Pregnancy is a time of enormous structural, physiological and emotional change. Over 40 weeks the mother’s internal environment completely changes.

Her ribcage will broaden to allow for the increased requirement for blood and oxygen to supply the baby. The curves in her spine will alter to help support the weight of the growing baby in her womb. Her pelvis will tilt and broaden in preparation for birth.

Considering this, it is perhaps not surprising that the mother’s body can sometimes get out of balance. This can present as back and neck pain but could just as easily appear as heartburn, swelling in the limbs or pelvic girdle pain (symphysis pubis dysfunction) - see below.

These conditions are too often ignored  and we so frequently hear pregnant mothers asking us ‘ shouldn’t we expect these sorts of things when we are pregnant? It may be true that they are more commonly encountered in pregnancy but they are nevertheless an indication of dysfunction and treatment for these conditions is more important in pregnancy than ever.

At the Octagon Clinic we work closely with midwives, health visitors and other experts in the field. We have special treatment couches for pregnant women and employ specific low-force techniques to gently release the biomechanical stresses on the mother’s spine and pelvis. We help hundreds of women each year through their pregnancies and hopefully enable them to have the type of birth that they desire.

Conditions we treat:

Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)

Also known as Pelvic Girdle Pain this painful, debilitating and often misunderstood condition usually occurs during pregnancy but can often persist for months and sometimes years after the baby is born and will commonly recur in subsequent pregnancies. It is related to instability of the pelvis often instigated by the hormonal changes of pregnancy and so can often occur in the first trimester. Unfortunately the biomechanical stresses associated with the baby growing in the uterus can further complicate the situation as can the persistent bending, twisting and lifting after the baby is born.

SPD is usually associated with sharp pain at the pubic symphysis (the place where the two bones forming the front of the pelvis meet in front of the hips) and often one or both sacroiliac joints (above the buttocks, adjacent to the spine).The symptoms are usually aggravated by walking and twisting movements and often associated with an overwhelming feeling of weakness as if the legs are unable to take the weight of the body. Women often report that this feeling of instability is worse that the actual pain.

Many common types of treatment for back pain, especially manipulation, is inappropriate for SPD because of the extreme instability and management utilises techniques to gently balance the pelvis along with specific exercises to help re-establish stability in the pelvic ring. We have much experience in treating this condition at the Octagon Clinic. See article>>