Six Reasons to See a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist Postpartum

Having a baby is a joyful and fulfilling experience but also can take a heavy toll on your body. Growing and carrying a baby for nine months followed by delivery might cause new aches and pains that a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist can help you address. 

Here are six reasons you may need to see a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist postpartum

1.      Musculoskeletal pain

-          Growing and carrying a baby for 9 months really can take a toll on our musculoskeletal system. Some common postpartum issues include: tight hip flexors, poorly activating abdominal muscles, low back pain and instability through the pelvis.

2.      Weak Pelvic Floor Muscles (PFM)

-          Pelvic floor weakness can lead to symptoms such as poor or weak orgasm, urine leakage and/or a feeling of “falling out” vaginally.

3.      Prolapse

-          “falling down” or “downward displacement” of the bladder, uterus and/or rectum

-          This can happen in varying degrees and symptoms can include “falling out” feeling vaginally or even vaginal tissue extending externally.

4.      Diastasis Recti

-          The separation of rectus abdominis muscle which can happen during pregnancy.

-          You might notice you have this if you attempt to do a crunch and see a half football shaped bulge vertically on your stomach.

5.      Incontinence

-          Urine leakage, a common compliant post-partum, is another reason to see us!

-          Prolapse, weak PFM and poor neuromuscular control of PFM can all cause this annoying symptom.

6.      Scar sensitivity

-          A sensitive scar can be the cause of painful intercourse, can limit your ability to perform a kegel and/or can cause tension in pelvic floor muscles leaving you with pain.

We, at Duffy &Bracken PT, have the skill set and tools to help you feel like yourself again. We use biofeedback equipment to measure pelvic floor muscle strength, manual skills to treat pain and our skill and experience to teach and encourage you along the way. Let’s not forget what our bodies went through over the last nine months! We need to take care of ourselves and be proactive about our health and wellness; after all we are now responsible for a little one. See you soon!



Candice Amat, PT, DPT

P3 Pregnancy Program: Don't Become A Statistic!

P3 is a program I developed after my first pregnancy to help women achieve their full potential as moms to be and new moms!

Let's back track a few years, after I gave up my stint with the sports world where I spend almost a decade of my career......and settled into my current Downtown NYC clinic!

Every day we saw women for pregnancy related headaches, shoulder, back and knee pain and then two years later I found myself pregnant...... and I decided "NOT ME", I'm not becoming a statistic.

So the P3 pregnancy program was born four months after the birth of my first child and of course I repeated the program again when I had my second.  

So come along with me on this journey through my blog where I will share tips, secrets, and honest truths plus teach you how to have the best pregnancy journey ever!  

Stay tuned and check out an overview of the program below.

Renuka Pinto, MPT, PGDR, CSCS, CES

The P3 Method: Plan, Prepare, Prevent

The P3 Method is tailored to your particular needs and is even covered by some health insurance plans. The class is held by appointment only, and can be scheduled at your convenience.

Your custom program may include the following:

MANUAL THERAPY

One-on-one, hands-on approach to address musculoskeletal changes

PELVIC MUSCLE RE-EDUCATION

A technique that uses computerized equipment to measure baseline pelvic floor strength at onset of pregnancy and then re-train pelvic floor post delivery

PELVIC FLOOR EDUCATION

Kegel and breathing techniques to facilitate integrity of pelvic floor

POSTURAL RE-EDUCATION AND MOVEMENT TECHNIQUE

A visual and proprioceptive feedback is utilized to adapt to bodily changes

 

STRENGTH BUILDING

GRAVITY small-group personal training is a non-impact tool to help build muscle strength and cardio efficiency

CUSTOM SHOPPING

Individualized education on baby products in relation to your body type and muscle strength (e.g. sling versus carrier)

BABY TRAINING

Specific stretches and strengthening exercises to prevent post-delivery musculoskeletal breakdown when caring for your newborn

GETTING YOUR BODY BACK

Post-delivery exercise program to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight

Q&A

Tips on how, what, when, and where while pregnant, immediately postpartum, and post-labor

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