Pregnancy & Postpartum

Your body undergoes major transformations during pregnancy – physically, hormonally and emotionally. There are changes to nearly all of your body systems. Some women never feel better than during pregnancy, while others may develop pain in their muscles and joints.

During and after pregnancy, a physical therapist can evaluate your musculoskeletal pain or limitations and work with you to develop a care plan. Office visits and home management techniques can be useful to reduce or eliminate these concerns.

Some of the musculoskeletal changes that occur during pregnancy include:

• Overstretched abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.
• Weight gain and change in center of gravity.
• Forward tilted pelvis and increased arch in low back and tight hip flexors.
• Forward head, rounded shoulders and increased forward curve in upper back.
• Hormonal changes causing excessive joint mobility.
• Deconditioning from lack of exercise, due to fatigue during or after pregnancy.

These changes often lead to symptoms such as:

• Pain in your back, sacrum, pelvis, hips or ribs
• Pain in the neck, upper back or shoulders
• Headaches
• Bulging in your abdomen during exercise or with lifting
• Difficulty with normal daily activities due to pain, weakness or fatigue due to deconditioning
• Leaking urine with coughing, sneezing, lifting and running.

Our physical therapists can prescribe and instruct you in a safe, individualized exercise program based on a detailed evaluation. If you have pain or difficulty exercising on land, aquatherapy may be an option. Your therapist can instruct you in an exercise program using the pool located at our Wenham facility if appropriate.

A therapist can teach you correct body mechanics to decrease your risk of pain with everyday activities, including baby care. We also offer instruction in massage techniques for your C-section or perineal scar.

To schedule an appointment for care within our Pregnancy & Postpartum Program with a prescription from your physician or midwife please call:

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy

Pelvic floor dysfunction can be embarrassing and painful. This can make it difficult to enjoy everyday life.

Our treatment plans are designed to meet each patient's needs including:

• Individualized stretching and strengthening exercises
• Nutrition/diet and how they are affecting your symptoms
• Learn, understand and TAKE CONTROL!

Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy is great for:

• Urinary Incontinence
• Pelvic Pain
• Chronic Constipation
• Prolapse
• Sexual Dysfunction

To schedule an appointment for pelvic floor therapy with a prescription from your physician, midwife or urologist, please call:

What to expect with your first Pelvic Floor PT appointment:

Our pelvic floor physical therapy treatment will begin with an evaluation. The goal of this evaluation is to assess the control you have of your joints and muscles, and how much pain you experience when using them. To do this, the therapist will examine you in standing, sitting, and lying positions. Both an internal and external exam can be done. All appointments are in a private room. The therapist is extremely gentle during an internal examination, so you should not leave here in pain. However, if you would prefer to not have an internal exam that day, the therapist will still be able to gather a lot of information from the external exam to treat you!

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