Walking stairs is painful or extremely tiring for about 70% of women that have pelvic pain or pelvic instability. The cause of this pain or fatigue comes from the tax you put on the pelvic ligaments and pelvic muscles. You often walk stairs by making use of 1 leg per step, which means that you are skipping that step with the other leg. This means that the full body weight plus the effort to step on through, is being caught on one leg. One leg gets maximally taxed with each step. This can increase the pelvic pain during or after pregnancy. The pelvic ligaments are being additionally taxed with each step, while they’ve already been effected by the pelvic instability. It’s recommended to walk the stairs step by step to decrease pelvic instability or pelvic pain, which means that you will be using both feet and legs for every step. This already incredibly decreases the tax on the pelvic region. You can also descend the stairs backwards, this also decreases the tax.
Let’s go through some terms together so that we have a good understanding of what we mean with pelvic instability and pelvic pain.
What pelvic instability and pelvic pain are
Pelvic pain is a term that’s commonly used in a lot of situations, but this often gets used wrong. Pelvic instability isn’t a condition or something that can cause your issues. Pelvic instability is present during every pregnancy, it’s something you can’t even prevent. A hormone that releases during the first 3 months of your pregnancy causes your pelvis to prepare for giving birth. This hormone is called Relaxin and causes your pelvic ligaments to loosen up. The pelvic ligaments are normally wrapped tight around your pelvis. Now that they have loosened up, it’s made possible for your baby to be pushed through the vagina, otherwise the baby’s head and shoulders would have never fit through your pelvic area. It’s a very natural process.
However, it’s possible that the process of widening the pelvis is considered as something painful. We call this pelvic pain. With these 5 symptoms you can recognize pelvic pain.
5 symptoms of pelvic pain caused by pelvic instability
- A stabbing sensation when you move, or a continuous nagging pain.
- Feeling like there’s a belt wrapped around the pelvis.
- A fatigued sensation in or around the pelvis or pelvic floor.
- Weakened pelvic floor muscles. Think of involuntary urinal or fecal loss.
- Hypermobility. Too much mobility in the pelvis can be painful. A gnashing sensation or stabbing pain in the groin, hips, lower back or lower abdomen.
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Can you walk stairs when you’re pregnant?
Walking the stairs during your pregnancy is something that you can achieve, but it will become more challenging overtime. The increasing body weight in combination with the additional pelvic instability causes walking stairs to become more difficult. Make sure that you know what you should do when walking the stairs becomes more exhausting when you’re further into your pregnancy.
Can you walk stairs with pelvic instability and pelvic pain?
It is possible to walk stairs when you have pelvic instability and pelvic pain, but it will be painful. You can also be very fatigued after walking up the stairs. Especially walking up the stairs is often considered to be painful or exhausting. If you want to ascend the stairs with less pain while you have pelvic instability, it is recommended to take it step by step with both feet on every step. That way you won’t step through too much and you will decrease the chance of developing pain in the ligaments.
Is walking the stairs beneficial for the pelvic floor?
Walking stairs isn’t good for your pelvic floor by definition. However, it can be beneficial to apply the strengthening pelvic floor exercises for when you do walk the stairs. This way you train your pelvic floor while you’re also using other muscles. Walking the stairs is a heavy activity. You are making use of a lot of muscles and you are using a lot of stamina. We are also used to just powering through, which means that we skip a step with one leg every time. ‘Stepping through’, so to speak. Stepping through like this puts additional pressure on one leg. One leg has to deal with carrying up the body weight, every time. So having said that, walking the stairs can be beneficial for the pelvic floor, in combination with the right pelvic floor exercises.
Is walking the stairs bad for the pelvic floor?
The pelvic floor is a group of muscles. Muscles need movement. Waling the stairs is an activity which uses a lot of muscles, the pelvic floor included. Walking the stairs is more good than bad for your pelvic floor. However, walking stairs can be considered painful when the pelvic floor is overactive. You can even involuntarily lose urine during this activity if your pelvic floor is overactive or weakened, because walking the stairs often causes an increase of abdominal pressure. If you have pelvic instability that comes from pelvic pain or ligament pain, then walking the stairs can inflame the pelvic ligaments even more.
Is walking the stairs during pregnancy bad?
It isn’t a bad activity to do when you’re pregnant. It can even be a good way to keep the muscles in your legs healthy and in shape. However, there are still a few circumstances where walking the stairs isn’t recommended, like when you’re experiencing pelvic pain, after giving birth, or when you are getting extremely fatigued.
Why is walking the stairs so painful when you’re pregnant?
Walking the stairs can be painful during the pregnancy, because of the pelvic pain and pelvic instability. The pelvic ligaments have been stretched and an intensive movement or activity can cause a stabbing or nagging pain in the groin, hips and lower abdomen. The pelvic ligaments become more irritated when you walk stairs, while the ligaments already have been irritated because of the pregnancy. You will cross the boundary of your pelvic ligament even more.
Why is walking the stairs so exhausting when you’re pregnant?
Experiencing a fatigued sensation in or around the pelvis after you’ve walked stairs is a common phenomenon. The pelvic ligaments already have been maximally taxed because of the pregnancy. The pelvic ligaments have been stretched out to the max. They can cause a stabbing pain if they get taxed even more because of a certain movement. The pelvic ligaments can also cause a feeling of fatigue. See them as an exhausted MMA fighter who still has to fight another round (the stairs) after his first match (pregnancy). The fighter will be even more exhausted. It’s the same for your pelvic ligaments. Exhausted ligaments will become even more exhausted after heavy efforts.
The best way to walk stairs when you have pelvic pain and pelvic instability
Walking the stairs when you’re pregnant while you’re also having pelvic pain or pelvic instability might require a different tactic than how you normally walk the stairs. Let’s go through a few advices.
4 advises for walking the stairs when you have pelvic pain and pelvic instability:
- Take it step by step.
If you’re pregnant and you are experiencing issues in your pelvis when you walk the stairs, it’s not recommended to just power through. Take it step by step. I know this will feel unnatural and slow, but it’s the least taxing way to walk up and down the stairs when you have pain. - Walk backwards.
You can consider walking down the stairs backwards when you are experiencing a lot of pelvic pain during pregnancy. This decreases the tax on your pelvis. Still take it step by step here. - On the buttocks.
Descending the stairs while you’re sitting is a safe and pain-free way to make it downstairs when the pelvic pain and pelvic instability is causing too much pain during your pregnancy. Slowly descend while you’re seated on the steps, and let your arms do all the work. - Decrease the frequency.
Walk up and down the stairs as little as possible. This is recommended by default after you’ve just given birth. That’s why you should put your baby items downstairs so that you don’t have to go upstairs for a onesie, wet wipes, pillows, etc. If necessary, double buy some clothes so that you have it both upstairs and downstairs. - Make use of the railing.
Use the railing when you go up and down the stairs when you’re pregnant. This gives additional support but also provides safety. This way you also prevent falling down the stairs because of the exhaustion.
The risks of walking the stairs when you have pelvic pain or pelvic instability
Walking the stairs is a hefty activity. You are using a lot of muscles to be able to move the body weight through gravity. When the pelvis and pelvic ligaments already have been weakened, there’s a chance that the pelvic ligaments will get damaged because of an impacting activity, like walking the stairs. The risks of contracting additional damage to the ligaments when you overdo it on the stairs while you have pelvic instability do exist. There’s also a risk of falling when you walk the stairs while you’re pregnant. Walking the stairs when you’re pregnant can be extremely tiring, and this tiredness can cause for you to lose control over the strength in your legs, which makes it possible for you to lose balance. Take all the time in the world and think about these advises when you walk the stairs, during or after pregnancy.
Conclusion
Walking the stairs deserves and requires your full attention when you’re pregnant or when you’ve just given birth. Pelvic instability can make walking the stairs extremely exhausting or even painful. Try to limit walking the stairs when you’re pregnant to prevent additional damage to the pelvic ligaments. Ascend and descend the stairs step by step without skipping any steps. Use both your legs and feet for every step before you proceed to the next one. Make proper use of the railing. To descend the stairs, go backwards or seated to decrease the tax on the pelvis.
And lastly, are you looking for more information?
Long story short, the pelvis is a complicated part of your body. Hopefully this information was useful to you! If you’re still looking for some more information, feel free to take another look around on the website. It’s filled with in-depth information, tips, a web shop and also exercises. I still have a lot of articles with lots of information about other symptoms and issues. Feel free to click on the blue words to take you straight to the right page.
