Symphysitis after childbirth: causes, symptoms and treatment

The topic of today's article is symphysitis after childbirth. What you need to know about this disease? Young mothers after the birth of a child dream to get old forms and get rid of discomfort. Most often it happens, but it happens that in the postpartum period there are undesirable physical changes that lead to complications. Women begin to complain about pain and discomfort in the pubic area. These sensations can be amplified by changing the posture, getting out of bed, lifting up the stairs. The pubic in women swells, which prevents them from walking directly (gait reminiscent of duck movements). These signs indicate the progression of such a disease, as pubic symphysitis.

The concept of pubic symphysis

Many know about such a half-joint in women, as a lone articulation. The manifestation of the symphysite is associated with it. Two pelvic bones and a sacrum form the bone pelvis of a woman. These bones are joined together by symphysis (pubic joint) and two sacral joints. The pelvic bones of the pelvis grow together with fibrous-cartilaginous tissue and form a symphysis. The center of this joint (articular cavity) is filled with joint fluid. The longevity is strengthened by ligaments.

The pubic bone is at a distance of 1 cm from each other (this is the norm). Lobok in women is located in front of the symphysis. It has a fat lining and a binder for fixing the clitoris. Lone articulation is a semi-joint, with a small circle of motion. Nerves and vessels are under symphysis. Behind the fusion is the bladder and urethra.

Description of symphysite

The inflammatory process that occurs during pregnancy or after childbirth in the lone articulation is Symphysitis. During the gestation of the fetus, the symphysis has a tendency to soften so that the baby's head at birth can easily pass through the mother's pelvic ring. As a result of increasing the stability of the symphysis it can become inflamed. Most often, symphysitis occurs after childbirth, but sometimes this process begins to manifest itself during pregnancy.

Symphysitis is the cumulative name for negative transformations and disturbances in the lone articulation. Physicians Symphysitis can still call arthropathy, symphyosiopathy, sacroiliopathy of pregnant women. Symphysitis after labor is recommended to be called dysfunction of the symphysis of the symphysis.

Manifestation of the disease

The most common signs and symptoms of symphysitis:

• Pain in the pubic articulation, pubic area, lower abdomen.
• Aching pain in the lower back and hip joints.
• Manifestation of "clicks" while walking.
• Lame gait, similar to the "duck".
• Difficulties in lifting the straight legs up from the lying position.
• Difficulty with moving up the stairs.

Degrees of disease progression

Symphysitis occurs after childbirth or in the first trimester of pregnancy. Sometimes this disease can be associated with pelvic injuries or prolonged exercise (in runners). If you do not take timely measures to prevent this inflammatory process, it will lead to serious consequences. A woman may have a change in her gait, urinary incontinence, and sexual difficulties.

The degree of softening of the symphysis and the increase in the distance between the pubic bones determine three levels of inflammation. For each level is a discrepancy of bones:

1. From 0.5 to 0.9 cm.
2. From 1 to 1.9 cm.
3. More than 2 cm.

Sources of development

It is impossible to say unequivocally what is the root cause of the symphysite. Symptoms often point to two sources of such inflammation and a divergence in the pubic symphysis. The first of these is the lack of calcium, so necessary for the body of a pregnant woman. The second source may be an excessive release of relaxin, a kind of hormone secreted by the placenta and ovaries. He is able to relax the ligaments in the loneliness.

The development of symphysitis may be accompanied by the following factors:

• Hereditary prerequisites for the disease of the musculoskeletal system of the parturient woman (lack of collagen);
• Multiple births;
• Injured pelvic bones;
• Formation of a large fetus (over 4 kg);
• Low-active lifestyle;
• Several times the recurring phenomenon of symphysitis in previous generations.

Pain in symphysitis

The most vivid manifestation of symphysitis are painful sensations. Sometimes they are unbearable. Some pregnant women even find it difficult to lie down. In the pubic area may appear shooting pain. Any movement, abduction of the hip can lead to painful sensations. This greatly affects the posture.

For some expectant mothers, pain can be given down the abdomen or appear in the groin, back, perineum, leg. To lean forward to such women is very difficult, to stand on one foot - it is simply impossible. Suffering symphysitis patients are difficult to get out of the chair, turn in bed. The pain starts to subside only after a long rest. All the pain can be accompanied by a strong crunch. Pain can occur when bowel is empty.

Diagnostic measures

The study of symphysitis is carried out by special methods: X-ray, computer and magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonic analysis. First, the doctor finds out when there were pains in the symphysis, how much it affected the gait, at what stage of the pregnancy they arose. The specialist learns about the presence of pelvic injuries, whether operations were performed, whether the locomotor apparatus suffered.

Then the analysis of the transferred gynecological diseases, features and course of pregnancy and childbirth is done. According to the results of ultrasound, the degree of divergence of the pubic stones is estimated. X-rays after birth will help determine whether the pubic bone has moved sideways or up. A sick woman will not hurt to consult an orthopedic surgeon and a physiotherapist.

Therapy

To ease the pain in women, you need to immediately begin treatment. A rapid therapeutic effect brings the intake of antibiotics, as well as calcium and magnesium preparations. Along with medicines, physiotherapy procedures are prescribed. Modern methods of treatment allow for the treatment of symphysitis after birth in a non-surgical way. As an anesthetic, pregnant women are recommended to take Paracetamol, and after giving birth they are allowed to take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opiates.

If symphyosiopathy is accompanied by a small discrepancy between the pubic bones, then it is possible to alleviate the course of the disease by the following procedures:

• Immediate restriction of physical activity;
• Application for sleep orthopedic mattress;
• Intake of calcium, magnesium and B vitamins;
• Daily physiotherapy;
• Antibacterial treatment in cases of urogenital infection.

Duration of the disease

Many people are interested in the question, how long does symphysitis take after delivery? Most often this phenomenon disappears in 2-3 months after the appearance of the child. In cases of injuries to the sacrum, diseases of the osteoarticular system, severe toxicosis, hormonal imbalance, vitamin deficiency, the disease can take a long time. For some, this takes several months and more than a year.

The process of delivery is very complicated, sometimes the symphysis ligaments can be damaged. This is due to a large fruit. Very often symphysitis occurs after the rapid appearance of the baby in parturient women with a narrow pelvis. This can lead to injuries to the bladder and canal. Such complications prolong the period of joint restoration and complicate the treatment of symphysitis after childbirth.

Preventive measures

There are some recommendations that help relieve pain or stop the development of symphysitis:

• It is not necessary to sit one leg over the other in a sitting position;
• In the standing position, it is necessary to evenly distribute the weight on two legs;
• Hard surfaces do not fit pregnant for sitting and lying;
• Long walking or being in a vertical position are not recommended;
• It is necessary to avoid descents from inclined surfaces and stairs;
• Before turning in bed to the other side, you must first turn the shoulders and the upper trunk, and after that - the pelvis;
• You must carefully monitor the addition of body weight;
• Food should be rich in calcium (recommended the use of nuts, fish, dairy products, dried apricots, sesame);
• Making small walks will facilitate the normal exchange of calcium;
• An orthopedic mattress will allow you to take a comfortable pose for sleep.

Pregnancy should be planned, it will help to prepare for it correctly: to reveal and cure chronic and gynecological diseases. Pregnant women should contact the women's consultation as soon as possible and register (up to 3 months). A visit to an obstetrician-gynecologist should be systematic.

A very important point in the prevention of symphysitis is diet. Food should contain a moderate amount of fats and carbohydrates. From the diet it is better to exclude flour, sweet, fatty and fried foods. It is desirable to increase the consumption of foods high in protein (low-fat meat, legumes, lactic-acid products).

Pregnant women should avoid nervous and mental stress. If necessary, the doctor can prescribe a mild sedative. All these measures lead to the rational management of childbirth and the prevention of complications.

Bandage with symphysitis and exercise therapy

Many pregnant women are saved from pain by wearing a bandage. It can be bought at a pharmacy. Many kinds of bandages have been developed. Instead, you can use a dense bandage, which also prevents excessive divergence and displacement of symphysis bones.

On sale there are models of bandages in the form of a corset, it is more suitable at the stage of bearing a child. In the postpartum period, you can use the model in the form of panties-string. Such hip locks are very effective in symphysitis. They solve the problem of the safety of the pelvic area and the restoration of damaged joints. There are rigid and semi-rigid bandages, pregnant women are more suitable second.

It's no secret that one of the measures to prevent symphysitis is exercise therapy. Walking, stretching, breathing exercises will be pregnant only for the benefit. 1 st and 2 nd degree of the disease implies the performance of a set of special exercises that strengthen the pelvic and lumbar muscles and joints. Here is an approximate exercise:

• The starting position is lying on the back. The woman pulls her feet closer to the buttocks, then spreads her knees to the side. After that, slowly returns them to the initial position. Such movements need to be repeated 6-10 times.
• The next exercise is performed like the first, only the woman slightly restrains the feet from the buttocks. She slowly lifts the pelvis up, and then gently returns it to its place. Such movements are carried out 10 times.
• The starting position is kneeling. The woman rests her hands on the floor, relaxes her back. She tries to keep the head, neck, back and pelvis at the same level. Then the expectant mother arched her back up, and her head and neck lowered. The muscles of the hips and abdomen are straining. More than three times the movement is not necessary to repeat.

It is worth noting that in the last stage of symphysitis such exercises are contraindicated.