About us

Lesley Murray, Avril Stone and Dr Moira Finlayson at a committee meeting of PINS

Who we are

Pelvic Instability Network Scotland(PINS) is a registered Scottish Charity  which was founded in October 2007 in the Mull of Kintyre on the west coast of Scotland. Our group is made up of a committee of volunteers, all of whom are committed to raising awareness of Pelvic Girdle Pain/Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)and our aim is to ensure that early and appropriate treatment is available to all those affected.

Our Trustees

Moira Finlayson, Trustee and Chair of PINS

Moira Finlayson is a  GP and mum to three children aged 8, 5  and 15 months. She was brought up in Kintyre and studied medicine at Glasgow University graduating in 1992. In 1995 she obtained the post graduate qualification MRCP after a two year medical rotation in Dundee. In 1998 she decided to change career path into General Practice and moved to Beauly near Inverness for her GP registrar year.  She was on the GP retainer scheme in Strathpeffer before  moving  back to Kintyre in 2002 when her husband took up the post of single handed GP.

Moira has experienced Pelvic Girdle Pain(PGP)/Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction in all three of her pregnancies. After her  son was born in September  1999 her symptoms improved but after the birth of  her daughter  in December  2002 she experienced prolonged pain and immobility and spent the first year of her daughter's life using a mobility scooter and wheelchair to get around the house. Even the most mundane everyday tasks became extremely difficult and, unable to lift or care for her baby she required full time help at home.

Eventually after much researching she found effective  treatment, initially from a classical osteopath with a special interest in pelvic girdle pain/symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) and later from a specialised musculoskeletal physiotherapist and after making a good recovery was able to embark on another pregnancy.

Her third pregnancy in 2007 was managed differently and with treatment at a much earlier stage, as soon as symptoms developed, she remained mobile and recovered well and  and is now able to lead a full and active life with her three children.

Moira believes passionately that awareness of pelvic girdle /Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction must  be improved and that everyone affected by the condition should be offered timely and appropriate treatment as well as advice about how best to live with and manage the condition. She herself derived a great deal of support and encouragement from others with similar experiences and hopes that through PINS, members  will be able to share experiences and offer support to each other whilst at the same time recognising that everyone's experiences of pelvic girdle pain are different and unique to that individual.

Click here for Moira's account of her experience of Pelvic Girdle Pain

Avril Stone, Trustee and Secretary of the PINS Charity

 Avril has lived in Argyll for seven years after retiring here with her husband from their native Devon. After 16 years working in the prosecution department of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary and having to retire due to ill health she became an author writing social history books about her local Devon towns and villages. When the opportunity arose for Avril and her husband to fulfil a long-time dream of moving to the west coast of Scotland where they had spent holidays over the past 30 years they sold up their home in Devon and headed north of the border to settle on the Mull of Kintyre. Avril says, ‘As a friend and neighbour of Moira Finlayson I was surprised and pleased to be asked to act as a trustee for a charity that Moira was hoping to set up to give support for the condition that she had and still suffered from called Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction. I had never heard of this condition although I knew that Moira had been in a wheelchair for a very long time after having her second child. In fact before we moved to be her neighbour I never knew Moira, she was just referred to in whispered tones as the doctor’s wife who, ‘is in a wheelchair you know’. It was when she was going through her third pregnancy that we became close friends and I realised just how painful this condition was and how hard she had to work to prevent it getting as bad as it was during her second pregnancy. Although Moira is a doctor and had been a G.P. she had to search for the most beneficial treatment for her condition. And we were all so pleased when her second son was delivered and Moira had successfully managed her Pelvic Girdle pain. Even going on to do a 10km walk just over a year later.
 
What can I bring to the table of the PINS Charity – not a lot really! I can write so I volunteered for the secretary’s post and I do have  knowledge of constant pain as the condition I have gives me chronic pain for which I have found a great deal of help from a pain management programme at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath and from subsequent pain management specialists in NHS hospitals in England and Scotland. Also remembering the support I received over the years from other patients in my group at Bath I realise how important it is to be able to share experiences both good and bad with people who have a similar problem to myself. With this as my back-ground I hope I can be supportive to Moira and her quest with PINS.
 

Lesley Murray, Trustee and Treasurer of PINS

Lesley first visited Argyll four years ago, when she and her husband were invited to a surprise birthday party. They both fell in love with the area and decided to sell their home in North Yorkshire and retire and build a new life on the Mull of Kintyre. Lesley had worked in Local Government for 17 years, very much in the frontline dealing with the public. With her son and daughter having left home she was looking forward to a less stressful pace of life.  

 Lesley says, ‘I first met Moira at a dinner party when she was expecting her third child and I knew her only as the ‘Doctor’s wife’. I learnt later that Moira was herself a GP and had spent a period of her second pregnancy in a wheelchair as she suffered from a condition known as Symphysis Pubis Disfunction. I must confess I had never heard of this condition! As I got to know Moira as a friend I realised, what I thought was a stressful life in North Yorkshire, was nothing compared with what Moira and her husband had endured during her first two pregnancies.
 
When I was asked to be a trustee for the charity Moira was hoping to set up I welcomed the opportunity to ‘do my bit’ if it meant that we could put together more information and advice so that other ‘Mums-to-be’ with pelvic girdle pain, would not feel so isolated and could share their experiences and get the help that was unavailable to Moira.
 
Carole Hardie, Trustee and  Membership Secretary
 

I’m Carole and I live in Edinburgh with my husband and 20 month old son.  I first experienced PGP when I was 8 months pregnant – I woke up one morning and couldn’t put any weight on my right leg.  After months of difficulty I was finally diagnosed with DSP.  Things were so bad my son had to go into nursery, as I could no longer look after him myself.  I went from walking with a stick to being on crutches. I couldn’t bend, lift or get up and down stairs.  I felt completely isolated. Now, with the help of great new physio (my fifth), I’m off the crutches and can get upstairs normally.  I’m now looking forward to getting my life back to normal after such a long time.

I’m delighted to have become Membership Secretary of PINS – the charity has been such a great source of help and support when I felt no one else was listening to me. Now, through PINS, I hope I can help other people

 

 Why we exist

Awareness of Pelvic Girdle Pain amongst health professionals and the general public  could be improved  in many areas of Scotland. There is a need for improved knowledge about how best to manage and treat the condition, It is not a subject that is easily discussed and people affected are often left feeling isolated, with the associated mobility difficulties compounding the situation. We have found that   any mention of the word "pelvis" or "pelvic"  often causes an embarrassed reaction. 

 Reading articles in the popular press with headlines such as "my pelvis split in two"  are often the first time that many people become aware of the condition. Such headlines are  frightening and often misleading. Our aim is to provide clear, balanced and up to date information about pelvic girdle pain and how best to manage it  and to reassure people that they are not alone with this recognised treatable condition.

Adequate pain relief has been a particular problem highlighted by Margaret Crighton, university lecturer in Midwifery and Vanda Wellock, family nurse supervisor in their recent research published from the University of Manchester. Have a look at our research page to view Margaret and Vanda's recent publications.

There are many myths and misconceptions  surrounding pelvic girdle pain. It is a commonly held belief, that recovery after pregnancy is spontaneous and in many cases "instant". In fact, research has shown that  untreated 7% of women affected suffer significant pelvic girdle pain postnatally and they often experience delays in obtaining  treatment as they are "fobbed off" by the explanation that it is just "their hormones settling down" and to wait a little longer. We encourage all women experiencing symptoms postnatally to ask for referral to a physiotherapist experienced in managing pelvic girdle pain for assessment and treatment.

Some  women are deterred  unnecessarily from breast feeding their babies as they are advised that the hormones produced during breastfeeding will prolong their pelvic girdle pain. Many women have continued to breastfeed their baby while making a good recovery from Pelvic Girdle Pain and enjoying the health and emotional benefits for mum and baby.

Our vision is for early diagnosis, support and treatment to be available to all those affected by Pelvic Girdle Pain, and to offer our support to everyone experiencing this condition.

 

 

 

 

 
The information on www.pelvicinstability.org.uk is for information only and is not a substitute for examination, diagnosis or treatment by a qualified health professional. Pelvic Instability Network Scotland (PINS) is a registered Scottish Charity SCO 39222.