Physical Therapy and Pregnancy

Did you know that physical therapy can be a valuable resource at all stages of pregnancy? In this blog post, we'll explore how physical therapy can help you before, during, and after pregnancy to keep you feeling your best as you navigate the joys and challenges of this special time. Whether you're looking for relief from back pain, ways to prepare for labor and delivery, or strategies for recovering from birth, physical therapy has a lot to offer. So, let's break that down a bit!

Prior to pregnancy, a physical therapy (PT) assessment of the pelvis and pelvic floor muscles (PFM) can help you identify where you might need some education, support, or muscle relaxation. If you have pain with intercourse, low back/hip pain, weakness of the core or lower extremities, or upper back pain, these can be exacerbated by pregnancy or challenge the comfort of your pregnancy. At your assessment, we can discuss any potential challenges you may have and work on easing or circumventing them where possible. For example, something like pain with intercourse might be indicative of tightness in the PFM which could limit your ability to become pregnant or make a vaginal delivery more likely to result in tearing/need for an episiotomy. So, if you’re preparing for pregnancy, PT can be a great first step for understanding your body and working with your unique characteristics to make the process as smooth and comfortable as possible.

During pregnancy, we will work on maintaining the strength of your core and PFM using deep focused breathing and stretching. Even if you plan to pursue a cesarean, having control of your PFM can help you prevent incontinence (yes, you can still leak even with a c-section!). Training yourself to use your core for strength and pressure management in the abdomen can help you to prevent prolapse (the pelvic organs dropping) or diastasis recti (separation of the muscles in the front of the abdomen). Furthermore, a physical therapist can guide you through staying active safely throughout pregnancy and support you as you form new habits. 

After delivery, a PT can help you to heal, even if you don’t experience any tearing or extensive tissue damage. During a vaginal delivery, the muscles and nerves can stretch over 3x their normal length! That is a big change for those tissues to go through in a short amount of time. If you do experience any injury during delivery, PT can reduce healing time, discomfort, and physical limitations. And let’s not forget that cesarean IS a surgery! C-sections are often brushed off as more minor than they really are, but multiple layers of tissue (including skin/muscle/fascia/fat/organ) must be cut and put back together again. 

If you are lucky enough to have an easy pregnancy, no trouble with delivery, and no issues after, that is awesome! If on the other hand, you have any issues, big or small, a pelvic PT would be happy to assist you. Having a baby is your personal journey, and the process looks different for everyone, but enlisting a PT to support you can ensure you’re on the smoothest path possible. 

If you’d like to discuss how PT can help you with pregnancy or recovering from birth, please contact us! We look forward to being by your side.

Source:

Ashton-Miller JA, Delancey JO. On the biomechanics of vaginal birth and common sequelae. Annu Rev Biomed Eng. 2009;11:163-76. doi: 10.1146/annurev-bioeng-061008-124823. PMID: 19591614; PMCID: PMC2897058