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Last Updated on November 18, 2023 by theosteomum
If you’re sick of limping your way through pregnancy and are looking for the best symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) belt, you’ve come to the right place.
SPD is a painful, often debilitating condition.
Belts can feel like a lifesaver when you’re suffering with pubic symphysis pain during pregnancy.
I help women with SPD daily in my private practice.
I’ve had a lot of experience in figuring out what works, and what doesn’t.
When I fit this Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction belt on my patients, their relief is INSTANT!
In this post you’ll learn:
- What is Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)?
- How do I know if I have SPD?
- What causes Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)?
- What are the risk factors of Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)?
- The factors that have been associated with symphysis pubis dysfunction after giving birth
- 4 ways to help prevent Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)
- 11 ways to help manage Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction
- Does a pregnancy belt help with SPD?
- The best symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) belt
What is Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)?
Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction is a problem with the joint between the two halves of your pelvis where they meet at the front.
This joint is called the “pubic symphysis”, and is pictured in the image of the skeletal model below:
Symphysis pubis dysfunction can also sometimes be called:
- Peripartum pelvic pain,
- Pregnancy-related Pelvic Pain (PRPP),
- Pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PGP), and
- Anterior or posterior pelvic pain
How do I know if I have SPD?
You can be confident that what you’re experiencing is symphysis pubis dysfunction if you are experiencing the following symptoms:
- “Shooting” pain in the joint in the front of your pelvis, between your legs. Some women describe this as a feeling of “being kicked in the crotch”, or sometimes call it “lightening crotch”.
- Radiating pain into the lower abdomen, back, groin, perineum (the area between your vagina and back passage), thigh, and/or leg.
- Pain when you’re moving around, especially with:
- walking,
- standing on one leg, or
- moving your leg out to the side
- Pain with everyday movements, such as:
- bending over,
- standing on one leg, such as when you’re putting on or taking off pants;
- getting out of a chair,
- going up or down stairs, or
- rolling over in bed
- Pain that gets better with rest
- Clicking, snapping or grinding heard or felt within the symphysis pubis region
- Pain during sex
- Occasional difficulty passing urine
What causes Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)?
No one can say with 100% certainty what causes SPD.
It’s thought that the hormone “relaxin” plays a role.
Relaxin circulates throughout your body in increasing amounts throughout your pregnancy.
Its role is to help prepare your body for labour.
Relaxin does this by softening the ligaments that hold your pelvis together, which will eventually allow the pelvis to spread, move and allow your baby through.
The theory is that relaxin can have too much of an effect on some women, which means there’s too much mobility in some of their pelvic joints.
This increased movement can lead to pain.
What are the risk factors of Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)?
Studies have investigated the reasons why some women develop symphysis pubis dysfunction, whereas others don’t.
Researchers have discovered the following risk factors for developing SPD during pregnancy.
Predisposing factors for SPD and pelvic pain during pregnancy:
- you have a family history of SPD- if your Mum or sisters also suffered it, then you’re more likely to experience it too
- you’ve experienced symphysis pubis dysfunction at another time in your life already, such as in a previous pregnancy
- you got your first period relatively young,
- you’ve used oral contraceptives in the past,
- you’re carrying multiple babies at once, e.g. twins or triplets,
- you have a high body weight,
- you’re under high levels of stress,
- you have a low level of satisfaction with your job,
- you have a history of low back pain,
- you’ve had previous pelvic or back pathology, trauma, or injury
- you don’t exercise regularly,
- your joints are already hypermobile, or
- you have an above-average sized baby or overdue pregnancy.
Most women’s symptoms will resolve quite soon after they give birth.
If you’d like to learn more about if and when your SPD will improve after your baby is born, you can read “Will the pain in my pelvic area get better after pregnancy?”
However, for a small percentage of women, their symphysis pubis dysfunction won’t improve immediately after birth.
Some women won’t experience SPD during pregnancy, but it will start in the postpartum period.
Factors that have been associated with symphysis pubis dysfunction after giving birth:
Breast feeding.
It’s thought that this keeps the pregnancy hormones circulating a little longer in your body.
Developmental hip dysplasia (DDH) in your baby.
The reason for the link between these two conditions is unclear.
It seems that babies born to women who’ve suffered symphysis pubis dysfunction during pregnancy have a slightly higher chance of developing hip dysplasia.
4 ways to help prevent Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD):
If you’re not already pregnant, it’s possible to make some changes now to help minimise your chances of developing symphysis pubis dysfunction in any future pregnancies you may have.
Many of these changes will have a positive impact on your overall health and wellbeing, so even if SPD isn’t really a concern for you, making these changes will help you in many different ways.
4 ways you can help prevent SPD are:
Keeping your stress levels in check
People who report higher levels of stress are more likely to develop SPD in pregnancy.
The reason for this link aren’t yet fully understood.
Learning to manage your stress levels will be great practice for parenthood, when there are often multiple demands on your time.
Strategies such as meditation, light exercise and the art of saying “no” can be extremely helpful.
Seeking a job that you enjoy and that gives you a good level of satisfaction
Women who report higher levels of job satisfaction are less likely to develop SPD in pregnancy.
Once again, it’s not fully clear why.
It wouldn’t be fair of me to say “enjoy your job more”. Only you can know if this is possible, or what you might do to make this happen. Just know that this is a fact that can affect your likelihood of developing PGP.
Getting into a regular exercise routine
Women who exercise regularly have less chance of developing PGP that women who do not.
Just another reason to get moving!
Already pregnant and wondering how to do this?
I’ve written an excellent post called “can I exercise during pregnancy” for all the details on how to exercise safely during this time.
Trying to achieve a “healthy” body weight according to BMI
For most people over the age of 20 years old, many health outcomes will be improved if you can maintain a “healthy” BMI, or Body Mass Index.
PGP is no exception.
Your likelihood of developing PGP increases with your BMI.
You can work out your BMI with the following formula:
BMI = Your weight in kilograms / (your height in meters)2
For example, if you weigh 70 kilograms and are 1.65m tall, your BMI is :
70 / (1.65)2
= 70 / 2.7225
= 25.71
What does this mean?
To be within the “healthy weight” category, your BMI should be between 18.5 and 24.9.
At a BMI of 25.71, you’d fall just outside of this category and into the “overweight” category.
Losing just a small amount of weight could make a difference to your liklihood of developing PGP in pregnancy.
These include:
1. Avoid standing on one leg as much as possible.
Many women first hearing this think that they never stand on one leg. You’re not exactly hopping around the house!
But, when we stop to think about this a little more, we realise that there are in fact a number of times a day that all of your weight will being going through one leg.
Increasing your awareness of how you move will go a long way towards helping minimise the aggravation of your symptoms.
2. Sitting down while putting on pants, shoes, socks and underwear.
This is just one example of the many tasks we do each day while standing on one leg.
Try sitting on the edge of your bed and doing this one leg at a time.
3. Swivel while getting in and out of the car.
How do you get in and out of your car?
Do you hoist one leg in and then just sit down?
This is yet another example of a time when we stand on one leg in our everyday lives.
Try sitting down on the car seat and swivelling both legs in or out together instead.
4. Minimise how often you go up and down stairs.
Take the lift or escalator where possible.
If you live in a house that has stairs, it’s often just not possible to avoid them completely.
You can try to plan your movements to minimise how often you need to go up and down.
Before you take the stairs, stop and think about what you need to do or bring with you. This might help avoid unnecessary trips just because you forgot something.
5. Put a washing basket at the bottom of the stairs.
Rather than going up and down each time you need to put something away, pop it in the basket and only go up once the basket is getting full (but not too heavy).
6. Try going up stairs one step at a time.
Rather than going up in the usual way where each foot only touches one step.
When you’ve got each foot touching each step, your pelvis has to bear your weight for a shorter distance, meaning less strain through this area.
7. Experiment with going upstairs sideways or backwards.
Does going up a different way reduce your pain?
Ensure you keep a good hold of the banister at all times though, and don’t do this on the way down!
8. Find new ways to wash and dry your feet, or shave your legs.
Maybe your partner could do these things for you?
Or you could use a small stool that you can leave in the shower to make this task a little easier.
9. Avoid sitting cross legged.
This includes both sitting in a chair with one leg crossed over the other, as well as sitting in a “legs crossed” position on the floor.
10. Familiarise yourself with effective SPD pain relief strategies, such as Water Aerobics.
If you’d like to learn more about this, my post titled “5 ways to help your pelvic pain during pregnancy at home” has 5 evidence-backed ways to help manage all forms of pelvic girdle pain.
11. Find a therapist in your area who is experienced with managing SPD.
Does a pregnancy belt help with SPD?
In this study from the Journal of Pregnancy, it was found that belts can help with a number of aspects of daily life that pregnant women often struggle with.
These included an improved ability to perform activities such as:
- House work
- Looking after family members
- Exercise
- Sleeping
- Getting up from a seated position
- Walking
- Working
In other words, they can be really beneficial in just getting you through your day.
The best symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) belt:
Without a doubt, the best symphysis pubis dysfunction belt I’ve found is the Serola belt.
Why?
The Serola belt is the only belt on the market with a patented design to help reinforce the action of your pelvic ligaments.
This means that it is the only choice if you want backup for the true source of your pain.
Who can wear the Serola belt?
The Serola belt is an effective management tool in:
- Pregnancy pain
- Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) dysfunction
- Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP)
- Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)
It may also help in the following conditions:
- Back Pain
- Spondylolisthesis
- Hip Pain
- Disc herniations and “sciatica”
How does it feel?
The unique design of the Serola belt means that it does not rely on buckles, loops etc to give support. Such devices can be overly restrictive, meaning that they end up being too tight or creating strain elsewhere in your body.
On the other end of the scale, other devices are purely elastic.
This means that they can be too loose and allow too much freedom of movement. This does not let them replicate the true role of ligaments.
As a result, you’ll still have too much movement through your pelvic joints, and your pain won’t be as well managed.
Just like Golidlocks and the three bears, you’ll find the Serola belt to be not too tight, and not too loose- it’s just right!
The relief that women suffering from SPD when they put their Serola belt on is real! Their faces light up and they immediately joke that they’re never going to take it off.
Honestly, do yourself a favour and try the Serola belt out.
You can purchase one here.
You’ll thank me later.
Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction- the wrap up.
SPD is a painful and sometimes debilitating condition which causes pain in the front of your pelvic region.
There are certain factors in your medical and family history that can make it more likely you’ll develop it.
However, there are also a number of things you can do to help decrease your likelihood of either experiencing it at all, or suffering a more severe case of it.
Hands down, the best symphysis pubis dysfunction belt on the market is the Serola belt.
Have you tried any of the strategies I’ve outlined above?
How did you go?
I’d love to hear your experiences in the comments section below.
Finally, don’t forget to share this article with your pregnant friends!
