A month after giving birth, the pubic bone hurts. Why does the pubic bone hurt and swell after childbirth

Orthopedist-traumatologist, surgeon of the first category, Research Institute, 2009

Pregnancy is always a huge burden on a woman's body. It especially increases in the third trimester, when the baby grows up and puts pressure on almost everything. internal organs. However, childbirth can also be a serious ordeal.

According to statistics, more than half of newly-made mothers complain that their pelvic bones hurt after childbirth. This syndrome may indicate serious problems in the body of a woman, and therefore it is not worth delaying a visit to the doctor. These issues are dealt with narrow specialist– a vertebrologist, who will not ignore any pain in the hip joint after childbirth, will prescribe a serious examination, and after receiving its results, will give recommendations for treatment.

Disappointing statistics indicate that pelvic bones hurt after childbirth, not only in women prone to diseases of the pelvis and spine. Even quite healthy ladies who lead passive image life, move little, eat malnourished and work in a sedentary job, may complain of hip pain after childbirth. The lack of movement significantly weakens the body of the expectant mother, this also applies to the pelvic bones and muscles. After delivery naturally such women may complain about unpleasant symptoms, including on:

Pulling and dull pain, which can be constant and intensifying during movements or even during sleep;
Feeling of tightness in the muscles;
Limited movement;
muscle spasm, which long time does not pass.

Immediately after the appearance of these symptoms, you should consult a doctor. He will conduct an examination, prescribe a diagnosis and find the root cause of pain.

Features and diagnostic needs

Pain in the pelvis after childbirth is a condition that, with pathology, almost never goes away on its own. Over time, discomfort can only increase, and therefore you can’t pull it, you should immediately consult a doctor. The doctor will decide what kind of research will be required to identify the cause of pelvic pain after childbirth. Among the methods used:

After the required examination it is possible to make a diagnosis and establish the cause of the arising painful sensations. The patient may be diagnosed with "symphysitis", the severity of which will depend on the distance between the pelvic bones. There are several stages of the disease: I - up to 1 cm, II - up to 1.99 cm, III - 2.0 cm or more. If the third stage is detected, then the doctor can make another diagnosis - “rupture of the pubic joint”.

Causes of pain syndrome

If after childbirth the leg hurts in the thigh and pelvic area, an examination will be required. It can reveal the displacement of the pelvic bones during childbirth. In some cases, the coccyx and pelvic bones may also be displaced. This is necessary to free the fetus to pass through birth canal. Nature intended this process to be practically painless, since the woman's body has been preparing for this for a long time. And if a woman may not notice the displacement itself, then the process of return is quite tangible, and therefore can bring a lot of suffering. Often, young mothers complain that their hips hurt after childbirth. This may indicate that:

There is a lack of calcium in the body - during gestation, in the process of delivery, calcium is simply washed out of the body, and therefore the body does not have enough resources, which is reported by pain syndromes.
Tissue softening has occurred natural process, which is due to the increase certain hormone, which is secreted by the body to calm the woman in labor. Since the tissues cannot perform the functions assigned to them, this leads to pain.
Sprained ligaments and muscles - a condition that can also cause discomfort.
Birth trauma - it is she who most often explains why the hip joint hurts after childbirth. Dislocation, fracture of bones, tissue rupture - all this can cause severe pain. An untimely appeal to the doctor can lead to the fact that the bones will grow together incorrectly. And this will already entail a change in gait.

The role of calcium in the state of the woman in labor

Already at 30–34 weeks, you can notice that the pregnant woman begins to involuntarily tilt her body back, trying to transfer weight. Nature has laid down another thing - a change in gait to a “duck”, when a woman rolls from foot to foot. But by this point future mommy already has time to get used to unpleasant sipping in the lumbar region, even to pain. They may be provoked not enough calcium. This causes the development of symphysiopathy, so the doctor who observes the pregnant woman must prescribe calcium.

Medicines strengthen bones and also reduce pain. However, you should not be zealous in taking it - the dosage is strictly observed in order to avoid negative consequences including the formation of kidney stones. The right approach to solve this problem excludes pain and after childbirth.

symphysis

If the pelvis hurts after childbirth, the cause may be a change in the structure of soft tissues - dense cartilage and symphysis, located in the area of \u200b\u200bthe pubis and pelvic bone. discrepancy bone tissue after childbirth is no longer uncommon, and such a condition can lead to the appearance of sharp and severe pains, which often do not go away, but only increase. Painful condition may be so strong that it will be difficult for a woman to walk or stand normally.

Symphysis treatment

What to do if the pelvis hurts after childbirth? Contact a vertebrologist or another doctor who will examine the patient and take rational decision on the need for treatment. Sometimes the body copes on its own, but this is in the case of minimal damage. If the pain continues for a long time after childbirth, serious treatment will be required. The doctor decides on the need:

Quite often, the doctor advises to combine bed rest with gymnastics. You should not choose exercises on your own, an osteopath should work with the patient. He also evaluates the state and decides on the possibility / impossibility of performing a group of exercises.

Preventive measures

To prevent injury during delivery, as well as the development pathological conditions, follows:

During pregnancy and childbirth musculoskeletal system women are undergoing a significant transformation. To make it easier for a newborn baby to pass through the birth canal last dates the pelvic bones begin to diverge, the cartilaginous tissues soften. After childbirth, reverse changes occur, which can be accompanied by significant pain. Most often, the pain is localized in the region of the pubic bone. Why is this happening and how to reduce pain syndrome?

What causes pain?

The bones of the pelvis are connected in front by the pubic symphysis. The symphysis is a pubic articulation of the pelvic bones, surrounded on all sides by ligaments. Its width does not exceed 1 cm and it has very limited motor capabilities. During pregnancy, the pubic junction acquires some mobility and stretches. This occurs under the influence of the hormone relaxin secreted by the placenta and ovaries, which helps soften the cartilage and ligaments at the junction of the pubic bones to facilitate the process of the child's passage through the birth canal.

In the last stages of pregnancy, relaxin is produced more and more intensively, causing the appearance of gaps in the joints, swelling of the cartilaginous tissues, an increase in the mobility of the pelvic joints and the distances between the pelvic bones. The pubic articulation also increases, usually by 5–6 mm. Often such changes in musculoskeletal system accompanied by discomfort. Almost all women have a little pain before childbirth. pubic bone and this is considered normal.

However, in some cases, the softening of the pubic joint occurs too much, which leads to hypermobility of the bones, swelling of the pubis. This condition is called symphysiopathy, is accompanied by severe pain and requires a doctor's consultation. In women with this pathology, a characteristic "duck" gait appears. If, when walking or turning from side to side during sleep, the pelvic bones hurt very much, the doctor prescribes an ultrasound examination of the woman, as well as a consultation with a gynecologist and surgeon to determine the cause of the pain syndrome.

The birth of a baby is one of the happiest events in a woman's life. It is also the most painful. After all, the process of delivery is not always calm and fast. It involves complex mechanisms the work of the reproductive system, the components of which are the divergence of the pelvic bones. The woman's body prepares for this process in advance, which is accompanied by significant discomfort and pain. When, after childbirth, the pelvic bones return to their natural position? What are the features of this process?

About the timing of the convergence of the pelvic bones

The postpartum period is a time no less responsible than the pregnancy itself. That is why many experts call it the tenth month. For nine months female body actively prepared for the birth of the baby, adjusted to his needs, endured discomfort. Therefore, it is not surprising that the recovery period after childbirth cannot be fast. Just to recover reproductive system, you need at least 6-8 weeks, after which a woman needs to go to an appointment with a gynecologist.

Major changes in female body when carrying a child occur due to the action of hormones. During pregnancy, they are actively produced, which is necessary for the healthy development of the fetus, the preparation of ligaments and bones for upcoming birth. After the appearance of the crumbs, the woman's body again undergoes hormonal changes. Those hormones that were responsible for the development of the child fade into the background, the hormone prolactin, which is necessary for the production of breast milk. The process of restoring a woman's body after childbirth is called involution. It also provides for the convergence of the pelvic bones.

What happened to them before the baby was born? Obstetrician-gynecologists state that the divergence of the pelvic bones occurs immediately before childbirth. Basically, it's softening. cartilage tissue in the zone of the pubic articulation, the divergence of the bones does not go beyond one and a half to two centimeters. After childbirth, there can be no lightning-fast return to their original state. Even if the birth was easy and fast, the bones will return to their natural position for a long time. It often takes all postpartum period i.e. 6-8 weeks.

About gymnastics after childbirth

Experts recommend new mothers not to delay the implementation special exercises postpartum gymnastics. As soon as your health allows, you need to start. The main task of such gymnastics is to prevent the negative consequences of childbirth in the pelvic region, for example, urinary incontinence or symphysitis, uterine prolapse.

After the baby is born, the pelvic bones return to their place after a while, but some mothers are sure that their hip volume increases precisely during childbirth, but this is not so.

Restorative gymnastics strengthens muscles pelvic floor, improving contractile activity uterus, and it returns to its original size. So, you should start doing these exercises:

Retraction of the abdomen. It is necessary to lie on your back, bend your legs at the knees, press your feet to the floor. The palms should be on the stomach. It must be drawn in as you exhale very strongly and fix this position first for 3-4 seconds, then 6-10. The exercise is repeated after a deep and slow breath.
Bridge. The starting position of the body is the same. After exhaling, you need to raise the pelvis, tighten the buttocks and pull in the stomach. At the same time, the head rises and the chin is pressed against the chest. This is a difficult exercise, the number of repetitions must be increased gradually.
Raising the legs. Lying on your back with straightened legs, you must alternately slowly lift each of them up. In this case, it is necessary to pull the sock towards you. Exercises must be performed at a slow pace.
Cat. The exercise is performed from a position, standing on all fours. It is necessary to bend the back and round it with a wheel, while drawing in the stomach. Exercise tightens the muscles of the press, back, buttocks.
Squats. It is performed slowly from a position, standing straight. You need to squat so that the hips form a right angle with the floor. In this case, straight arms are extended forward. At the end of the run, you can spring on bent legs, increasing the static load and straining the press.

So, performing postpartum gymnastics will help a woman restore her shape, and the pelvic bones will return to their original position as soon as possible.

Carrying a child involves exerting a load on the entire body of the expectant mother, including the hip joints.

Sometimes pain in the pelvis occurs even in the last trimester and continues after delivery, and such a pathology can even affect healthy women.

Effect of pregnancy on bones

Hormones produced during childbearing have the following effect on the bones of the skeleton:

Shortly after fertilization, vasodilation occurs bone joints and increase their fluid content. This contributes to the gradual expansion of the volume of the pelvic bones, allowing the fetus to develop comfortably.
The increase in hormone levels continues until 35 weeks.
By the time of delivery, there are sharp drops in hormone levels, which contributes to the accelerated expansion of the pelvis.

Often, against the background of these processes, women complain of the appearance of pain in the pelvic area.

Main reasons

Pelvic bones hurt after childbirth for the following reasons:

during and after delivery. Bone structures are displaced, providing better ways to promote the baby during childbirth. The initial change in the position of the bones is practically not felt by the pregnant woman, but their return to their original position after childbirth is associated with a pronounced pain syndrome.
Lack of calcium also leads to pain in the pelvic area. This is due to the fact that this microelement is actively washed out both during pregnancy and after childbirth.
Stretching of the muscles or connective tissue formations that connect the bones of the skeleton. This happens during pregnancy, and after delivery, the stretched ligaments lose their functionality, so they try to compensate for this. bone structures which are not physiologically designed for this.
Injury received during childbirth. This may be a dislocation or violation of the integrity of the pelvic bones. And if the woman in labor was under the influence of anesthesia, then the presence of a fracture will not be known immediately. Women with such injuries after childbirth often complain of severe pain, and there is also a risk of improper bone fusion.

In addition, among the causes of pain in the pelvic area, there are also: changes in the hormonal background of a pregnant woman, overweight, exacerbation hidden diseases.

Symptoms

Treatment

Often women are interested in what to do if the pelvis hurts after childbirth. Before taking any therapeutic measures, it is necessary to find out exact reason the onset of pain after childbirth. But even before the diagnosis is clarified, it would be right to limit physical activity.

In addition, the woman in labor must wear a bandage, as well as her sleeping area must be properly organized. To restore calcium balance after delivery, a woman should take a multivitamin and mineral complex that contains calcium in an easily digestible form.

If, against the background of the fact that the hip joints hurt after childbirth, the examination revealed infectious pathology then antibiotics may be needed. Oral and parenteral painkillers can also be prescribed to the woman in labor. In addition, with bright severe symptoms manual techniques will relieve her of pain.

Physiotherapy

Exercise therapy for symphysitis after childbirth is aimed at strengthening or increasing muscle tone pelvis and perineum. If you practice several times a day, then the pain syndrome will become less pronounced over time. However, it should be remembered that physical activity in this pathology should be strictly controlled, and any therapeutic exercises on initial stage must be performed under the supervision of an orthopedist.

Folk remedies

One of the most popular recipes is a decoction of geranium, which is used during bathing.

To prepare a decoction, take 4 g of dry crushed geranium leaves and pour 800 ml of boiling water over them, then keep them on low heat for 10 minutes. After that, the broth is insisted for about half an hour, filtered and poured into the bath.

In addition, a woman should reconsider her eating habits. She should use more fermented milk products and other foods that contain a lot of calcium (dried fruits, bananas). And also she should give up fatty, fried, spicy.

Prevention during pregnancy

To some extent avoid pelvic pain after childbirth will help such preventive advice:

Besides, great importance It has general state health, so a pregnant woman should treat all comorbidities, which can affect calcium metabolism or hormonal levels.

Childbirth is a complex process involving many body systems. After the birth of a child, a woman in labor feels weak, tired, and sometimes pain. So, in 50% of women, the pelvic bones hurt after childbirth, which gives them discomfort, prevents them from living fully and caring for a child.

Causes of pain

Causes of discomfort in pelvic bones some. They are associated with changes that allow the body to adapt to pregnancy and ensure the passage of the child through the birth canal.

Pulling or sharp pain in the pelvic area with lumbago is a reason to consult a doctor for an examination and treatment.

Possible diseases

Many pregnant women experience a disease such as symphysitis. The pubic bones are connected to each other by a fibrocartilaginous disc - the symphysis. Under the influence of hormones and fetal pressure, the symphysis is stretched by 5–6 mm or more. As this discrepancy increases and inflammation joins, symphysitis is diagnosed.

Symphysitis is characterized by pain when walking, changing body position, physical activity. The gait changes (becomes similar to a duck), there is discomfort during urination and defecation.

The disease is diagnosed by palpation. When pressing on the symphysis in pubic area arises sharp pain. Also used for diagnosis ultrasonography, which, however, allows small errors. The most accurate degree of symphysitis allows you to establish x-ray examination. If the discrepancy is more than 1 cm, doctors may decide to refer to a caesarean section.

Rupture of the symphysis during childbirth is a rare phenomenon that requires surgical intervention and prolonged, for several months, bed rest.

Postpartum recovery includes a number of measures that allow you to connect the dispersed parts of the pubic joint and limit their movement:

Bed rest and reduction physical activity. The first time after childbirth, women need to reduce the load, if possible, entrusting the care of the child to relatives.
Bandage. Special bandages have been developed that wrap around the hips, limiting mobility hip joints and pubic bones.
Visiting an osteopath As the condition improves, the doctor will prescribe a set of physical therapy exercises.
Restoration of vitamin and mineral balance to strengthen bones and connective tissue.
Anti-inflammatory therapy and physiotherapy in a day hospital.

The course of treatment is compiled individually after examination and consultation of the therapist, gynecologist, osteopath and surgeon. In some cases, an operation is prescribed with the introduction of steel supporting structures.

How to relieve pain

Severe pain in the coccyx and pubic area is relieved by painkillers, conditionally allowed for breastfeeding: Ibuprofen, Paracetamol. At artificial feeding you can take any effective painkillers for which the woman in labor has no individual contraindications: Pentalgin, Ketanov, No-shpa, etc.

It happens that the transferred stress and unstable hormonal background depress the central nervous system and change the perception of pain. In this case, it is recommended to take sedative drugs that are relatively safe for breastfeeding: Glycine, Valerian, Motherwort tablets.

Preventive measures

Prevention of symphysitis during pregnancy avoids postpartum complications.

Recommended to do special gymnastics stretching and strengthening the pelvic floor muscles.
With an uncomplicated pregnancy, you need to walk a lot, walk on fresh air. Walking helps to strengthen the musculoskeletal system, and ultra-violet rays increase the production of vitamin D, necessary for the absorption of calcium.
It is necessary to take a vitamin-mineral complex, which includes calcium and phosphorus, which help strengthen bones and connective tissue.
Proper nutrition combined with moderate physical activity helps maintain proper balance useful substances, providing good health and functioning of the body systems that will be involved in childbirth.

Many pregnant women and women who have given birth have pain in the pelvic bones. This is due to the change hormonal background, increased load and is a variant of the norm. Attention to yourself, observation of sensations, regular examinations and compliance with the doctor's recommendations will help to avoid injuries and quickly recover after the birth of a child.