Pelvic girdle pain: updating current practice

Abstract

Traditionally, pelvic girdle pain (PGP) was viewed as a hormonal problem, untreatable during pregnancy and exacerbated by the weight of the baby. Customary advice was for rest, support belts and to await recovery following the baby's birth. However, the outcome of this management resulted in many women experiencing short or long-term physical disability, as well as the psychological impact of pain and immobility. Recent research links an asymmetry of the pelvic joints to the incidence and severity of PGP and shows the cause is biomechanical and not due to pregnancy hormones. Evidence supports manual therapy as the effective way to resolve PGP quickly during pregnancy through a realignment and restoration of symmetry of movement in the pelvic joints, thereby avoiding the adverse long-term consequences of the condition.