Pregnancy and Physical Therapy

October 4, 2022

Pregnancy comes with a lot of physical changes to your body which can lead to low back pain, nerve problems, general aches and pains, issues with balance, and several other symptoms. Physical therapy can help with most issues related to pregnancy by designing an exercise and manual program that consistently evolves as your body and needs change.

Physical therapy can help manage low back pain, joint problems, and pain throughout your body with movement, strengthening, and hands on techniques. Nerve issues like carpal tunnel are very common during pregnancy and can be improved or even resolved with stretching, strengthening, and massage. Strengthening your entire body and working on muscular and cardiovascular endurance will improve your health, decrease pain, and improve breathing.

As your body changes, your center of gravity, posture, and balance are affected. Exercises targeting balance and posture will allow retraining of your muscles to decrease instability and fall risk, improve coordination, and reduce pain associated with poor posture. Core and pelvic floor strengthening are vital while pregnant and during labor and delivery. Physical therapy can improve strength in both areas and improve your success and reduce pain/tearing while laboring.

Once your baby arrives, physical therapy can aide in your postnatal recovery. Physical therapy helps with upper and lower body strengthening, urinary incontinence, pelvic floor weakness, balance and coordination, posture, pain, and your core strength especially if you experienced diastasis recti. Please do not hesitate to reach out to a physical therapist at Witte Physical Therapy while pregnant or postnatally to improve your overall health and wellbeing.