I saw my PCP (who also happens to be an osteopath) today and SPD (symphysis pubis dysfunction) it is.
Once in a while 'Google-Induced-Anxiety' (or Googlexiety as I'm now going to call it) is warranted.
She laid me on my back and felt my pubic bone with her two thumbs. The right side of my symphysis pubis, or SP, (the part in the middle of your pelvis where the two halves come together) is rotated up away from the other side, causing the pain and pressure. As you read in my previous post (or were bored and didn't) this is a pretty common syndrome in pregnant women because of the hormone relaxin that helps prepare your joints for birth. However, it is more commonly recognized in the UK than it is in the US, where most doctors think the pain is just a natural result of pressure on your pelvis in pregnancy.
That's the bad news.
The good news is that, as an osteopath (did I say yet how much I love my Dr?), she has some specific exercises I can do at home to help my SP right itself. Aparently it wants to but is stuck and needs some help. Don't worry my little SP, help is on the way!
She did this one stretching exercise with me laying on my back with my legs bent, feet on the table. She braced herself against one of my knees while placing her arm from elbow to palm between my knees. Then I had to try to press my knees together. As she did it, she kept the other hand on my SP and said she actually felt it move a little back into place.
Yessssssssssssssss!
Although I can't say I'm miraculoulsy cured and pain-free, I can say that I can already notice the difference. Before the pain was constant, even sitting down, and now I don't feel any pain or pressure sitting normally.
Incidentally, she was impressed that I had managed to all-but eliminate any stiffness and pain in the surrounding muscles, especially in my weaker hip where I had the surgery. She said that SPD usually presents with a ton of other muscle/tendon issues but, because I had immediately resorted back to my post-surgery gentle exercise and stretch routine, I have been able to keep that at bay. The muscles in my hip are still strong with no noticeable weakness as a result and that should also help pull everything back into alignment.
The overal prognosis is that she expects me to be able to reduce most if not all of the pain and misalignment myself through continuing my exercises and adding the one new one to my repertoire. My pubic area may still be sore because of the trauma of being misaligned for a period of time (even if misalignment is fixed) but overall pain should subside. Worst-case scenario, I might not be able to get everything exactly back to where it was before I popped it out but after birth everything should slowly go back to normal.
As for the delivery - vaginal vs. c-section - there should be no impact to my choice there. Of course, if I do vaginal and use an epidural I need to be careful not to stretch my legs apart too far. Not that c-sestion is the cure-all... the lack of activity after the c-section can sometimes exasperate the problem (since sitting in one spot/inactivity can make it worse.)
Overall, I have to say I feel better. I know what it is, I know how to make it better, AND it's not related to the hip problems I had before.
Did I say I love my doctor yet????
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