What is Prenatal Physical Therapy?

Prenatal physical therapy is a specialized form of care designed to support expectant mothers throughout their pregnancy journey. It is a gentle and effective treatment focused on addressing the unique challenges that arise during pregnancy.

Our pelvic floor physical therapists are highly specialized in pregnancy and postpartum care.

There are 4 key aspects of prenatal physical therapy, including:

• Pain Management: Aches and pains can develop during pregnancy. Luckily, the pains that come with pregnancy are often temporary — and very treatable. Our therapists will help you relieve lower back pain, hip pain, tailbone pain, pelvic pain, and sciatica during pregnancy.

• Posture and Body Mechanics Education: As your baby grows during pregnancy, your body, center of gravity, and posture will also change. Our therapists will teach you how to adapt your posture and body mechanics. This will help reduce discomfort and prevent injury.

• Strength and Flexibility Training: Prenatal physical therapy also includes individualized exercises tailored to strengthen your core muscles, back, and pelvic floor muscles. These exercises will help to support your changing body and prepare it for the demands of childbirth and recovery.

• Preparation for Childbirth: Prenatal physical therapy goes beyond addressing current discomforts – it also prepares you physically and mentally for labor and delivery. You'll learn breathing techniques, labor positions, perineal massage, and strategies to minimize/manage pain during childbirth

Our goal is to help you stay comfortable, active, and prepared for childbirth.

What are the Benefits of Physical Therapy during Pregnancy?

Physical therapy during pregnancy offers numerous benefits that can significantly enhance your comfort, health, and overall pregnancy experience. Here are some of the benefits of consulting in physical therapy during your pregnancy:

• Alleviates pregnancy-related conditions and pain

• Prepares your body for labor and delivery

• Faster postpartum recovery

• Improves your physical functioning

• Helps to reduce swelling in legs and feet

• Improves your overall strength and flexibility to prepare for childbirth

• Optimizes your posture and body mechanics

• Maintains your fitness levels throughout pregnancy, contributing to quicker recovery after birth

• Reduces your stress and promotes overall well-being

• Enhances your body awareness and self-care during pregnancy

• Offers safe and effective exercise plans throughout pregnancy stages

What Conditions can Prenatal Physical Therapy Treat?

Prenatal physical therapy is a great treatment for many musculoskeletal conditions that can lead to pain and discomfort during pregnancy. We are here to help you with:

• Lower back pain: Lower back pain (LBP) is one of the most common complaints of pregnant individuals. LBP can happen for different reasons, including weight gain, postural changes, hormone changes, muscle separation, or even stress.

  It is a condition that can severely limit your ability to perform daily tasks and participate in social and work activities. As a result, lower back pain can significantly decrease your quality of life and productivity.

  While it may not be possible to cure some cases of persistent LBP, physical therapy can help reduce the pain effectively.

• Hip pain: Hip pain during pregnancy can be the result of numerous factors. During pregnancy there is often an increase in relaxin and other hormones. These hormones result in the softening of your connective tissues, in order to prepare your body for childbirth. However, a drawback of this connective tissue relaxation, is that it can unfortunately lead to discomfort.

  Another reason hip pain is so prevalent in pregnant individuals is due to weight gain. This can put extra pressure on your bones and joints and cause discomfort. If you find yourself avoiding everyday activities due to pain, then we highly recommend consulting with a pelvic floor physical therapist.

• Tailbone pain: Many pregnant women mistake tailbone pain for lower back pain and hip pain. And while it’s an entirely different thing, it’s just as common. Tailbone pain often happens for the same reason as hip pain — a surge of relaxin and other hormones.

  These hormonal changes cause relaxation and stretching of your pelvic floor muscles. When this happens, the coccyx (or the tailbone) often gets misaligned. Then as your baby grows, it may put pressure on your tailbone, exacerbating your pain.

  Pregnancy-related tailbone pain can be managed effectively, though there is no definitive cure. Physical therapy has been known to help ease the pain.

How does Prenatal Physical Therapy Help with Pain?

Every soon-to-be mother’s body is unique. This means one mom’s treatment may differ from another’s.

At your first prenatal physical therapy appointment, your therapist will get to know you. They will ask about your medical history and pregnancy history. The therapist will then conduct a thorough assessment of your range of motion, strength, posture, balance, pain, etc.

After the assessment, your therapist will work with you to create a personalized physical therapy plan. They will consider your concerns and goals. You prenatal physical therapy treatment plan may include:

• Education (the most important part!)

• Core stability exercises

• Relaxation techniques

• Manual therapy techniques

• Pelvic floor biofeedback

• Electrical stimulation

• And more

Prenatal physical therapy can help alleviate a lot of the pain that comes with pregnancy. But it has to be done as early as possible. Early identification and treatment make for the best possible outcome for both the mother and her baby.