can address muscular balance issues with strength training!
Our prenatal fitness programs incorporate unilateral, transverse, and frontal planes. This supports more muscular balance to alleviate any uneven pulls on the pelvis.
2. Muscular Coordination Issues
Next, muscular coordination across the pelvic joints can contribute to pelvic pain.
If the muscles supporting the pelvic joint are not well coordinated during movement, then they are not forcing the pelvic joint to close and stabilize.
This lack of closure can increase movement at the pelvic joint = pain.
4 Exercises to Find Relief from Pelvic Girdle Pain
1. Glute Med/Quad: Bulgarian Split Squat
One of the main culprits for the muscular balance of the pelvis is the glute med and quads.
Usually, the right glute med and quad are weaker than the left. This causes the right pelvic half to be pulled into more internal rotation or shifted backward.
The Bulgarian split squat is a great exercise that targets the glute med and quad. You can focus the exercise on the right side (or your weaker side, explore it).
Watch the video below for a breakdown on how to do the Bulgarian split squat.
2. Adductor: Copenhagen Plank
Next culprit: the inner thigh or adductor. Usually, the adductor is weaker on the left leg and the right leg is much stronger.
This causes the left half of the pelvis to shift into external rotation or shifted forward.
The Copenhagen plank is one of the best inner thigh strengthening exercises! If you cannot achieve it with an elevated surface, try moving up higher on the leg OR switch to an adductor side plank from the floor.
Watch the video below for a breakdown on the Copenhagen plank and adductor side plank from the floor.
Our prenatal and postnatal fitness programs include unilateral, lateral, and rotational movements to address muscular balance.
Sometimes a fitness program is TOO focused on front-to-back movements and neglects movements in other planes of motion. But not our program!
Stay strong throughout your pregnancy and postpartum with our fitness programs designed for each phase of your life!
3. Pelvic Floor Relaxation
And we cannot forget about the pelvic floor and its role in pelvic function and stability! One of the five functions of the pelvic floor is to provide stabilization!
The pelvic floor relates to the pelvic position. If the pelvis is torqued, so is the pelvic floor.
We can address the asymmetry of the pelvic floor by shifting the pelvic floor and using diaphragmatic breathing to stretch and release the pelvic floor.
The standing breathing drill is one of my personal favorites to release tension in the pelvic floor.
The standing position is an active position, so the increased muscular demand could help you connect more with your pelvic floor and how it coordinates with the rest of your body!
Watch the video for a breakdown on how to do the standing breathing drill.
As we prepare for birth, we want to focus on connecting with and releasing our pelvic floor!
Our pelvic floor prep for birth course incorporates an educational course to learn HOW your pelvic floor functions, plus mobility and relaxation exercises to release the tension in your pelvic floor as you prepare for birth.
4. Myofascial Slings: Muscular Coordination
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
The myofascial slings are fascial lines of muscles, tissues, and fascia that cross the pelvic joints to support functional and dynamic movement.
There are four main slings:
- Anterior Oblique Sling
- Posterior Oblique Sling
- Lateral Sling
- Deep Longitudinal Sling
The myofascial slings cross the pelvic joints. When the two opposing sides of the sling are activated, it pulls along the sling to tighten across the pelvic joints.
This tightening causes the pelvic joints to close and stabilize.
If there is too much movement at a pelvic joint, it can cause pain! So it is important that these slings are coordinated to stabilize the pelvic joint.
We incorporate all the slings into our fitness programs, but we focus on the posterior and anterior oblique slings specifically for pelvic pain.
Find comfort and relief from pelvic girdle pain throughout your pregnancy and postpartum period! This program incorporates myofascial sling focused exercises to stabilize across the pelvic girdle joints.
- 3 Week Program, 9 Workouts
- On Demand Workout Videos to Follow
- Educational Videos on How to Approach Modifications
- E-Book
Posterior Oblique Sling: SI Joint Pain Relief
The posterior oblique sling runs along the backside to support extension.
The posterior oblique sling includes the glute to the opposite lat crossing the SI joint and helps to stabilize the backside.
We can turn on this sling with hip extension (glute activation) and rowing (lat activation).
The reverse lunge row is a great posterior oblique sling to stabilize across the pelvic joint. There are so many modifications based on your pelvic pain levels.
Watch the breakdown video below to learn how to do this movement.
Anterior Oblique Sling: SPD Pain Relief
The anterior oblique sling supports rotation to the front side of the body, so think knee to opposite shoulder or elbow.
The anterior oblique sling runs from the chest/oblique to the opposite inner thigh crossing the pubic symphysis or front pelvic joint.
Movements that incorporate a pressing, anti-rotation, or rotation plus the inner thigh activation activates this sling.
The pallof press with rotation is a great example of an anterior oblique sling exercise. Similar to the reverse lunge row, there are a lot of variations to this movement!
Watch the breakdown video below.
You do NOT need to be in pain! Find relief from pelvic girdle pain TODAY!
We are commonly told that there is nothing we can do about pelvic pain during pregnancy, and that it won’t go away until birth. I know I was told this during my first pregnancy when I started to experience SI joint pain. How unhelpful!
There is a lot we can do to find relief from pelvic pain:
- Address muscular balance and ensure there is an even pull on the pelvis, usually involving looking at the glute med and inner thigh
- Improve coordination across the pelvic joints with the myofascial slings
We can find relief from pelvic pain by focusing on strength training throughout our pregnancy AND postpartum periods!