Glossary

Term · Pregnancy: Your Body

pelvic girdle pain

Also: PGP, pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain, symphysis pain

Pain at the back of the pelvis or over the front pubic joint, common in pregnancy and after birth. It often gets worse with walking, turning, or standing on one leg.

In plain words

Pelvic girdle pain is pain in the joints and muscles that link the spine to the legs. It is felt at the back of the pelvis, around the tailbone, or over the front pubic bone. Many pregnant people notice it, and some have it after birth too. It often worsens with walking, climbing stairs, turning in bed, or standing on one leg. It is not the same as a sudden, sharp pain that comes on quickly, which needs prompt evaluation. Pelvic girdle pain is common and can ease with time and changes in movement. Your provider can help tell it apart from other causes of pelvic pain.

The deeper version

Wu et al. (2004) defined pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain as pain between the posterior iliac crest and the gluteal fold, and over the pubic symphysis, provoked by weight-bearing, asymmetric loading, or movement, and reported prevalence of about 20 percent in pregnancy with a minority reporting severe disability. The European guideline (Vleeming et al., 2008) recommends clinical examination with provocation tests for diagnosis and exercise-based treatment with education as first-line care. Pelvic girdle pain is a diagnosis of exclusion within the broader pelvic pain differential, which includes appendicitis, adnexal torsion, ovarian cyst rupture, fibroid degeneration, urinary infection, , and . Persistent, progressive, or sudden pain must be assessed before attribution to pelvic girdle pain.

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Sources

  • Wu WH et al. — Pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PPGP), I: Terminology, clinical presentation, and prevalence. European Spine Journal, 2004
  • Vleeming A et al. — European guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pelvic girdle pain. European Spine Journal, 2008

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