Prenatal Physical Therapy in NYC Tri-State Area

Table of Contents

• What Conditions Can Prenatal Physical Therapy Treat?

• How Does Prenatal Physical Therapy Help With Pain?

• Is it Safe to Get Prenatal Physical Therapy While Pregnant?

• Treat Your Prenatal Pain While it’s Still Treatable

Pain and discomfort can develop during pregnancy.

Luckily, the pains that come with pregnancy are often temporary — and very treatable.

With a solid prenatal physical therapy treatment plan, patients can usually go about their everyday lives while feeling their best.

What conditions can prenatal physical therapy treat?

Prenatal physical therapy is a great treatment for many of the musculoskeletal conditions that can come with pregnancy.

Here are some of the most common ones:

Lower back pain

Lower back pain (LBP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal complaints of pregnant women.

LBP can happen for different reasons, including weight gain, posture change, hormone changes, muscle separation, or even stress.

It’s a condition that can limit a pregnant woman’s ability to do everyday activities like work, chores, or even just socializing.

As a result, lower back pain can decrease 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

When women are pregnant, there is often an increase in relaxin and other hormones.

These hormones allow the connective tissue to relax and soften for the purpose of making pregnancy and childbirth more comfortable.

But a drawback to this relaxation of the connective tissue is that the looseness can cause discomfort.

Another reason hip pain is so prevalent in pregnant women is because of weight gain. This can put extra pressure on the bones and joints and cause discomfort as well.

If you find yourself avoiding everyday activities due to pain, such as walking or doing chores, then you might consider using physical therapy to reduce your hip pain.

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.

It often happens for the same reason as hip pain — a surge of relaxin and other hormones.

These hormonal changes cause relaxation and stretching of the pelvic floor. When this happens, the coccyx (or the tailbone) often gets moved as well.

Things like the growing baby pushing against the coccyx, hormonal changes, and other issues like constipation can further aggravate the pain.

While there is currently no cure for it, 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 different, which means one mommy’s treatment may be different from another’s.

Physical therapy sessions begin with a thorough consultation that may include range of motion (ROM) measurements, tests of strength, balance examinations, and much more.

After the initial consultation, the PT will create a custom-made physical therapy treatment plan, taking into consideration the individuality of the woman and her pregnancy, so she and her baby can get the best results possible.

These prenatal physical therapy treatment plans may include:

●       Education (the most important part!)

●       Core stability exercises

●       Relaxation techniques

●       Manual therapy

●       Pelvic floor biofeedback

●       Electrical stimulation

●       And more

Each plan varies according to the individual patient’s needs. Some women might need just a few of these treatments, while some might need more.

By the time labor comes, the patient can be more prepared and experience faster recovery.

Is it safe to get physical therapy while pregnant?

Yes, getting physical therapy while pregnant is safe.

In fact, we recommend getting physical therapy as soon as you start noticing any lingering pain due to pregnancy.

Some level of discomfort is to be expected since pregnancy will subject your body to many changes, but that doesn’t mean you have to just hammer through the pain.

Getting physical therapy helps keep you active, confident, and refreshed despite all the changes you’re going through.

Treat your prenatal pain while it’s still treatable

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.

If the treatment is delayed (or worse, foregone), prenatal musculoskeletal issues can worsen over time, which is why we recommend consulting a physical therapist right when the first signs of pain arise.

In addition to our prenatal services, we also offer postpartum care and assessment.

If you’re in New York, you can come to any of our offices located in the tri-state area with offices in Upper West Side, Midtown Manhattan, and Brooklyn.

After a quick consultation, our team of licensed physical therapists will come up with the best treatment plan, custom-made for you and your baby.

Get started on the road to recovery by booking an appointment or give us a call at (646) 678-3034 today.

Medically Reviewed By:

Dr. Kristin Sapienza

Kristin Sapienza, PT, DPT is a licensed physical therapist and the founder of FemFirstHealth.

Kristin Sapienza PT, DPT, takes a personal approach to physical therapy by customizing a treatment plan for each patient. Kristin combines manual therapy techniques with exercise and education to assist patients in recovery while teaching them how to prevent future injury.