Ahh..relief!

Thank you all so much for the advice on my hip pain and for voting on the paintings. I tried everything you suggested and it would bring relief for short periods of time, which I was very thankful for. However, on Tuesday I decided to go to a women's health Physical Therapist. She did an assessment on me and found that my pelvis was so rotated that my left leg was 1.5 inches longer than my right leg. This rotation was putting pressure on the muscles and nerves surrounding the pelvic/sacral region on my right side. She showed me some exercises to realign my pelvis, and by the end of the day, I was feeling about 70% better. I went back to the PT on Friday afternoon and I had rotated a little again, so she did some more adjustments and gave me some strengthening exercises so that I can strengthen the muscles around my pelvis so that they will hold it in the right place. I feel absolutely amazing today. I'm walking with absolutely no pain!

I wanted to share all this with you to save you or someone you know from the excruciating pain that I went through. My PT was telling me that this problem is fairly common among pregnant women and so many believe that it's just a part of being pregnant and that they have to deal with it. Towards the end of your pregnancy, your body starts to release a hormone called relaxin which loosens all your joints (especially ones in the pelvic region) in order to prepare for the birth of your baby. This makes everything very "loosey goosey" which subsequently puts tension on all those muscles and nerves. She said that it is very beneficial to strengthen those muscles because it can lead to an easier delivery and a speedier recovery afterwards. Not to mention, a pain free, enjoyable 9 months! So please, keep this in mind for future pregnant women. Women's Health Physical Therapy is an up and coming medical field and your OB will be happy to refer you to one, they just have to be educated on its benefits. I wouldn't have known this field existed if I didn't work with a bunch of therapists, so please pass on this information.