Michaela– Severe Hip and Back Pain in Pregnancy

Michaela came in yesterday, 38 weeks pregnant. For the last couple of months, she had been having severe hip pain (both sides) and low back pain. Both were worsening as her belly grew, and having a toddler to carry around also wasn’t helping!

As she laid on my table, I noticed that her belly was pulled to the left. She told me that this baby girl and her older son had both always stayed on the left side. As I assessed her pelvis, I found that the broad ligament on the left side (attaches the uterus to the front of the pelvic bones) was very tight, and seemed to be pulling everything over to that side. Releasing this was quick and painless. As soon as that tension was relieved, her baby moved over to her right side! Michaela told me that she was really surprised, because normally when her baby tried to move over, it felt very uncomfortable– but this was painless. Baby moved around a lot, and then for the rest of the session, her belly was perfectly centered!

That was the first thing I did with her, and likely what made the biggest difference. However, I continued through my evaluation and treatment, releasing tension through her pelvis, including the ligaments that tether the uterus to her sacrum (the triangular shaped bone at the base of the spine, known as the “tailbone”) and helping it become more balanced. I also decompressed the junction between the base of her spine and her sacrum, then worked with her head to help calm her nervous system.

When Michaela got off of the table, she just stood there in disbelief for a few moments. As she began moving her body to explore a bit more, she exclaimed that she had NO pain in her body, and just couldn’t believe it! Then she walked over to my full length mirror, just marveling that her belly was so centered, and that she had no pain or pressure in her pelvis any more (a big deal at 38 weeks!).

As she was leaving, I told Michaela how good it makes ME feel to help expecting moms. I know that the motherhood journey can be so exciting and sweet, but also long and challenging– and having pain mixed in can affect the whole family.

Both of us hope that by sharing her story, other women who are having pregnancy-related pain will reach out for help– whether it’s to me, or to someone else that is local. You deserve to have support during this precious time, and to go through this transformative season feeling as good as possible.

UPDATE: I saw Michaela again, two weeks later. I was so pleased to hear that she still has had NO pain in her body since her last appointment, even approaching 40 weeks. She is sleeping much better, and feels like she is in such a different place emotionally, ready to welcome this new babe into the world.