What can Physio help with for pregnancy?

Pregnancy

Author: Rachel Neate

Pregnancy is a wonderfully exciting time for most people, however, it can come along with some nasty and often embarrassing side effects. Some of the things that Physiotherapy can help with during your pregnancy are:

  • Stress urinary incontinence: Those awkward moments when you sneeze or cough, or sometimes even bend down to pick up baby number one; a little, or a lot, of leakage occurs.

  • Back pain / pelvic pain: Extremely common during pregnancy and long afterward. The body goes through some pretty outrageous changes so we would expect that something has to hurt, right? Back pain can occur due to a variety of reasons during pregnancy. It can be literally because bubs is poking around and resting back there, it could be from that extra stomach weight gain, it could also be from pressure from the pelvic bones spreading to make room for the bubs! It can all sound a bit scary… however, all can be managed and often reversed during pregnancy with your Physio.

  • Sciatica: That dreadful pain down the leg, one or both, can result from these increased pressures of pregnancy.

  • Rib pain: As we make room for the bubs, our ribs have to expand to make more space. This can result in some strains in the ligaments that attach the ribs to the spine.

These are just SOME of the things that Physiotherapy can help with during your pregnancy. It’s also important to remember, that more often than not, once you have the bubs, whether it be by C-section or a natural birth, these symptoms often will not resolve on their own. So it is important that you get these issues assessed by your Physiotherapist.

Physiotherapy can also come in handy when preparing for a baby to come along. A strong and healthy pelvic floor before you fall pregnant is shown to decreased the occurrence rate of urinary incontinence. Physiotherapy is also vital after having your baby to ensure things return to as close to normal as possible!

We will share more detailed information on these specific issues in upcoming posts so stay tuned!

Rachel Neatepregnancy, physiotherapy, prenatal, incontinence, back pain