Physical Therapy And Pregnancy

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You walk out of the doctor’s office excited and absolutely glowing: the doctor just confirmed that you’re expecting. You’re excited and nervous about the next nine months and entering the next stage of your life. As the weeks tick on and you start to gain that natural pregnancy weight, you start to feel pain – in your back, hips, knees, and ligaments. You were expecting the weight gain, not the pain and as it worsens with each passing month, the excitement fades and you start to fantasize about your pain-free days.

Will I ever see those days again? You think.

It’s hard to imagine that yes you will be pain-free again, especially as you hit the second and third trimester. However, you don’t have to wait until after the baby comes to be pain-free again. Physical therapy during and after pregnancy can help alleviate a lot of the problems caused by normal pregnancy-related weight gain, ligament stretching and loosening, and problems in the back, knees, and hips.

What’s up with the pain?

Many women expect the weight gain during pregnancy, but the associated pain is often not thought of until it hits. Just think of all the stress on the ligaments and joints from carrying the baby and water weight. During the entire pregnancy, you’ll gain between 20 and 40 pounds, and that’s completely normal! And, although pain with weight gain is almost a give-in, there’s things you can do to help alleviate it.

Exercising in a safe manner will not only help lessen the pain from weight gain, but it will also help labor and delivery. A physical therapy program that is designed specifically for the expectant mother, and further individualized for you and where you are in life, is how you can make it through pregnancy and delivery.

What can exercising and physical therapy do?

Exercising and a physical therapy program focused on pregnancy-related problems is healthy for both you and your baby. The healthier you are during and after pregnancy means the healthier your baby will be along with an easier delivery. Furthermore, it can help lessen the impact of common pregnancy-related conditions:

  • Insomnia and anxiety
  • Constipation
  • Nausea and common morning sickness
  • Back aches (According to the American Pregnancy Association, 50 to 70 percent of expectant mothers experience back pain at some point during their pregnancy.)
  • Reduced risk of gestational diabetes
  • Muscle and ligament strain

Other than reducing the impact of pain and other conditions, physical therapy and exercise promotes normal weight gain during pregnancy, hastens recovery after delivery, helps you lose weight faster postpartum, and may even reduce the length of labor.

OSR Physical Therapists will help you.

Whether it’s your first pregnancy or you’ve been pregnant before, pregnancy can present new challenges that physical therapists can help you overcome. From ensuring you remain healthy during those nine crucial months to helping alleviate any pain caused from weight gain, we will create an individualized treatment program for your needs. Call OSR today to set up a complimentary 10-minute assessment for pregnancy related pain with one of our certified physical therapists.