Round ligament pain in pregnancy.
Understanding Round Ligament Pain in Pregnancy
Pregnancy is FULL of unusual feelings, sensations and changes. From tender breasts to breathlessness in the first trimester, to a growing tummy and tiredness you never thought was possible! Carrying a baby (especially your first baby) can be really quite daunting!
Round ligament pain was something I did not expect in pregnancy and when I first felt it I really panicked that something was wrong. Round ligament pain in pregnancy often occurs in the 2nd trimester. It is described as a sharp but short pain that fades quite quickly (within a minute) and it is caused by the muscles and tissues around the uterus expanding to make space for your beautiful baby.
Causes and Symptoms of Round Ligament Pain
A growing uterus is often the main cause of round ligament pain in pregnancy. We do have a really wonderful hormone called relaxin that works to soften and lengthen muscles and connective tissue. This really spikes in the first trimester (Hello aching pelvis and sore back) and then spikes again in the weeks before labour begins. Relaxin is wonderful and supports your body to grow in pregnancy. The dip in the second trimester is often when women experience the round ligament pain as the tummy grows the deep abdominal muscles the obliques and transverse abdominals and their associated ligaments have to do MORE softening and lengthening to accommodate your baby.
The pain can sometimes be more intense if you have holding patterns that cause tension in the bum and lower back before you fall pregnant too! - I have a mini course that can help you lengthen AND strengthen the posterior chain! I’ll tell you more further on or you can click here!
Symptoms include short sharp stabbing pains that fade as suddenly as they arrive. Usually pain is across the abdomen stemming from the side of the tummy. (Thats where the transverses and oblique muscles sit)
Sudden movement can cause the onset of round ligament pain in pregnancy. Things like reaching up high, or side stretching will put additional strain on the tendons and ligaments surrounding the uterus which are already gradually lengthening to support the growth of your baby. That doesn't mean you have to STOP doing these movements but being mindful of how they feel and the exact alignment of the rest of your body will work with the length that you do have to support your overall mobility in pregnancy.
Preventing Round Ligament Pain: Tips for Expectant Mothers
Preventing round ligament pain needs to be a combination of general body awareness and movement to strengthen and lengthen muscles supporting the growth of your baby. Pregnancy yoga is a fabulous way to increase body awareness in pregnancy, a skill which will also support you through labour and birth! My online pregnancy yoga course Move to Birth includes flows that gently increase mobility and build body awareness. There are also birth preparation workshops and meditations to leave your feeling calm, connected to your baby and confident about your labour.
My special mini course created for women who experience pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy or have pelvic floor dysfunction after birth could help you to! This course gives you lots of insight into JUST HOW IMPORTANT breathing is to release deep tension within the body. With additional movements that support lengthening of the glutes and hamstrings which in turn alleviates the pressure put on the ligaments supporting the uterus. These deep core muscles connect directly into the glutes and the pelvic floor so you have a tendency to be tight here then the additional growth of your tummy is going to strain the abdominal muscles further. If we can create space and relax muscles at the back of your body it may support the treatment of your round ligament pain but it will ALSO help you in bucket loads in labour! A tight posterior pelvic floor will hinder how the pelvis opens in labour.
Coping Strategies for Round Ligament Pain
A quick google will tell you that taking paracetamol is a way of supporting round ligament pain.
As a yoga practitioner and a mother of two who experienced round ligament pain in BOTH of my pregnancies I think body awareness is your number one strategy. If you are aware of exactly when the pain occurs you can adapt and change the way you move to accommodate your body's needs. Body awareness for me comes from a regular antenatal yoga practice combining movement, mindfulness and breath work practices for. I have all of these in my move to birth course. If you haven’t check it out yet click here.
As with most elements of pregnancy education is also key to coping with round ligament pain. Understanding that this is a NORMAL part of your pregnancy can help you to feel more at ease with the sensation.
And finally from personal experience I found releasing tension in the posterior chain by using a massage ball to be REALLY helpful in support the aches and pains of growing rapidly in the second trimester. (Check out this reel for more info on this. https://www.instagram.com/reels/audio/1227688711693878?igsh=aHE2ajI0YTlhbDBt)
The role of prenatal yoga in managing round ligament pain
Prenatal yoga is a wonderful way to support the whole of your body in pregnancy. And not just because it helps you to achieve your 30 minutes of moderate activity 5 days a week as recommended by the Chief medical officer and endorsed by the active pregnancy foundation. (You can find lots of helpful info about active pregnancies here) https://www.activepregnancyfoundation.org/ Preganncy yoga gives you the body awareness to support your birth preparation too! Hypnobirthing in pregnancy is now a common form of antenatal education BUT pregnancy yoga combining breath work, meditation and relaxation AND movement to support body awareness is JUST as valuable. And if you have a well informed teacher (Like me) they should also be able to guide you through the physiological stages of birth and support you with how birth is often managed in a medical setting too!
You need to find the right teacher, pregnancy yoga training is often a relatively short training compared to the HOURS of training you have to take to become a normal yoga teacher. So do your research on antenatal yoga classes to make sure that your teacher really does know their stuff! Alternatively I have an online course just for you! You can access this any time anywhere and it is suitable from your first trimester. If you worry you are doing things wrong or that you might hurt yourself I also support women online and in person 1-1 both in pregnancy and after birth with yoga practice, birth education and supporting women with pelvic girdle pain and pelvic floor dysfunction in their postpartum period.
Research studies on Round Ligament pain and prenatal Yoga
We have very limited research on round ligament pain in pregnancy. As with many areas of pregnancy we are only just beginning to get the quailty and variety of research coming through.
When to consult a healthcare provider
You know now that round ligament pain is NORMAL it can be described as a short sharp pain lasting seconds. IF your pain is longer than a minuet, if it is more of a continuous dull ache OR if you have a fever, sickness, dizziness or a generally unwell then do seek support from your health care professional
Further links to my online offerings can be found below OR you can get in touch with me via the contact me page about one to one support.
