Physical Therapy During Pregnancy: How to Increase your Energy and Decrease your Pain to Enjoy Pregnancy

Learn about the benefits of including Physical Therapists to your list of treatment options throughout your Pregnancy and Postpartum experience.

Can Physical Therapy Help During Pregnancy?

Short answer, Yes! Physical Therapists specialize in helping you to move throughout your day with decreased pain. As your body grows and changes throughout Pregnancy, Physical Therapists can help treat various aches and pains that may arise by targeting specific muscle weaknesses and imbalances. Additionally, Physical Therapists will help you to incorporate an appropriate level of routine exercise in order to increase energy and your body’s capacity to withstand the load of a growing baby.

Is Exercise Safe During Pregnancy?

Yes, though there are considerations that are important to know during pregnancy, overall exercise is known to improve the health of both mother and baby. Here are important things to consider in adding exercise to your routine during pregnancy:

• Maintain a low or moderate level of intensity: Exercising during pregnancy is not meant to maximize and challenge your body’s capability, but rather to maintain and gradually increase it. High-intensity exercises seek to tear down the body’s muscles in order to build them back stronger, but during pregnancy blood flow does not flow as regularly to muscles because of the needs of the baby and this may impair the body’s ability to grow back muscle. A good indication of intensity is being able to talk without being out of breath. However, if you can sing, it’s too easy!
• Avoid lying on your back: lying on your back can cause your baby to put pressure on the inferior vena cava. This giant blood vessel is in charge of delivering all the deoxygenated blood from the bottom half of your body back to the heart and lungs in order to dump carbon dioxide and deoxygenate the muscles. Added pressure on this blood vessel can often cause symptoms of dizziness and lightheadedness.
• Avoid lying on your stomach: Stomach is obvious, especially towards the end the baby is just in the way and it is impossible. Modify prone-lying exercises to hands and knees or to the plank position.
• Avoid further splitting the abdominal wall: diastasis recti is a natural result of pregnancy and results when your abdominal wall splits during pregnancy to allow room for the baby. This can worsen however with common exercises like crunches and bicycles, especially when one cannot properly activate transverse abdominis.

What Common Pregnancy Symptoms Can Physical Therapy Treat?

• Back pain: Both lower and upper back pain, can be either on the side or in the middle
• Sciatica and other “pinched nerve” pain: often indicated by radiating pain, tingling, or numbness
• Pubic symphysis pain
• SI joint pain