Approximately 5 to 20% of women post-pregnancy suffer from long term pelvic girdle pain (PGP). The reasons for this are still unclear but there is evidence that stabilising exercise can help reduce PGP. The studies examined include one from Spine (2004a;29 (10): 351-9) and the other from Physical Therapy (2000;80 (12): 1164-73).
The overall conclusion drawn by the researchers was that effective treatment of pelvic pain post pregnancy can be achieved with exercises for the entire spinal musculature especially when they are individually guided and adapted specifically for each individual.
A programme should include first working on local muscles and then progressing to more global muscles. These exercises should be supervised, corrected and individualised with respect to order and dosage and pain should be avoided.
