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Overcoming Post-Pregnancy Challenges with Physiotherapy for New Moms

It’s a little know secret that some of the most challenging aspects of pregnancy come after childbirth, and no, we are not talking about sleepless nights and endless diaper changes.

Regardless of whether you had an easy delivery, a difficult one, delivered vaginally or had a cesarian, childbirth is extremely hard on a woman’s body, and sometimes recovery requires a push in the right direction. We hear a lot about how painful childbirth can be, but we don’t often discuss the pain and physical challenges that can sometimes linger for months or even years after pregnancy. Physiotherapy for new moms helps women reclaim and restore their bodies after postpartum.

Reasons Why New Moms Sometimes Need Physiotherapy

A women’s body is impressive and capable of miraculous things, but after all the squishing, stretching, and pushing, it can take some time to return to its previous state after giving birth. There are four main challenges women face during their postpartum period:

• Fecal and urinary incontinence
• Scar tissue
• Lower back pain
• Regaining mobility and fitness levels

Let’s address each of these issues a little further.

Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence- and to a lesser extent, fecal incontinence, are both highly common in the postpartum stage. While urinating a little when you sneeze might not sound like a big deal, any degree of incontinence can significantly impact your quality of life.

Postpartum incontinence occurs due to weakness in your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles after pregnancy. Fortunately, some simple stretches and exercises can help strengthen these muscles. Some examples include Kegel exercises, but your nearby physiotherapist will also be able tosuggest to you a range of activities to tighten the entire muscle group rather than just the pelvic floor.

And the good news is many of these techniques can be started before your delivery. Just ask your physiotherapist about pre-natal physiotherapy. Physiotherapy for new moms can begin as early as two weeks postpartum.

Scar Tissue

Cesarian sections or tearing during delivery can sometimes lead to significant scar tissue formation. After suffering tissue damage, the body goes through several phases of recovery, but not all scars heal optimally. Sub-optimal healing most often presents as either hypertrophic where scars expand outside the area of the original incision, or as a keloid that appears as a raised hyper-pigmented scar.

Scar tissue adhesion, another common form of sub-optimal healing occurs when layers of tissue bind together in abnormal locations, leading to a variety of painful side effects, including painful intercourse, painful bladder syndrome, lower back pain, and even infertility.

Physiotherapy for new moms can help aid the healing process and reduce scar tissue. Physiotherapists will focus on various techniques that help improve blood flow and nutrients to the affected areas including instrument soft tissue mobilization and massage.

Lower Back Pain

As many as 50% of new moms report suffering from lower back pain before or after pregnancy. There are several contributing factors- not the least of which is carrying a baby for nine months. Other factors include:

• Incorrect posture
• Increased beast size
• Abdominal muscle weakness
• Decreased pelvic strength
• Weight gain
• Hormones

A physiotherapist in Surrey can help tailor a physiotherapy program to your specific needs. Your plan may incorporate one or more of the following:

• Massage therapy
• Joint mobilization
• Pelvic floor exercise
• Core, hip, and lower back strengthening
• Stretching

Fitness for New Moms

Even if there are no underlying issues that require immediate attention, sometimes new moms may just need help to get back to exercising after a prolonged period of limited activity and Revitalize Physiotherapy can assist with that too.