There were over 3.5 million births in 2021. That means that there were somewhere around 3.5 million pregnant women. However, many of them missed out on the benefits of prenatal and postnatal pelvic physio.
The good news is that you don’t have to be one of those women this year!
If you’re pregnant right now, you have a chance to learn more about your pelvic health and why pelvic floor physiotherapy is so important before it is too late! Ready to learn about the benefits? Keep reading!
Pelvic Physio Can Help With Pain
Odds are, when you are pregnant, you’ll be dealing with all sorts of aches and pains. Some of the most common areas for pain are in your pelvic area, your lower back, your ribs, and the spine. A lot of the reason for this is because you are increasing the weight in that area that presses on all these parts of your body.
Although that’s the case, there are ways to release this pressure and fight back against the pain it is causing you! That’s where pelvic physio comes into play.
Helps With Pelvic Floor Muscle Training
If you’ve never heard of this, you definitely want to know more about pelvic floor muscle training if you are currently pregnant, about to be, or are in your postnatal time.
Why? Because you either are or are about to deal with bladder or bowel leakage during or after pregnancy.
Women who spend time doing pelvic floor muscle training exercises will have less urine incontinence than those who don’t. Getting into pelvic physio as soon as possible can help with this.
Helps With Muscle Contraction Techniques
When you spend time doing pelvic physio, you want to make sure you are actually doing it correctly. This could be the difference between actually noticing a difference between pain and incontinence or not.
To make sure you know you are doing it properly, your pelvic physio expert can help make sure you are! Whether they watch with real-time ultrasound or perform a pelvic examination while you contract, they will be able to guide you on the right technique to ensure you are doing it properly.
Prevent Prolapse
When you hear the word prolapse, it means pelvic organ prolapse. This can give you the sensation of a bulging vagina. In reality, it is a hernia of the pelvic organs.
It is not bad for your health, however, it can be frustrating for everyday activities and can cause discomfort.
Along with pelvic floor exercises, a silicone vaginal pessary can be made to help support the tissue of the area.
Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy Can Help Check Your Abdominal Muscles
Muscle separation occurs in all pregnancies to allow the growth that needs to occur for the baby. However, if there is doming or coning of the abs in the middle, this is not normal. Diastasis recti can cause bulging for months and even years postpartum.
Your pelvic physiotherapist can help you with exercises to ensure that you get it back to normal. Making sure you have the proper technique when working out your abdominals is also crucial to make sure you aren’t making it worse. Contracting the wrong muscles can easily occur with your abdominals, so double-checking that you are doing it correctly is important.
Physiotherapists Can Help You Create an Exercise Plan
Having your own plan is great, but having an exercise created by a pelvic physiotherapist is even better. While it’s important to exercise normally, it’s even more important during pregnancy.
It’s suggested that you get about 30 minutes of moderate exercises 5 days per week and do strengthening exercises the other two days. As well as staying healthy, exercising while pregnant can also help reduce the likelihood of developing gestational diabetes, excess weight gain, and improve overall well-being and mental well-being.
Your physiotherapist can help create exercises that will not only keep you strong and healthy but prepare you for your baby when that time comes.
Helps With Birth Preparation
One of the best parts about keeping up with prenatal physiotherapy is that it helps prepare you for birth.
In these prenatal birthing sessions, there are a few techniques to make sure that you are best prepared for birth. Having perineal massages and learning to do it yourself can reduce ripping and ultimately, the need for episiotomy after birth.
Pelvic examinations will also ensure that you understand what to do when giving birth and pushing, how to breathe and relax, and how to do your own perineal massages at home to prepare.
Learn About Postnatal Care
When working with a physiotherapist, you will have more advice on what to do after the birth as well as before. Knowing what to expect before delivering your baby will better prepare you for what is coming.
You’ll learn about the care you need after you give birth as well as how to stay healthy and strong (both physically and mentally) afterward.
If you have a C-section as your form of birth, pelvic floor physiotherapy can also help reduce the scarring from that. Through scar massages, the scar tissue will break down and collagen will take its place.
The Importance of Pelvic Floor Physiotherapy
It can be easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of pregnancy without optimally preparing for your baby’s arrival. While that’s fine, it’s better if you are prepared.
One way to do this is through pelvic physio. You are able to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles through exercises, learn the proper way to exercise and contract for birth, and prepare yourself for labor and what is to come after.
If you are ready to get started, we’re here for you! Contact us today to start your journey with pelvic physio!