Frustrated beyond belief!

[LizN]

Hello all,

Just wondered if anyone had any input about sacroiliac joint pain/piriformis syndrome. I had this with my last pregnancy and it looks like I'm getting it again. It actually made me discontinue my exercise and I had a 10lb4oz baby (I emailed James Clapp and according to his research, women who stop exercise midway thru pregnancy get bigger babies, gain more weight (ugh!) and the like).

I have been so determined to get thru this pregnancy differently and not gain 60lb either, but I'm starting to get SIJ pain quite severely - had a really bad episode during step and the physio I am seeing for regular massage to alleviate the problem reckons my days of teaching step are becoming numbered. I'm currently 22 weeks pregnant and am supposed to be teaching for another 10 weeks (to cover a friend who is having surgery/recovery). I'm planning on lowering my step height as of my next class, but I'm at a loss as to what weight bearing (James Clapp stressed that the exercise should be weight bearing) exercise to continue with. Walking is more painful than running strangely enough, but I wonder how long I can keep running for in all seriousness!

My exercise program looks like this
Running - twice a week 30 minutes
Swimming - twice a week one hour
Teaching classes - 2 Step, one low impact aerobics
Stretching and Swiss Ball exercises
Stationary bike - 30 minutes twice a week
Stepper (discontinued due to soreness)
Upper and lower body weights once a week.
I also teach the odd BodyPump class.

Any suggestions or anecdotes would be really appreciated. I'm even thinking of emailing Dr Clapp again with this dilemma!

Thanks
Liz N

 

[windyh]

Liz,

Isn't swimming considered weight-bearing because of the resistance of the water? You should also be able to continue upper body weight training. I am terribly frustrated also. I have been sick for almost two weeks now. It started off with allergies & turned into a sinus infection. I am slowly improving with antibiotics but any exertion sends me into a fit of coughing. Fortunately I only have 5 weeks to go until my due date.

Good luck.

Windy

 

[Stebby]

Liz, have you tried stretching the area? Two stretches that may help are: (a) sit on a chair, flex right foot & rest right ankle just above left knee, press down gently on right knee and lean gently forward; repeat on other side; (b) the Yoga "pigeon stretch": start in a runner's lunge with right foot forward and hands on either side of right foot, walk right foot over towards left hand, lie lower right leg down so that right foot is on the left & right knee is to the right, gently lower hips towards the floor. I am doing these stretches at 27.5 weeks and they are keeping my hips & lower back healthy. I hold each stretch for a few minutes at a time. If it hurts, be very very gentle.

 

[trinity]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON May-21-02 AT 03:19AM (Est)[/font][p]Although I am not pregnant (yet), I have suffered with SIJD (sacroiliac joint dysfunction) and consequently, learned a thing or two about it.

There is a home program, designed by a PT who is a world renowned expert on SIJD, that will gently guide your SI joint back to where it should be and thus ease your SI pain and any related secondary issues (ie pirformis syndrome, hip & groin pain, outter thigh pain & etc). You can find the program at "http://www.kalindra.com/rounds.pdf ".

There is also a delphi forum, called Sacroiliac Resources, where this (retired) PT, donates his time to answer questions and give advice. There are a couple of posters, who are currently pregnant and experiencing SI problems. Perhaps they could share some info with you as well. The forum url is "http://forums.delphiforums.com/SIJD/start ". I believe you have to register to gain access; it is a free forum though.

By doing the exercises, I've been pretty much pain free. I hope this info is helpful and that you find something that will bring you some relief. Best wishes !

Trinity

 

[Nancy4c]

Thanks for the helpful links!

 

[LizN]

Thanks for the input and the links! Have gone to have a look there and I think theres quite a bit of reading to do!

Thanks again
Liz N (who is feeling much better today)