Round Ligament Pain
There are two parallel ligaments that attach the front of your uterus to your labia. During pregnancy, as your uterus grows it can create excess strain on these ligaments and cause pain. Typically a sharp pain is felt in your lower abdomen, groin or pubic region. Pain can be triggered by certain positions or changing position too quickly. Pain can be felt one sided or both sided and can be dependent on fetal position.
Round ligament pain is one of the most common pain complaints in pregnancy, and most mamas don't realize there are a few things that you can do to relieve it.
Here are a few tips...
1. Use a support for your belly when you're sleeping.
When we lay on our side to sleep with a big belly, our belly tends to fall towards the bed which causes a prolonged stretch to your round ligaments. Then when we go to move, it can be quite painful! In this case, it can be helpful to have a little support under your belly. You can roll up a towel and wedge it between your belly and the bed. There are also specific wedge pillows specific for pregnancy that you can buy, like this.
2. Wear a maternity support belt.
A maternity support belt can gently lift and support your round ligaments, taking a lot of that extra strain away. I recommend Bellies Inc. Ab wrap and have some available in the clinic to purchase. You can also ask your PT about k-taping your belly. This is a good alternative to a support belt and can be extremely helpful for round ligament pains.
3. Stretch.
Stretches for your hip flexors as well as a cat/cow movement can be a good way to relieve round ligament pain by gently mobilizing the ligaments through movement.
4. Forward leaning inversions.
Forward leaning inversions are a Spinning Babies® technique that have a lot of great benefits. One, is that it releases the round ligaments. They recommend performing this technique once per day for 30 seconds.
4. Manual therapy by a physical therapist.
An obstetrics trained PT can perform gentle ligament releases & massage techniques on your belly to help with tight and painful round ligaments.