When a woman is pregnant, her body can react in a number of ways. The food cravings many women develop are legendary, but other more serious issues can also occur during and after pregnancy.
Women’s health physical therapists are trained to help treat many health issues that are common in women. One area they can be especially helpful is providing pregnancy-focused physical therapy.
What are some pregnancy-related issues a women’s health physical therapist can treat?
Our women’s health physical therapists are trained to help treat many pregnancy-related issues. Some of these issues are:
- Pelvic pain — Researchers estimate that 1 in every 5 pregnant women develops some degree of pelvic pain. The pain is often felt in the area between the vaginal opening and anus. It might also be located over the pubic bone. Typically, the pain is increased by doing normal daily activities. Some activities that could increase your pain include walking up stairs, standing on one leg while dressing and turning over in bed.
- Back pain — Medical studies indicate that up to 70% of women experience some level of back pain during their pregnancy. There are many factors that can cause pregnancy-related back pain. Increases in certain hormones can loosen ligaments and other back-supporting structures, which can lead to increased pressure on the back. Additionally, carrying the weight of the baby and the forward shift in a woman’s center of gravity during pregnancy can increase your risk of back pain.
- Foot pain — One medical study reports that pregnant women place more pressure on their feet than obese women. This may be one reason that so many pregnant women develop foot pain. There are other pregnancy-related issues that can also cause pain in your feet. The weight and position of the baby can cause fluid accumulation in the feet called edema. A medical study claims that 8 out of 10 women develop edema during the course of their pregnancy. In addition, pregnancy-related foot pain can be caused by issues with the arches of the feet and ingrown toenails.
What therapy techniques are used in pregnancy-focused physical therapy?
Many therapy techniques can provide benefits for women who are dealing with pregnancy-related issues. Often, multiple techniques are combined to address an individual patient’s specific issues. Some of the techniques that could be included in your therapy plan are:
- Manual therapy — This is actually a category of therapy methods, and techniques in this category involve therapists using their hands to massage and manipulate the body. Manual therapy can be particularly helpful for foot pain caused by edema. One medical study reports that patients with arm edema had an almost 15% decrease in total arm volume when using manual therapy. Another study shows that manual therapy can help pregnant women with lower back pain as well. This study reports that this technique led to a decrease of 22% for local pain and 33% for radiating pain on average among lower back pain patients.
- Therapeutic exercises — Doing exercises recommended by a physical therapist can also be beneficial for pregnant women. One study on lower back pain reports that almost 63% of patients who used therapeutic exercises had a significant improvement in their pain. Additionally, medical studies show that pelvic pain in pregnant women can be decreased with therapeutic exercises. One study on pelvic pain reveals that participants who did therapeutic exercises had an almost 32% decrease in their pain scores.
Other ways that our women’s health physical therapists can assist pregnant women include:
- Creating a home exercise plan
- Educating them in pain management and injury prevention techniques
- Providing sports functional training
- Helping them return to walking, running, cycling or fitness programs after pregnancy
Border Therapy Services offers pregnancy-focused physical therapy
You don’t have to look any further for effective pregnancy-focused physical therapy. Our team at Border Therapy Services located on Gateway Boulevard in El Paso, Texas, can assist you with this and other forms of physical therapy. We offer free screenings that can help identify what issues you’re dealing with in your pregnancy. Our team can then build you a personalized therapy plan designed to treat the issues you’re experiencing.
Are you ready to start your pregnancy-focused therapy with us? Contact our team today for more information about our women’s health services or to request your appointment.