The body goes through a lot of changes during pregnancy. With the gaining of weight, change in posture, and increased hormones, it is common to experience pain at some point. Low back pain is extremely common, and there are various things you can do to reduce it. Performing home exercises is one option, but it is also a good idea to search for physical therapy near me.
How Home Exercise Can Help
There are many benefits of staying active during pregnancy. Walking, swimming, and other low-impact exercises not only help to maintain a healthy weight, but they also decrease the chances of a cesarean birth and increase the chances of the baby being born a healthy birth weight.
Along with aerobic exercises, certain home exercises help manage pregnancy pain and help strengthen the muscles that support the pelvic organs. Examples of these moves include:
- Pelvic brace
- Pelvic curl
- Stretches for the quadriceps and hip flexors
- Mermaid stretch
- Leg lifts while lying on your side
Home exercises are often incorporated with your physical therapy in Hemet sessions. If you are in pain, you may want to hold off on exercises until you work with a physical therapist and get the green light to do certain moves, so you do not injure yourself.
What Physical Therapy for Pregnant Women Will Look Like
When researching physical therapy locations, look for one that has therapists that have experience working with pregnant women. This physical therapist will talk about your symptoms and how your pregnancy is going. He or she will then do an exam to see where the pain is stemming from. From there, you will receive a treatment plan that aligns with your goals.
Pain Relief
If you have pain, that will be the initial focus of treatment. Some of the methods used to reduce pain are cold and hot therapies, manual therapy, trigger point therapy, dry needling, and stretches.
If the pain is due to poor alignment due to your growing belly, the therapist may incorporate exercises and movements that decrease the stress on associated muscles.
Pelvic Floor Muscle Strengthening
Another focus of pregnancy physical therapy is to strengthen the muscles that make up the pelvic floor. This not only better supports the uterus, but it prevents dysfunction of the muscles, which can result in:
- Constipation
- Leaky bladder or bowel
- Pain during intercourse
- Tailbone pain
Physical therapy is also good postpartum, as pregnancy and giving birth weakens the pelvic floor muscles.
Diastasis Recti Abdominis Prevention
During pregnancy, the stomach muscles can separate, which is known as diastasis recti. If you are in physical therapy while pregnant, your therapist can work on preventing this from occurring with core strengthening and bracing.
Physical therapy is also beneficial to help treat diastasis recti if it is diagnosed after giving birth. Continuing with PT during postpartum is also beneficial to help your body bounce back quicker and stronger after delivering your baby.
Physical therapy uses pain therapies, stretching, and exercises to help pregnant women get out of pain and prepare for birth.
