Physical Therapy for the Active Pregnant and Postpartum Mom

               For those of us who have had the experience of pregnancy and postpartum life, you know that not only does your life turn upside down, but your body changes immensely. Most of the time, we chalk it up to the normal aches and pains of growing and birthing a human, but in reality, you don’t always have to just suck it up and deal with it.  As someone who has dealt with managing these pains with and without a physical therapist, I know that physical therapy can help you immensely, both during and after your pregnancy.   

              I went into my first pregnancy feeling great. I was lifting, spinning, and doing general workouts until I was about 34 weeks pregnant, but I still suffered from sacroiliac pain and sciatic nerve pain that had me laying on the floor in tears and scooting around my office relying on my peers to help me with treating my patients. I had an unplanned C-section for this pregnancy and the recovery was brutal, especially living in a walkup apartment and on a subway stop with 4 flights of stairs instead of an elevator. After 6 months, I finally worked out the kinks in my body and was almost pain-free, but I definitely did not get back into fighting shape.

              Fast forward two years and, when I became pregnant with my second daughter, I knew that I needed more help. Thankfully, I had phenomenal resources around me and I would be remiss if I did not give a shout out to Dr. Natalia Farnsworth, PT. Not only did she work through pain that would cause my leg to give out every time I turned right on my skis (obviously, not ideal), but after my pregnancy she got me going within a week after my second unplanned C-section.

              To be clear, I was not getting into my pre-pregnancy jeans within that first week, but compared to round one, I was able to walk better, feel stronger, and negotiate those subway stairs more confidently in a fraction of the time. I went from being barely able to engage my core to do a pelvic tilt to swinging a 25 lb kettlebell by week 8 post-pregnancy.  My 3 year old diastasis recti was gone, my hip pain was gone, and I was well on my way to becoming the strongest and fittest I have felt since I was competing in gymnastics at college.

              Personal experience aside, as a clinician, I have also seen the benefit of physical therapy for my pregnant and postpartum patients. In the medical field, we know that exercise during pregnancy can help to decrease the risk of gestational diabetes, so our ability to help you manage your orthopedic pain during that time can help keep you active. For those who are trying to return to an active lifestyle post-pregnancy, it is helpful to have someone who can give you tips to get your strength and flexibility back.

              You may be asking yourself, why doesn’t everyone get physical therapy for these aches and pains? Why doesn’t my doctor recommend PT? The simple answer is that we, as a profession, have come a long way from the days of just using hot packs, ultrasounds, and stim as the basis of our treatments. Now, we use combinations of exercises, manual techniques, and a lot of patient education as the foundation for our plans of care.  As practitioners, we are working to educate not only our patients, but other medical providers of the benefits of physical therapy during pregnancy and post-pregnancy.  As we continue to watch the physical therapy practice develop, we believe that this type of care is quickly becoming the norm.