Wearing support belts during pregnancy is a practical solution for pain relief at home when you’re battling low back pain, pelvic pain, pubic symphysis pain (SPD) or other pregnancy conditions. In this blog, we will walk through how you wear a belt during pregnancy + how it works! Video demonstration and graphics included!
Support belts aren’t something you need to be in all day, in fact you shouldn’t be! The belt restricts motion in the pelvis which can be helpful, especially during pregnancy when our pelvis is lax from the relaxin. However, we also want our pelvis to stay mobile and adaptable. Because of this fragile balance, we recommend women wear belts when they are active and doing bending + twisting motions — house work, playing with the kids, stairs, etc. Then, when you’re sitting [working at a desk, watching tv, etc.], sit on an exercise ball to help the pelvis ligaments stay mobile. Use the ball - tilt the pelvis forwards + backwards, rock side to side, and practice figure 8’s. [Check out :8 WAYS TO USE YOUR EXERCISE BALL]
Lumbosacral support belts can be useful for pain relief for women battling these conditions:
— Low back pain
— Sacroiliac joint dysfunction : AKA pelvic pain
—Symphysis pubis dysfunction : crotch pain, feeling like your pubic bone is ‘tearing apart’. More on SPD HERE!
— You want the belt to sit a lot lower than you think : above the tailbone, tracking over the true hip and crotch bone in the front.
— There should be quite a bit of tension, it's helpful if you have a partner help.
— We like belts that are less robust//cumbersome because you can get enough tension to hold the pelvis without a lot of material restricting too high or too low.
The goal of the lumbosacral support belt is to provide additional stability to the pelvis. Limiting motion during acute or intense periods of pain can be helpful for reducing spastic muscle activity and painful transitions [like sitting to standing]. The additional support lessens the stress off the lumbar spine and overworked muscles providing further pain relief.
