PREGNANCY PREPARATION
- Physical Therapy International Service
- May 21
- 3 min read
AUTHORS: Anna Norton, Ella Bonner, and Livi Kovach
Although it is not that well known of a fact, physical therapy can be extremely beneficial for pregnant women both before and after giving birth. During pregnancy, physical therapy can help ease back pain and other symptoms by practicing proper alignment and maintaining proper function of muscles and other parts of the body. Physical therapy can also help enhance sleep patterns through spinal alignment and unwinding exercises. Strength and flexibility exercises can help prepare a woman’s body for the process of labor and delivery. After giving birth, physical therapy can shorten postpartum recovery time by helping patients to regain muscle strength and reduce dysfunction of the pelvic floor. Overall, physical therapy is a very helpful tool that can help women’s bodies navigate the periods of pregnancy and giving birth.
The group of muscles and connective tissues that help support the reproductive, colorectal and urinary tracts are collectively known as the pelvic floor. Pelvic floor PT is a growing field that can help a wide range of people with many different conditions. Some conditions include anal or stress incontinence (involuntary leaking), pelvic organ prolapse (displacement), constipation, pregnancy, sexual dysfunction, and lower back/pelvic pain. These conditions are related to dysfunctions of the pelvic floor muscles. Muscles that are more relaxed or loose than usual cause low tone pelvic floor dysfunction and make it harder to contract these muscles. High tone pelvic floor dysfunction is caused by muscles that are tighter and more restricted than normal and result in pain when relaxing or stretching these muscles. Pelvic floor PT offers a targeted approach to either help strengthen or relax the pelvic floor muscles and allow them to return to normal tone and function. This results in increased muscle control and core stability.
Due to the extra weight in the front of a woman’s body while pregnant, their center of gravity changes leading to rounded shoulders and the abdomen to stick out. A woman’s gait, or the way she walks might change too with a wider base and an increase in side to side movements. Another thing that changes is that your joints become more mobile. Physical therapy is important for maintaining correct posture to support the back and overall mobility to decrease the risk of falls. Some things that physical therapy can help with include back and core strengthening in addition to stretching. Stretching can help to relieve tension as well. A few stretches include cat-cow, chest openers, pelvic tilts, and side-lying leg lifts. The cat-cow and chest openers work to lengthen the back and relieve the tension while the pelvic tilt helps with core strength and leg lifts assist with hip strength. Overall, physical therapy can help with tension release, core strength, and hip strength.
The body obviously goes through an immense amount of changes through pregnancy and physical therapy is a treatment to assist in the recovery. Some issues surrounding pregnancy include spinal issues and pelvic floor dysfunction leading to incontinence, pain in the pelvis, pain during intercourse, and issues with the digestive system. Physical therapy can help to address all of those issues with core and back strengthening, breathing work, with the overall goal to return to normal function pre-pregnancy. Physical therapy can be extremely beneficial for all postpartum women no matter if it was their first pregnancy or if they have been through it before.
Staying active during pregnancy, especially with guidance from physical therapists, can make a big difference in how someone feels both during and after pregnancy. Movement helps with strength, flexibility, and circulation, which can ease common issues like pain and stiffness. It also helps the body adjust to changes like posture shifts and increased joint mobility. This also helps when it comes to labor and recovery. When the body is supported through safe, consistent movement, it's often better prepared for childbirth and can bounce back more easily afterward. Rather than completely slowing down, staying active in a safe way can help women feel more comfortable and in control. Overall, physical therapy ties everything together by supporting posture, pelvic floor health, and recovery, making pregnancy, and postpartum feel more manageable.
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