Throughout my now four pregnancies, I have had to be very deliberate with managing SI joint pain. In my first pregnancy, I didn’t have the knowledge I do now about pelvic pain–so when I asked my doctor about what I should do with this pelvic pain that was making it hard to walk and work out, I was told, “you just need to wait until you give birth for relief,” I was shocked!
I couldn’t believe there was NO solution to pelvic pain other than wait for birth–so I looked for resources to help me manage this pain. Luckily, I found a chiropractor who could help me find some relief by supporting my pelvic balance.
Then, in future pregnancies, I better understood the causes of pelvic pain and was able to decrease and resolve SI joint pain significantly!
In this blog, I share what I am doing during my current pregnancy to resolve SI joint pain!
What Causes Pelvic Pain?
There are two leading causes of pelvic pain:
- Pelvic position impacting form closure–how well the pelvic joints align to stabilize. Things to focus on if this is the issue is supporting pelvic balance with exercises that strengthen the weaker side and release the tighter side.
- Muscular coordination impacting force closure–how well the muscles and supporting structures compress the pelvic joints together to stabilize during movement. Focusing on the myofascial slings is key to resolving pelvic pain!
Most of the time, it is a combination of these two culprits: your pelvic position is “unbalanced,” and your supporting muscles are not well coordinated.
Many of us favor specific postures in our daily lives regardless of whether we are pregnant. But, during pregnancy, these postural tendencies can become more exaggerated thanks to releasing the hormone Relaxin, which loosens our joints!
Commonly, we favor what is known as the Left AIC position. This means that we put more weight into our right leg in right stance–the right side of the body’s organs are denser and the right side of the diaphragm is much larger, so we feel more stable on this side! This posture is not necessarily an issue though–asymmetry is normal!
However, during pregnancy we can sink “too deep” into these positions that may cause problems.
Since many of us favor right-stance, the right hip tends to sit more backward in a posterior pelvic tilt with internal hip rotation and adduction. And the left hip sits more forward in an anterior pelvic tilt with external hip rotation with abduction. This also translates to a rotation in the upper body too!
Because of this posture (which is the one I favor, and many of us do), my right quad/glute are weaker compared to the left, and my left adductor/hamstring are weaker than the right. The exercises in this blog target this imbalance!
Top 5 SI Joint Pain Relief Exercises
In my pregnancies, I tend to have more SI joint pain that is related to pelvic positioning and myofascial sling coordination–essentially I have normal asymmetry in my body (as most of us do) and this becomes exaggerated throughout pregnancy which causes some issues for me.
The good news is that there is hope! There is a LOT we can do to support pelvic balance and strength across our pelvic joints for a relatively pain-free pregnancy.
Some of the exercises I am including in my weekly routine to manage SI joint pain include:
- Squat with Banded Row
- Staggered Stance Box Squats
- Adductor Side Planks
- Adductor Rock Backs
- Foam Roller Hip Shifts
I dedicate much of my book, Training for Two, to finding relief from common discomforts throughout pregnancy. I am a firm believer that we do not need to suffer throughout pregnancy and motherhood needlessly! I also include a ton of pelvic stability-focused exercises in our prenatal fitness programs to keep you comfortable throughout your pregnancy!
1) Squat with Banded Row: Posterior Oblique Sling
The first exercise I include in my weekly routine is the squat with banded row. This exercise targets the posterior oblique sling, which stabilizes the SI joint.
In this exercise, start with the arms forward as you lower to the bottom of the squat. Then exhale to stand up as you row the band back. In this movement, the lats and glutes are firing at the same time, showcasing the efficiency of this exercise. This simultaneous activation is what activates the sling to stabilize the pelvic joints.
If you want more daily workouts to support a strong pregnancy as you prepare for birth, join our online prenatal fitness programs!
MamasteFit is unique in that we are one of the ONLY prenatal/postnatal training facilities in the United States. We develop our workout programs from our experience of working with in-person pre/postnatal fitness clients and work closely with physical therapists to refine our programming. In addition, we are birth workers, so we combine our experience as perinatal fitness trainers and birth professionals to ensure that our programs actually support your birth preparation and recovery!
Our prenatal fitness programs are offered in several formats:
- 40-Week Prenatal Strength Program in the Teambuildr App:
- This program is a self-paced workout with shorter demo videos. This is ideal if you like to workout in a gym setting and prefer a traditional workout delivery format.
- This program syncs to your current week of pregnancy, so you can start anytime, with one-time payment or month-to-month payment options.
- This program has a full and mini version, depending on how much time you have to dedicate to workouts!
- Prenatal On-Demand Fitness Program:
- If you prefer to follow a video as you workout at the same time, this workout program will be the best option!
- This program syncs to your current trimester, so you can grab the trimesters you need!
- Birth Prep Workout Program:
- If you already have a workout routine or you only want birth prep-focused workouts, check out this program!
- This program includes full-length workout videos to follow as you workout at the same time.
- Prenatal Yoga Classes:
- If you want prenatal yoga, join our prenatal yoga program! This also syncs to your current trimester.
2) Staggered Box Squat: Right Glute/Quad Strengthening for Pelvic Balance
Next is a right-side glute/quad strengthening exercise with the staggered stance box squat. With my common postural tendency (which you probably have too), my right-side quad and glute are weaker than the left. This weakness means that I have a hard time PULLING my right pelvic half forward, which can contribute towards muscular imbalance and a wonky pelvic position.
In this movement, the staggered gives me more support than a single leg squat (inaccessible during pregnancy) while targeting my right-side glute and quad. Inhale to lower, then exhale to stand up. You can advance this by holding onto weights.
3) Adductor Side Plank: Left Adductor Strengthening for Pelvic Balance
Complimenting the right-side strengthening, I am focusing on strengthening the left adductor (inner thigh) to help PULL the left pelvic half backward. The left side tends to sit more forward, causing this imbalanced pull on the SI joints. The adductor side plank is a great exercise to strengthen the inner thighs even in the third trimester. You can advance this by doing the Copenhagen plank.
4) Adductor Rock Back: Right Inner Thigh Release
After strengthening, I focus on mobility to release areas of tension. Based on my common posture, the right inner thigh tends to be much tighter than the left–so I like to add in open hip stretches and this adductor rock back. When I release my right inner thigh, it will also make it easier for my quad/glute to PULL the pelvic half forward.
5) Foam Roller Hip Shifts: Left Pelvic Floor Release and Pelvic Balance
Another great hip/pelvic mobility exercise is the foam roller-supported hip shift. In this variation, the left and right sides are different because we are asymmetrical! I press my inner knee into the foam roller on the left side to increase adductor activation. This fires my inner thigh more, helping me rotate and shift into a closed hip position (which is harder to do on the left side).
Then on the right side, I press my knee OUTWARD into the foam roller to increase glute activation and abduction. See the breakdown video for how you can use this prop to enhance your hip shifts.
Pain is NOT a Requirement of Pregnancy!!
There are a lot of discomforts associated with pregnancy, but you do not need to suffer with them! There is usually some sort of way to find relief–some options are quick fixes for temporary relief and others are long-term solutions. I hope this blog helped you start your journey to a pain-free pregnancy!
Prenatal Support Courses
Learn the science of pregnancy and birth to take the mystery of labor away! Understand why you are feeling what you feel, and learn strategies to confidently move through pregnancy and birth!
- 9h+ of Video
- Support Group
- Close Captioning
- 5 Workouts/Week
- Gym Workouts
- Self-Paced
Instructor
GINA
Workout on-demand with our prenatal fitness workout videos! Each workout is 30-40 minutes to follow along as you exercise at the same time!
- Birth Prep
- All Trimesters
- Mobility Work
Instructor
GINA
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 Weeks
- On Demand Workout Videos to Follow