Pubic Symphysis Pain
If you are pregnant or postpartum a common area of pain is your pubic symphysis. Your pubic symphysis is a cartilaginous joint between your two pubic bones. During pregnancy, hormonal changes can cause this joint and the ligaments around it to become lax, resulting in shearing of the pubic symphysis which can cause pain in the area. The muscles that surround the pubic symphysis like your abdomen and pelvic floor are often weaker during pregnancy. This weakness is compounded by the need to provide stability which can then increase the muscle’s tension, resulting in pain.
Here are some tips to try if you have pubic symphysis pain:
Identify what aggravates your pain. This is usually asymmetrical weight bearing such as putting on pants, getting in or out of a car, going up stairs and walking.
Once you identify what bothers you, try to exhale and engage your core as you do those movements and see if it decreases your pain.
Sit down to put on pants, underwear, socks or shoes. Standing on one leg to do this, typically aggravates pubic symphysis pain. Avoiding doing this will decrease the pressure to the joint and allow for healing.
Log roll to get in and out of bed, this means rolling to your side first instead of kicking one leg to get out of bed.
When getting out of the car, turn so that both feet are flat and then stand up. Reverse to get into your car.
In addition to these tips, try massaging your inner and outer thigh muscles. Those are the muscles that are typically tense when someone has pubic symphysis pain. You can use your hands, a lacrosse ball or a foam roller if you can tolerate it.
