Ante & Postnatal Physiotherapy

Pregnancy is one of life’s miracles. You are growing a life, a child inside your body. It’s incredible.

As with so many good things in life, however, there are a few things that aren’t so great…

Back pain (and associated pelvic and leg pain, such as sciatica) is one of the most common complaints during and after pregnancy, there can be several contributing factors:

• Posture changes – the baby bump pulls your spine way out of its normal position
• Hormonal changes – ligaments relaxing, leading to joint instability
• Muscle separation – as the baby develops the abdominal muscles can separate
• Stress – Emotional stress can cause an increase in muscle tension
• C-section – results in scar tissue, reduced muscle function and altered movement mechanics

It isn’t a surprise that, when you combine all of these factors, most women experience pain and discomfort and some point during and/or after pregnancy.

What we can do to help?

General pregnancy related pain:

• Soft tissue massage and manipulation to ease tight muscles, relieve spasm and minimise pain
• Mobility and stretching exercises to keep your joints moving minimise stiffness and discomfort
• Core strengthening exercises and programs to help prepare for / cope with the additional physical demands on the body and support the joints
• Advice and education on how best to maintain a good posture and how to use simple postural aids to make things a little bit easier

Post caesarean section rehabilitation:

As you may be (somewhat painfully) aware a caesarean section is a rather invasive procedure. Though the abdominal muscles themselves are not cut, the overlying fascia is.

Fascia is a strong, fibrous connective tissue that overlays the muscles; the abdominal fascia has a hugely important role in the stability of the whole lower back and pelvic region and is the main supporting layer of the abdomen.

How we can help you get back your best, fast:

To have you back on your feet and back to your best as soon as possible the correct rehabilitation can make a huge difference. We will use soft tissue massage and manipulation techniques to significantly improve the healing and remodelling of the scar tissue (particularly from the incision in the fascia and skin) and allow a quicker return to function and exercise. A happy side effect of the soft tissue work is that it can greatly reduce long term scar formation and visibility from the skin incision.

Once we have significantly reduced the pain and discomfort we will work with you to re-educate and strengthen the entire core area, get you moving properly again and leave you ready to deal with whatever the world can throw at you!