Stretch: Pelvic Hip Openers

By Dr. Brooke Meinema, DPT, FAFS

Pelvic pain can be debilitating and affects more people than we realize with an estimated 1 in 7 women dealing with chronic pelvic pain (diagnosed after three to six months of pelvic pain). Some causes can include but are not limited to constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, pelvic congestion syndrome, history of childbirth, or other pelvic trauma. If you’ve been suffering from pelvic pain, seeing a pelvic floor physical therapist can be helpful to reduce your symptoms as well as give you ways to prevent and treat flare-ups in the future.

If you are looking for gentle stretches to try to address pelvic pain or tension, here are a few simple stretches to try.

Note: if these increase symptoms or are painful in other ways, don’t do them! They are meant to be gentle, relaxing stretches, not intense or painful.

Groin/Adductor stretch

-With feet together, gently open hips by allowing knees to gently rest on pillows on each side.

-In this position, focus on nice, deep breaths while relaxing the muscles in the hips and pelvis.

Child’s pose

-Starting in a hands and knees position, gently sit your hips back towards your heels.

-Hold this position while allowing comfortable breathing into your back and pelvis.

Modified Happy baby:
-Feet supported on the wall.
-Focus on nice deep breaths allowing your back to expand into the floor and your belly and chest to have gentle expansion.

If you are curious if physical therapy can help your case but aren’t sure where to start, give us a call! We offer free 10-minute phone consultations with one of our women’s health specialized therapists to help determine your next steps. Call us at 616.847.1280 ext 0.