Pelvic Pain in the Third Trimester of Pregnancy: Can Pelvic Floor Therapy Help?

I previously wrote a blog about pelvic pain during pregnancy and what should be considered “normal”. You can check that blog out here. Many aches and pains that are normalized during pregnancy actually can be improved with pelvic floor therapy. But what about during the third trimester? With so much pressure on your pelvis and pelvic floor muscles, is there really anything we can do? Let’s talk about it!

First, if you know me you know that I always advocate for an individualized assessment and treatment plan. Although you can find a lot of information online about what is “normal” and what has helped other women (which may be how you ended up here on this blog post!), when it comes to pain during pregnancy, a “one size fits all” approach rarely works. So my first piece of advice is always going to be to go see a pelvic floor therapist and get assessed!

What would a pelvic floor therapist assess if you are having pelvic pain in the third trimester?

A few things we want to consider during the third trimester include:

1) What makes your pain worse? What makes it better? - knowing what is aggravating or alleviating your symptoms can be incredibly helpful in deciding how to best help you.

2) What does your posture look like throughout your day? - As you get into your third trimester, you will likely notice a lot of postural changes with your growing belly. This is totally normal! However, there are also things we can do to help minimize discomfort caused by these changes.

3) What types of tasks are you doing throughout the day (work tasks, home tasks, childcare, etc). - Some things we simply have to do in our day to day life. Small changes in how we do those things can make a big difference in symptoms!

4) What does your overall strength and mobility look like? - although the third trimester of pregnancy isn’t the time we want to introduce new forms of exercise (like trying CrossFit or Cycling for the first time), and we certainly aren’t trying to PR, we can still do some strengthening and mobility exercises to keep our body feeling good. As long as you don’t have medical complications, exercise during pregnancy is safe and has positive health benefits.

Here are a few things we may recommend or try to help reduce pelvic pain in the third trimester.

1) External support like a belly band or SI belt - there are a lot of different belly bands and pregnancy support options nowadays. For belly bands I personally like LoveSteady (formerly BaoBei) and Bellies Inc. Your pelvic floor therapist can advise you on a band vs SI belt based on your symptoms. You may also benefit from kinesiotape - I actually have a whole module on k-tape during pregnancy in my Maternity Mobility Flows course if you want to learn more!

2) Therapeutic exercises - Exercise can be very beneficial in reducing symptoms. Our bodies are made to move, so doing some exercises to address any limitations or reduce pain you have may have can be really helpful. Your pelvic floor therapist can prescribe you specific exercises based on what they find in your assessment.

3) Manual therapy - manual therapy can be another game changer when it comes to pregnancy related pain. Your therapist may use massage, cupping, or other manual techniques to help reduce pain.

4) Activity modification - This is a big one! Sometimes small tweaks in how you are doing day to day things can go a long way for reducing pregnancy related pain. Anything from sitting posture, getting into/out of bed or a car, and even how you are lifting or moving throughout your day can be affecting your symptoms.

Of course some discomfort can be expected towards the end of pregnancy. Your baby is getting bigger, you have a lot more fluid in your body, and your body is working really hard to do day to day activities and prepare for labor. However, severe pain (and symptoms like numbness and tingling) should not just be considered normal or ignored. There is a lot we can assess and treat to help you stay as comfortable as possible until your little one arrives!

If you are local to Memphis, we are accepting new patients in our offices in Collierville and East Memphis! If you aren’t local, you can check out our online courses to help you prepare for labor, delivery, and early postpartum recovery.