Groin and Inner Thigh Pain during or after pregnancy is directly related to pelvic floor health.  Thankfully, there are simple, holistic steps you can take today to care for your pelvic floor.  Choose your Holistic Pelvic Floor Cheat Sheet below to start feeling the difference. 

“Oh, that’s totally normal!”

That ⬆️ is probably the most popular response to a woman sharing a pregnancy-related symptom. And depending on who you’re talking to, it’s likely followed by, “that happened to me/my friend/my neighbor, too!”

Here’s the thing: just because something is common does NOT mean it’s normal. Especially when it comes to your pelvic floor.

Pain is your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. If you’re experiencing soreness and it’s not going away after a few days, it’s time to investigate.

Groin and inner thigh pain (either during or after pregnancy) IS common – and if you’ve been experiencing it, you’ll be glad to know it’s NOT normal and there are steps you can take right now to get to the bottom of it.

Groin and/or inner thigh pain are directly related to pelvic floor health. 

Your pelvic floor, which consists of all the little muscles between your tailbone and pubic bone, experiences a number of changes during pregnancy. An increase in the hormone Relaxin helps your muscles and joints to become looser, to allow for the opening needed during delivery. Your pelvic organs shift positions to accommodate your growing uterus, and there’s additional weight to support as your baby grows. Your pelvic floor muscles are put to the test – and often other muscle groups (in your low back, groin, thighs, etc.) help out. This compensation can cause misalignment, soreness, and even pain.

Here’s the tricky part: OB-GYN’s are not trained to evaluate these kinds of aches and pains, despite how commonly they come up for women during and after pregnancy. Their expertise lies in helping mom and baby get through pregnancy and childbirth safely. Many women assume their OB is the one to talk to about inner thigh or groin pain and are frustrated when they leave their appointment without real answers or solutions. 

So what SHOULD you do if you have groin or inner thigh pain?

The fancy name for discomfort/pain felt at the front of the pelvis/hip, groin, or inner thigh is pubic symphysis dysfunction (pain). The pubic joint, where your right and left hip bones connect in the front, is under a lot of pressure during pregnancy (and does a lot of spreading) to allow for baby to grow and be born. This pressure and spreading can lead to a misalignment, which will trigger discomfort and eventually pain. You can actually check this alignment yourself (1:40 in the video on this page).  

What if I find my pubic joint IS out of alignment?

There are two steps to fixing this alignment issue:

1. Make an appointment with a Webster-certified chiropractor so they can guide your joint back into place. This is done with your clothes on, is gentle, and shouldn’t hurt.
2. Strengthen your pelvic floor muscles to help them “hold” the alignment.

If you’re still pregnant, chances are you’ll need multiple visits to the Webster-certified chiropractor to keep things in place leading up to your delivery. Following your recovery, you’ll be able to reactivate your pelvic floor muscles and rebuild strength to fix the root cause of this issue for good. Our Signature Program is designed to help women at all stages of life to do just that (and more). Learn more here. 

Will stretching help?

Probably not. Many women end up trying to stretch the front of their hip (hip flexors) or their groin or inner thigh until they’re blue in the face thinking that will solve the problem. If your pubic joint IS misaligned, hip opening stretches will exacerbate the issue. We explain this further at minute 4:30 of the video, showing you specific stretches to avoid.

What can I do NOW for relief?

We recommend women try resting in the 90/90 decompression (6:18). This position uses gravity and your diaphragm to help relax the muscles around the issue. If you’re not familiar with it, you can grab our free PDF and video tutorial by clicking here. Note: the 90/90 decompression requires laying flat on your back, which is contraindicated for women 20+ weeks pregnant. Our Holistic Pelvic Floor Cheat Sheet has 10 steps to do (or, in the case of seven of them, STOP doing) that are safe and helpful both during and after pregnancy.