Relieving Pelvic Pain During and After Pregnancy: How Women Can Heal Chronic Pelvic Instability

By Cecile Röst

Pregnancy weakens the ligaments that keep the pelvic bones together. If those weakened ligaments become overloaded or injured, it results in pelvic instability pain around the joints that can be brief or last for years after the birth. In 1996, Cecile Röst, who suffered from this condition herself, devised a treatment program that is simple, home based, and proven to work. Her book, with over 100 illustrations and detailed testimonials, is divided into two parts. The first part shows simple exercises for symmetry and stabilization, and the proper way to lie, sit, and get out of a car in order to prevent pelvic instability during pregnancy. Patients can practice these exercises and positions with or without a care provider’s help. Part two, aimed at care providers, shows the results of a survey carried out among 200 women suffering from pelvic complaints. Here the author also presents a theoretical treatise of pelvic pain, the protocol of the first consult, and the contents of the therapy, including a sports program.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
• Release date: Jun 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9780897935470

Reviews for Relieving Pelvic Pain During and After Pregnancy

[capriciousreader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a great resource for any pregnant woman experiencing pelvic pain. I had terrible pain with my second child and the exercises that were recommended were very helpful. They would be good for any pregnant woman, in pain or not!

[ed_gosney · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A good instructional guide for women suffering from this affliction, I feel that it leaned a little too heavily on letters written from patients of the author. While always interesting to read from those with firsthand experience, this seemed to have more than usual and grew a little tiresome. On the other hand, the information the author had about this condition and the hope women could have was interesting and full of incite on exercise to relieve the condition. For those curious as to how widespread pelvic pain is and what some of the underlying causes may be, the last part of the book did a great job.

[girabbit-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having suffered with Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (a.k.a. SPD, Diastis Symphysis Pubis, pelvic girdle pain, and pregnancy-related pelvic pain) for most of two pregnancies now, I was very intrigued by this book that my sister gave me for Christmas. It was written by a physical therapist from the Netherlands who has had pelvic problems during her own pregnancies, and developed exercises to reduce the pain of SPD.One of the most interesting things about this book is that it goes counter to what I've often read (mostly on the Internet, since this is the first book I've ever come across that discussed this issue). Most advice runs along the lines of "keep your knees together ALL THE TIME." Rolling over, getting out of the car, when seated, etc. The author of this book says that this only exacerbates the problem (which is caused by misalignment in the sacro-iliac joint) and that symmetrical and stabilized movement is most important. Many of the exercises involve a knees-apart posture (which I would have thought would be excruciating to me, but I've found they actually help!), stretching and strengthening the muscles around the hips to help stabilize them.I like the author's methodology (large-scale research, well documented) and personal approach. I do have some beefs with the book, including a less-than-ideal layout (illustrations for exercises on different pages than the explanations) and some vagueness in the directions for the exercises (how long do I hold it? how many repetitions? how far away from me should my feet be? should I hold my back flat to the floor? Etc.) Overall, however, I felt the book was both a good overview of the causes of pregnancy-related pelvic pain that included an in-depth look of how it affects the lives of those who live with it. It has sections for both the layperson/patient and for physical therapists (I'm taking it with me the next time I go to PT). It's a good resource for those of us who have SPD and don't want to end up in a wheelchair or on crutches by the end of our pregnancies.I've tried the basic Symmetry and Stabilization exercises, and found them to be very helpful in relieving pain when I feel "out of whack." Also, as a result of the section on how SPD affects lifestyle, I have tried not to limit my range of motion while limiting the stress that I put on my pelvis. (One of the effects that SPD often has is to make you feel as if you will really hurt yourself if you go beyond a very limited range of motion, which is why I would have appreciated more explicit directions for the exercises.) Some of the basic "body mechanics" techniques I have found particularly helpful, especially the "how to roll over in bed" maneuver. I can now roll in bed relatively pain free (!) - which was impossible without outside assistance in my last pregnancy.I would recommend this book to anyone who has had pelvic pain during or after pregnancy - I wish I'd had it with my first pregnancy.

[jprideaux-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was written by a physical therapist in Europe. I was surprised to find that some of it was geared more towards doctors and health professionals, rather than to the "average reader." I personally experienced pelvic pain during pregnancy, but nothing like what the author is speaking about in this book. This book was written for people who have devastating pelvic pain during pregnancy, pain to the extent that it limits your daily activities - pain so bad that you may have to quit work and stay in bed. For some people, this pain continues after the birth of their child. If you have experienced this type of pain, then this is the book for you. If you haven't experienced this level of pain, this book may be more than you're looking for.

[portialong · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As a healthcare provider I am very excited about a book addressing pregnancy related pelvic pain! It is very frustrating to have a woman in your office tearful and in pain at just the time she should be anticipating the joyous arrival of her new baby and feel that there are very few tools at your disposal to help her. Often at that point I find that women are so exhausted and aggravated by their condition that a referral to physical therapy is unwelcome – as she feels she “hurts too much to exercise” and that adding “another thing to do” merely adds to her burden. Reviewing the “symmetry” and “stabilization” exercises in the office will be a good starting point and hopefully provide some encouragement.In reading straight through the book I have some suggestions that might make the next edition more user-friendly. The illustrations in the book are very, very helpful and necessary in instructing women who are not familiar with the “medical” terminology (transverse abdominals, internal rotation, abduction, etc). In several cases, however, the instructions for doing an exercise were located on a different page than the illustration and necessitated flipping back and forth, which is especially aggravating if you are following along and actually attempting to physically DO the exercise at the same time (which I was). Similarly, adding an “Exercising at Home” summary at the end of the book (like the “How to Test Yourself” section) that women could refer to would be helpful – perhaps even a tear-out mini-poster to tape to the wall?Aside from a few nit-picky details (such as “In Figure 6.1C should we really be having her look UP, exaggerating the cervical lordosis, rather than tucking the chin downward and continue the stretching and straightening of the spine?” ) I found the information in the book to be good and useful. I think that the passages describing the exercises and methods to ease daily activities would be more “patient-friendly” if the explanations of how the different bones are interacting were left for the end. Also, I would have liked to see a few examples of how NOT to do the exercises (avoiding common pitfalls – i.e. “Make sure you bend from HERE and not from THERE”) as the author has instructed many clients I am sure she has seen all the ways people can do them WRONG.Tomorrow I will be giving this book to my sister – who IS pregnant AND suffering from pregnancy related pelvic pain. Should she have any additional comments I will amend them to this review.

[tzyuhas · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Relieving Pelvic Pain During and After Pregnancy by Cecile Rost is an informative look at pelvic pain and its influence on women's day-to-day living. It has multiple testimonial from patients and even the author herself. It gives this book a real voice and shows that this type of pain is something that cannot be ignored. The book provides ways to test to see if you are suffering from pelvic instability and how to help yourself. The illustrated pointers for everyday activity seem useful and easy to comprehend. This book seems better suited to medical practitioners than the patients themselves. I found the book slightly hard to understand and a bit boring. In my library, I would only look up certain things as a guide as opposed to reading it cover to cover when I get pregnant. The best parts of this book seem to be that it was written in the first place (women seem to have no had a book like this before) and that the illustrated exercises are easy to follow. It is a book to check out of you need some excises to help your pain, or if you are a doctor trying to help a patient.