Pelvic/Groin pain After Walking...

[etwahl]

I have recently started to feel pelvic/groin pain after walking. I've been walking about 3-4 miles a day, approx. 5 days a week for the past couple months. But in the last week, I've started feeling pelvic/groin pain not long after the walk is complete. It's the kind of pain you normally get when you exercise a muscle you haven't used in a while. It makes me do the pregnancy waddle, and it's not the extra weight that's causing it! It seems to last for less than a day, but comes back the next time I walk, which I try to do almost every day.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it something I should be concerned about?

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

[mamahill]

Does it feel like you've just done lunges and your butt hurts? That's how mine was - little by little it would get worse and last longer. Then I learned that it was sciatic nerve pain. It got progressively worse to where I couldn't stand back up after bending over to pick something up. If this sounds similar, I recommend investing in a maternity belt (not expensive - Motherhood has them for $14 I think), no walking as much, maybe checking out a Yoga for pregnancy video, and comfort yourself knowing that it will only fully go away once you have the baby. But feel free to post here and complain, because a lot of us have been there.

If this isn't at all what you're going through, then sorry I was WAY off! The only other weird sensation was that when I would be standing/walking a lot, it felt like I was dilating. I wasn't. My OB told me it was the round ligament stretching. Just more fun signs that your body is getting ready to squeeze the little one out. Yipee!

[etwahl]

I wouldn't say it feels like that really. More like bruised or sore muscles in the exact spot the baby's going to come out of! It doesn't hurt while I'm exercising, just starts after the fact. I don't notice it so much when I'm sitting, but just when I'm walking around the house.

I'm sure it's normal, although I'm really getting sick of all the new aches and pains that come with pregnancy. For the last couple months (last month especially) I get really bad leg cramps that start around midnight. I usually have to get up and walk around several times a night and stretch. I also stretch after I walk, and before bed to try and minimize it. I get them all the way from the top of my thigh down to my calf. The other night, I woke from a muscle spasm in my calf that was so bad I couldn't even stand up. It felt so sore for two days that I couldn't even exercise. It felt like somebody had beat me in that one calf.

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

[nohomama]

There's another recent thread on hip pain and I suspect that you and Naty are both experiencing the effects of relaxin. As Rachel explained in the other thread, relaxin is the hormone that loosens up the ligaments, allowing for more play in the pelvis, thus preparing the body for childbirth. It does make childbirth easier but the same cannot be said for the months leading up to childbirth. As Sarah suggested, sciatica can also be a conseqence of relaxin and the added weight of baby. More accute symptoms would include numbness/tingling/altered sensation and or shooting pain down the back of the leg.

It's great that you've remained physically active throughout your pregnancy but this might be your body's way of signaling you to slow down. Walk fewer miles per day and perhaps cut down to walking every other day. You might also replace some walking with swimming. Someone in the other thread brilliantly suggested swimming as a way to alleviate the discomfort as well.

Hope your able to find some relief. Good luck.

[nohomama]

Tammy,

We must be posting at the same time. It sounds like the area that's sore is your pelvic floor - the muscles that you're going to use to push. I started experiencing the same thing early in my second trimester. My advise is to definately cut down on the walking and replace it with something less jarring and gravity magnifying - yoga or swimming.

As for the muscle cramps, a good way to get rid of them fast is to "engage" the opposing muscle. In other words, if you get a cramp in the back of your calf, contract the muscle in the front of your calf by dorsi flexing (pulling your toes up towards your nose). It's a technique used by athletes and sports trainers/massage therapists and it WORKS. It helped me it through many nights.

[kfcboston]

Hello! I'm actually due the day before you, so it could be interesting to compare. I do a lot of walking on my commute, probably about 3 miles round trip every day! I also try to hit the stationary bike or pool about 3 to 4 times a week. But in the past 3 to 4 days or so, I've been real achy in the groin/pelvic/lower back area, and only when walking not when sitting. Today I finally jettisoned my heeled boots I've been wearing at work (not during the commute!) And I agree -- annoying!! But oh well. Certainly the signs are starting to build that it's getting closer! But I will admit I've been lucky on the leg cramp front -- minor calf cramping when I frist wake up and stretch, but immediately alleviated by stretching my toes toward my shins. Hang in there!!

Katie
EDD with #1 3/7/02!!

[etwahl]

I think I will cut down on the walking then. I assume the stationery bike would be considered less jarring? Funny, I always thought walking was the perfect exercise during pregnancy! I'll also try your suggestions for my muscle cramps. I can get my husband to tell me exactly what stretches to do. Thanks!

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

[nohomama]

Tammy,

Something else I always mean to say but never seem to remember when I'm posting is I suggest calling your midwife/doctor. I don't imagine your discomfort is anything for you to be concerned about but calling on their expertise for information and peace of mind is never a mistake.

[megsmom]

I agree with lots of the earlier posts, particularly the part about the relaxin and the effects on the joints. Some women are already more flexible and mobile in the joints and then once you add the relaxin, the ligaments/joints can actually become a somewhat overstretched and achy or even a little out of alignment temporarily. Listen to your body and only continue with exercise that isn't painful. Are you doing Kegels? These helps strengthen the pelvic floor and give you more stability in that area.

If you continue to have problems, call your OB. Sometimes a consult with a physical therapist can help, if your MD recommends this. There are a lot of very safe exercises and treatments out there for pregnant women to help them with the changes.

Jen
mom to Meghan
7/13/01

[jojo2324]

Aaaah, the Charlie horses! I had those all of my last trimester and they KILLED. And I would feel the effects of them for a couple of days after until the next one hit. I would wake up crying at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning. I tried doing what Sarah said, pulling my toes toward me, but it didn't help ease the pain. I honestly used them for practice! I imagined that contractions would feel much worse, but I just acknowledged (sp?) the pain. I would completely relax my leg and breathe through it. They would last 30 seconds to a minute. In the beginning it worked. I could nip it right in the bud! I was very excited and thought, hey, if I can do this now, labor will be a bit easier. Oops! :P

I would try swimming. I loved swimming when I was pregnant. It was so soothing and calming to me. I liked the idea of me in water, the baby is in water. He loves his tubs...maybe there's a connection. Who knows? Hope the pain eases for you!

[Rachels]

I agree with everybody. Walking is wonderful, but your body probably needs you to slow down. Shorter walks, maybe, or something more gentle like swimming or yoga. I carried really low, and by the end of my pregnancy, I could barely walk two blocks.

FWIW, for anybody getting leg cramps, they can be greatly helped by increasing your potassium and calcium intake. Lots of bananas, lots of milk or hard cheese!

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[etwahl]

I am also carrying REALLY low, so it sounds like that's probably why I do need to move onto something more gentle.

But I have been eating lots of bananas (at least one or two a day) and even though I am lactose intolerant, I drink a ton of soy milk, and eat lots of cheese and yogurt. So I can't understand why I'm still getting so many leg cramps.

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!