Prenatal Physical Therapy
During pregnancy many changes are occurring in the body to create human life and prepare for the amazing event that is childbirth.
The pelvic floor is made up of the muscles, ligaments, nerves, blood vessels, and tissues that sit within the pelvis between the tailbone and the pubic bone. In women these muscles are responsible for supporting the bladder, bowel, uterus and vagina, maintaining continence, providing stability to the spine and pelvis, and play a role in sexual function.
During the prenatal period the pelvic floor muscles start to feel increased pressure as the baby grows. There are physical changes that occur in posture, mechanics, and body alignment as the body changes. All of this can contribute to symptoms such as pubic symphysis pain, pelvic pain/pressure, low back pain, neck/shoulder/arm pain, hip pain, tailbone, and sacroiliac joint pain. Other issues such as incontinence, and urinary urgency and frequency can also arise during this time.
As a trained pelvic floor physical therapist Kate Nickerson can provide treatment early in pregnancy to address any issues that occur and help provide skills and training in preparation for labor and delivery
Treatment is based on a comprehensive individualized evaluation and can help allow individuals to connect to the pelvic floor and understand how it relates to labor and delivery. As a specialist in prenatal and postpartum care, Kate can teach exercises, breathing techniques, body awareness, education in pushing, comfort positions and skills to prepare for childbirth, and to help decrease the potential for issues in the postpartum period. She can support women during pregnancy with training in how to perform their daily activity and exercise routines safely during the various stages of pregnancy. Manual therapy can be utilized to relieve pain, improve alignment, and decrease muscular and fascial restrictions. Education in lifestyle and behavior modifications can help decrease symptoms. Retraining of posture, body mechanics, breathing patterns, and alignment is often needed to improve function. Integrative, full body exercises are utilized as needed for addressing underlying muscular imbalances and to increase strength, mobility and fitness.