Pelvic Floor Therapy Postpartum

Women who have had a child know that pregnancy and childbirth change your body. Though some changes are lasting, postpartum pelvic floor therapy helps you regain proper function.

Postpartum Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation

Giving birth significantly affects the pelvic floor. During delivery, the baby pushes the pelvic muscles out of the way, leading to tears. This process causes trauma on the pelvic floor. Doctors repair some of the tears and lacerations with surgeries.

These issues necessitate a pelvic floor physiotherapist to work with you to restore the pelvic muscles to normal function. At OneRehab multispecialty center, we provide unmatched postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy to help you strengthen your pelvis through regular guided exercises.

What Is Postpartum?

Postpartum refers to the period after childbirth. It can be difficult for new moms and new parents as they struggle to create a working rhythm. It is also hard on new moms as their bodies can be painful and uncomfortable.

What Causes Postpartum Pelvic Floor Issues?

When you are pregnant, the supportive pelvic muscles weaken due to hormones. These muscles become strained during childbirth causing injuries such as tears and perineal injury. It can also lead to nerve damage. At OneRehab, we conduct a comprehensive assessment to determine the extent of the injury, which determines the pelvic floor muscles therapy exercises to use. Other postpartum difficulties include:

Back pain
Separated abdominal muscles
lower belly pooch
shoulder and neck pain when breastfeeding
Feeling a frequent need to urinate
bad posture
incontinence
constipation
Reduced sexual function

Even when you have a C-section, you are prone to these conditions because it is a major abdominal surgery. Childbirth can also damage the nerves around the pelvic region. Continuous exercises with our team of professionals help you deal with these conditions, helping you regain normal function.

Diastasis Recti After Childbirth

It is also known as abdominal separation. Diastasis recti refer to an unusual gap found between the ab muscles after childbirth. It causes a bulging belly which also affects the pelvic muscles. Within the first six weeks of giving birth, moms need to see a pelvic physiotherapist for an evaluation. Our physiotherapists give you the advice to help you with behavior modification. Apart from that, we suggest exercises to improve joints and ligaments movement and strengthen the pelvic floor muscles.

Postpartum Pelvic Treatment

Patients with pelvic floor issues can do Kegel exercises that correct and strengthen the pelvic muscles. Pelvic rehabilitation therapy is also effective in strengthening the pelvic floor muscles leading to reduced symptoms. If you have tight pelvic floor muscles, they can lead to tissue and nerve inflammation, causing chronic vulva pain. It can also lead to itching, pain, or burning during bowel movements.

We have the best pelvic health physiotherapists who can assess the affected muscles to know the source of the problem. We also provide custom-designed postpartum pelvic floor treatment to deal with all the pelvis issues after childbirth.

When to See a Specialist

Experiencing severe postpartum complications can affect your ability to care for your newborn. If you have postpartum symptoms, you can visit our pelvic rehab center for evaluation. Working with our physiotherapists helps you get back your feet and improves the quality of your life.

Schedule an appointment today

to see why our family of stroke experts can help you and your family on your path to independence.

What To Expect During Postpartum Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

If you are looking for postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy near me, you may need to know what to expect when you visit the clinic. First, deciding to see a pelvic floor rehabilitation physiotherapist is one of the best decisions you can make after childbirth. They help address all related complications and help improve your quality of life and promote quick recovery. You can expect the following when you visit a therapist.

Evaluation and Assessment

Once you visit OneRehab multispecialty center, you can expect a thorough evaluation and assessment. We understand that this is a delicate issue that needs to be handled discretely but professionally. If you are getting ready to see a pelvic floor physical therapist, be prepared to discuss your pregnancy, delivery, and labor. You will need to answer questions detailing the issues that you experienced, which determines the best treatment. Since experiences differ from one person to another, pelvic floor therapy will also be different. So, it is good to know all the details about your labor, such as a tear and its extent, whether the obstetrician used suction or forceps or something else.

Internal Examination

Before administering postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy exercises, the PT will also conduct an internal examination. The examination assesses the integrity of the pelvic muscles. They seek to understand if there is tension, whether you can coordinate a contraction, identify muscle strength, assess tearing or tissue scars. Before the examination, the PT will discuss all the processes and obtain consent.

Physical Examination

Though the focus is on the vagina and the abdomen, the physical therapist also evaluates external musculoskeletal structure. It helps to gain a full picture of the extent of the condition. They look at your neck, shoulder, wrist pain, headaches, and other organs and how they contribute to your general well-being.

Assess the Abdomen and the Core

During postpartum physical therapy, the therapist will also look at the abdomen to assess its integrity. We can perform diastasis recti check. We can also check the strength of the core muscles. Patients who underwent C-section may also require scar assessment.

Create a Treatment Plan

Once the physiotherapist has all this information, they can use it to create a treatment plan. First, they will determine the postpartum pelvic floor rehab goals depending on your specific needs. The physician can also determine the treatment duration, which is adjustable depending on how well you respond to treatment.

Therapy Techniques for Postpartum Pelvic Floor

Once the physiotherapist creates such a comprehensive plan, they can employ various techniques. To achieve great results during postpartum pelvic floor PT, the therapist can use one or a combination of the following methods:

Manual Therapy

The physiotherapist can use hands-on treatment to help improve and restore lost function. The treatment can entail kneading and manipulating muscles, joint manipulation, and joint mobilization.

Bowel and Bladder Training

Most of the conditions patients face after childbirth affect the bladder and bowels. Pelvic floor rehab focuses on helping new moms regain and improve bowel function. At OneRehab, we identify the source of the problem leading to leakage or voiding difficulty. We can also advise on diet and habit change to achieve the best treatment outcome.

Trigger Point Therapy

In cases where patients are experiencing pain, we can introduce trigger point therapy to reduce this symptom.

Manage Scar

If you had C-section or episiotomy, scar management helps improve healing, reduce restrictions and sensitivity.

Muscle Retraining

Once the physical therapist assesses your pelvic floor, they can introduce exercises to help lengthen or relax tight muscles. Muscle retraining also helps strengthen weak and underactive muscles.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is My Pelvic Floor and Why Does it Matter?

The pelvic floor holds important sections in our body. It is responsible for:

The Sphincter: the circular muscles that help control gas and holds in body waste.
Sexual area for lubrication, penetration, arousal, nerve impingements, and pain syndromes
Lymphatics for pumping and regulating fluid flow throughout the whole body and especially in the pelvic region.
Support- This area has a host of connective tissues, ligaments, bones, and muscles that keep everything in place. It is the area that supports the baby in the womb.

As you can see, this is a crucial area making postpartum physical therapy for the pelvic floor very important. Visiting a pelvic rehab equips you with all the information you need to recover fully and effectively after childbirth.

Do I need Pelvic Rehab After a C-Section?

Remember, a c-section is an abdominal surgery, and you require rehabilitation to achieve full recovery. Since the abdominal muscle is cut during delivery, you risk getting scar issues that can affect mobility. Immobility in this area can cause tension near the scar area affecting your ability to perform normal activities. Physical therapy teaches you how to do these activities safely. You can also engage in exercises to improve mobility.

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