SI Joint Pain Prevention and Care

One of the most common complaints I hear from pregnant women is the good old pain in the butt or pain in the pubic bone area in the front groin region. It can be absolutely excruciating and quite literally bring you to your knees. Women are often told “this is just a normal part of pregnancy” and to “learn to bear with the pain.” Adding to the confusion is that often times women think that what they have is sciatica when what they are actually experiencing is a Sacroiliac Joint issue. For symphysis pubis dysfunction, pain in the groin area, we have many women come to us having been told to stretch their groin more when in fact that can make the issue worse!

Both sacroiliac joint pain and symphysis pubis are pelvis stability related pains that many women get during pregnancy as the body changes to both accommodate the growing baby and in preparation for childbirth. We will discuss the two in this article but it is important to know, right off the bat, that you do not need to live with sacroiliac joint pain nor symphysis pubis dysfunction and there are a lot of tried and true things you can be doing right now to feel better.

Where are the Sacroiliac Joint and the Symphysis Pubis?

This illustration will help you see where the two are located in the body.

SI Joint Pain Prevention - meet your pelvis

What are the symptoms for Sacroiliac Joint pain and for Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction?

Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction causes excessive movement of the pubic symphysis possibly because of a misalignment of the pelvis. The pain is felt in the groin in the front. Burning, sharp, aching pain for many movements that require the legs to move or move away from each other like getting in and out of a car.

Sacroiliac joint pain: This is usually characterized by aching, pulling sensation in the butt region. The kind of pain that makes you want to hit your butt with your fist to relieve the pain. It can be worse with a lot of sitting and getting from sitting to standing can be excruciating as well as getting dressed. It might also feel like deep hip stretching can provide a lot of relief when in fact deep hip stretching might feel good in the moment but can cause the SIJ to become more unstable.

Tips for healing Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction:

Here is a video with 6 Tips for Healing Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction we like to use in One Strong Mama:

SI Joint Pain Prevention moves which are also good for SPD

We created a video of some of our favorite moves for healing Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction / Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction. It is easy to follow and all you need is a yoga mat and 10 minutes.

SI Joint Pain Prevention and Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction during pregnancy

While both of these issues are common pregnancy pains, be assured that with a few tweaks to soe daily movement habits and a few exercises, things can get better. You can become more comfortable and even eliminate the pain all together. One of the major things we want to stress is not to stretch it! Do not treat your aches and pains by stretching them because that can sometimes really destabilize the region. Watch the videos, move a bit differently, do the exercises, and you will be well on your way.

You can follow the tips we give in the videos for SI Joint Pain Prevention or pain reduction. The good thing about it is that SPD shares similar healing path so you kill two birds with one stone.

Feel free to reach out to us with any questions.

I'm so grateful for the One Strong Mama program, it helped make my 3rd pregnancy the most comfortable yet. This program helped me find ways to prevent further diastasis recti that I had experienced before, as well as find ways to adjust daily movements practices to continue to feel strong all the way through birth and postpartum. As a prenatal yoga instructor and social worker, I appreciated Lindsay and Lauren's focus on mindful movement, alignment, as well as their inclusiveness of all the ways we give birth. Margot Strahl
I'm a mom of three, a doula, a yoga and fitness professional with over a decade of experience, and I love the OSM program. The exercises are simple and easy to follow. But even more, they are truly purposeful, with a clear focus on building strength and function for pregnancy, birth and life. The videos and the library of information have definitely informed my teaching. And at a fraction of the cost of most professional trainings, I now have ongoing access to an incredible collection of resources. Moms in the pregnancy year and beyond, and professionals working with this population, will greatly benefit from this program. I can't recommend it highly enough. Melissa Gutierrez Nelson
Our patients love One Strong Mama. We notice that patients who are working through the One Strong Mama program have less restrictions throughout their soft tissues and muscles. Our patients who have dedicated time to One Strong Mama, do not tend to have many complaints or favor certain positions through their pregnancies. As we continue working on balancing their pelvis with chiropractic care and bodywork, having little soft tissue and muscle tightness it makes their visits with us further apart than other patients that are in our office. We highly recommend One Strong Mama to our expecting mamas! Dr. Jeni Massa and Brianna Bing with Sprout Chiropractic and Wellness
Lindsay and Lauren's work got me through my 3rd pregnancy. Their restorative and corrective exercises are easy to do, the instruction easy to follow, requires very little equipment, and can be worked into daily movement practices. I feel stronger than I ever have and cannot recommend this program enough to mamas! You don't have to be in pain during pregnancy, be a strong mama and live well! Laura Pladson
I had such an amazing experience with One Strong Mama and would highly recommend to everyone. Not only did it help prepare me physically, but also helped me process emotionally while preparing for my vbac. I was able to have such an easy birthing time as well as recovery postpartum thanks to the movements/exercises I learned. Jessica Anderson
Staying comfortable and active my entire pregnancy was priceless. What surprised me was how it stuck with me postpartum. Even when I ended up with a baby that always needed to be held! Sarah Schultz