Prenatal Physical Therapy
At Marianne Ryan Physical Therapy, prenatal physical therapy and postpartum physical therapy treatment during and after pregnancy are essential in healthy living.
When you are pregnant, your body experiences a significant amount of changes, all of which are normal but can lead to a significant amount of pain for expectant moms.
Some of the major changes that occur include:
- Weight Gain & Fluid Retention – causes joints to experience stress and swelling in the wrists and/or ankles.
- Center of Gravity Shifts Forward – causes the curve in the lower back to increase and upper back and neck to hunch.
- Abdominal Muscles Stretch Out – decreases contract and stabilize; may even separate (“Diastasis Recti”).
- Increased Levels of “Relaxin” – the hormone that allows your ligaments to stretch, can also make the pelvis unstable.
- Decreased Physical Activity – being uncomfortable and in pain inhibits movement and exercise.
- Stress – Juggling work and family life are even harder when expecting your second or third child.
The incredible changes that your body experiences during pregnancy sets up the perfect scenario for pain. Most women are told that “These problems are to be expected with any normal pregnancy, and you will have to just “grin and bear it.”
This is not true!
At Marianne Ryan Physical Therapy, we do not believe that persistent back pain, neck pain, or any other uncomfortable symptoms related to carrying a child should be accepted as just part of the process. We have great success with treatment programs that start during the very early stages of pregnancy. As a medically-based health care professional, we work with you to develop a plan to identify and treat your ailments.
Our therapists are highly qualified in advanced and safe therapeutic techniques that begin addressing your pain on your first visit. We identify areas of weakness, poor posture, and instability that has brought on your pain and prescribe appropriate exercises and changes in your body mechanics that work to improve your posture, muscle strength, and endurance.
Our goal is to prepare you for the rest of your pregnancy, your labor, your delivery, and beyond. We even teach you how to hold your babies and care for them in a way that will prevent the neck, back, and elbow injuries that are so common.
Common problems we treat include
- Back Pain / Neck Pain
- Headaches / TMJ dysfunctions
- Pelvic Pain / Sacroiliac Pain / Pubic Symphysis Pain
- Incontinence
- Leg pain / Tingling
- Upper Back (in between the shoulder blades)
- Rib / Chest Pain / Pain with Breathing
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Wrists Pain / Arm Tingling
- General Decrease in Strength and Endurance
We have a special focus on Diastasis Recti, commonly called “Mommy Tummy.”