The Postpartum Physical Therapy blueprint: Your Guide To Recovery.
hey mamas!
Did you know 8 out of 10 women experience some kind of physical issues after childbirth? This can include anything from low back pain and weakness, diastasis recti and incontinence. That’s a whopping number, especially when there is amazing help available to get you feeling your best again.
Think about everything your body goes through during pregnancy. Your posture shifts, your ligaments and joints face extra stress and your muscles stretch to accommodate your growing baby. Then, delivery throws another curveball, with your pelvis widening and your pelvic floor lengthening during a vaginal delivery. If you have a C-section, that's major abdominal surgery!
After all this, we're expected to bounce back and figure out our "new normal." But mamas, you deserve better! Physical therapy (PT) is typically recommended after any injury to help regain mobility, strength, and function. So why wouldn't we do the same for new moms?
What is postpartum physical Therapy
Postpartum Physical Therapy is a specialized form of physical therapy that offers a targeted approach to address the specific needs of women recovering after pregnancy and delivery. Think of it as your personalized game plan for getting your body back on track after childbirth.
It addresses the changes that occurred during pregnancy like postural shifts and core weakness. Postpartum Physical Therapy helps you reconnect with your pelvic floor muscles and gradually rebuild strength. Plus it can help ease common postpartum complaints like back pain, incontinence and pain during intimacy.
May postpartum PTs are also pelvic floor specialists, with extra training in women’s health issues.
What is your Pelvic Floor?
Your pelvic floor is like a hammock of muscles that runs on the bottom of your pelvis. It has a lot of important functions:
It helps support the organs (bladder, uterus, rectum) that sit above it
stabilizes your spine and pelvis
helps manage abdominal pressure
vital for bowel and bladder health
vital for sexual function
It plays a key role in postpartum recovery, even after a C-section. Understanding how it works is crucial to your rehab journey; learn more here.
Your Body's Postpartum Journey
Your body postpartum will continue to go through many changes just like it did during pregnancy. Over the next 6-8 weeks after delivery, your uterus will shrink back down, and then in the following months everything else that has been shifted to made room for the baby will begin to go back into position as well.
Your organs will gradually return to their pre-pregnancy positions, and your diaphragm and ribs will ease back to their normal shape.
Your abs will start to tighten up, and your pelvic bones will move back together.
On top of that healing, consider if you have a C-section scar or tearing from delivery. Protecting these tissues is important, as is understanding how your body will adjust after being in a different position for nine months.
Society often makes us think postpartum healing is quick and easy, but for many women, things don't magically go back to normal. Physical therapy can help bridge that gap and get your body back on track.
how do i know if i need postpartum physical therapy?
While pregnancy and childbirth are amazing experiences, they put a lot of stress on your body. Think of postpartum physical therapy as your personalized roadmap to help you recover safely and feel your best again. It's more than just exercises – it's about understanding your body's unique needs after delivery.
Any symptoms that linger more than a week after delivery should warrant an appointment with a postpartum physical therapist.
Common Postpartum complaints
Tailbone Pain: the tailbone can be injured during delivery resulting in a literal pain in your butt. It is generally painful to sit, bend and turn in bed. Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy can help improve alignment and decrease tension alleviating pain. Learn more about tailbone pain.
Urinary or Fecal Incontience: this is the uncontrolled loss of either urine or fecal matter. It can occur with activity, with sneezing/coughing or for some women they are unsure exactly when it occurs. After the first 1-2 weeks after delivery, you should not be leaking and it is recommend to see a pelvic floor physical therapist if you are. Learn more about incontinence.
Diastasis Recti: this is the thinning of the linea alba which is in the center of your abdomen where your abdominal muscles attach to. During pregnancy the abdominal wall needs to expand and it is a normal adaptation for this to thin and the abdominal muscles to separate. After delivery they should begin to come back in however sometimes PT is needed to assist. Learn more about diastasis recti.
C-section Incision Pain: there is 7 layers of tissue that is cut through during a cesarean. That leaves 7 layers of scar tissue that can adhere the layers together or areas within the layers together which can produce pain. Seeing a postpartum physical therapist can help make sure all of the layers of the scar move well allowing for decrease in pain as well as an increase in mobility around the surrounding areas as well. Learn more about c-section incision pain.
If any of these sound familiar don't hesitate to reach out to a postpartum PT. They can help you heal properly, regain strength, and get back to feeling your best.
Benefits of postpartum physical therapy
There are many benefits to seeing a postpartum physical therapist.
Physical Recovery
PTs can help you reconnect with your body especially your pelvic floor and core, rebuild strength and improve mobility
Improved Posture and Alignment
Pregnancy changes your posture. Postpartum Physical Therapy can help you get back to your pre-pregnancy alignment, reducing stress and strain on your body.
Symptom Relief
Postpartum Physical Therapy can address lingering pain and discomfort and help prevent future issues.
Emotional and Mental Well-being
Being active can boost your mood and help decrease postpartum isolation. Physical Therapy can help you stay active without limitations.
Long-term Health:
By addressing issues early on, Postpartum physical therapy can help prevent problems down the road, allowing you to live your life to the fullest.
When should i start?
We recommend starting as early as 2 weeks postpartum, as long as you feel comfortable. If it feels like too much, that's okay! Remember, life doesn't stop after delivery, and postpartum physical therapists’s can help you move safely while protecting your healing tissues and building strength. The sooner you start, the sooner you can feel your best again.
Why We Are Different
We see the whole you:
We don't just focus on isolated body parts. We take a holistic approach to understand the root cause of your issues and create a personalized treatment plan.
We're postpartum experts:
Our PTs have extensive knowledge of postpartum issues, from orthopedic problems to pelvic floor dysfunction.
Individualized care:
You'll get hour-long, one-on-one sessions with your PT, no techs or aides involved.
what do i wear?
You should wear anything that is comfortable to move in. We will be assessing how you move, your mobility and strength therefore something that allows for easy movement is best.
Generally something that is not too thick to feel through is also best. Something like jeans can be hard to feel through as well as leggings with a lot of compression.
What to Expect during your first session
Detailed assessment:
We'll start by listening to your story and what you hope to achieve from postpartum physical therapy. Then, we'll do a thorough evaluation of your posture, alignment, mobility, strength, and breathing. This may include an internal pelvic floor exam (completely different from a gynecological exam) if you're comfortable.
Treatment plan:
Based on the assessment, we'll create a personalized plan to address your specific needs and goals.
Treatment techniques:
Treatment may involve manual therapy, exercises (strengthening, mobility, postural correction), dry needling and functional training to help you with daily activities and/or sport/activity specific exercises
typical treatment postpartum involves
Postpartum physical therapy treatment varies from person to person. We tailor all of our treatments specifically to the person we are working with however some typical treatments include:
manual techniques: can involve soft tissue mobilizations, joint mobilizations, visceral mobilization to decrease pain, improve tension and improve balance
mobility exercises: secondary to the physical changes experienced during pregnancy there are generally tightness/restrictions present. We work on specific mobility exercises to get balance back to your body and decrease your symptoms.
strengthening exercises: getting you re-connected to your core and pelvic floor is vital early postpartum. We start by building the foundation of strength and stability at your core and progress.
Postural/functional training: our bodies changed a lot during pregnancy and our movements change change a lot after having a baby (so many diaper changes). We work on training you for what happens in life to decrease and/or be proactive about symptoms.
what is an internal assessment and do i need to have one?
The best way to determine what the pelvic floor is doing is to feel it directly and the best way to do this is intra-vaginally. Don’t worry it is nothing like a gynecological exam! Your feet are not in stir ups and there is no speculum and it is not painful.
You most definitely do not need to have an internal assessment done. We have a lot of patients who choose not to have one are able to make amazing changes in their symptoms.
when can I go back to Crossfit/running/HIIT classes?
One of the most asked questions we get is when can I go back to running, CrossFit, HIIT classes, tennis whatever your activity of choice is. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. There is no magic number that once you hit, you are allowed to go do x. It depends on how YOUR body handles the stress of the activity and how YOUR body moves during the activity.
Instead of focusing on when, we talk to a lot of our patients about the things they should be able to do before they go back to their activity, this way we have a better idea of how your body will handle the stress of the activity.
Finding the Right Postpartum Physical Therapist
Feeling comfortable with your PT is important. Look for someone who specializes in postpartum care and has experience helping women achieve their goals, whether that's getting back to running or simply enjoying pain-free playtime with your baby.
The Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist Directory is a good place to look for a postpartum physical therapist as well as our blog on finding a pelvic floor physical therapist.
success stories from postpartum mamas
“At the height of my postpartum anxiety, I was referred to Empower. My babies Are 18 months apart and sometimes I felt like I would never find my way back to health bc I was raising two baby girls by myself with part time help from husband. To put the icing on the cake, I was laid off shortly after making the investment to work Dr. Lauren. Listen - IM SO GLAD I MADE THAT INVESTMENT!! Lauren is so knowledgeable, so down to earth, passionate about her craft and is damn good at it too! I spent 12 weeks in her care. I came to her with previous trauma of baby #1 coupled in new issues from baby #2 (birthed both babies naturally/vaginally without medicine and on time) - diastis recti, pubic bone pain, pelvic bone pain, lower back pain, pain in my feet and shoulders…you name it - I was going thru it. 12 weeks later, I have my confidence back! I have no more diastis recti. The pain in my body has all cleared! I feel beautiful again. I’m walking again. I’m playing, running, and laughing with my two baby girls like how God intended motherhood to be.
Dr. Lauren is more than a physical therapist. She is a friend. She is caring and empathetic to your needs and she really loves what she’s does and that meant everything to me bc sometimes I had to bring my babies to a session. I didn’t have to worry bc she has three girls of her own. I love the community in Dr. Lauren and I hope whoever is reading this can see the investment in yourself is SO NECESSARY! Women are nurturers by nature, so doing self work is the last on our list. Listen to me!! Do this important work in your life - regardless if you want or don’t want anymore kids, there is process to everything and every season. You will be so thankful that you took this time to heal your insides after laboring that beautiful baby into this world.
”
“I met Lauren three days after giving birth that left me with huge pelvic floor issues to a point where I was using a walker. She was amazing, and single handedly fixed my issues so that recovery happened much faster. She’s great to work with! Highly recommend!”
“Dr. Lauren and Dr. Aimee at Empower are amazing! I wish I had found them even sooner. At 7 weeks postpartum, I started noticing some pelvic floor issues that continued after normal recovery. I initially spoke with Aimee who listened to my problems and explained to me how the pelvic floor works with the whole body, how physical therapy could help, and what to expect. After interviewing many different PTs, these ladies were my first choice because they come to your home, are so easy to schedule with, are super knowledgeable, and reasonably priced. In just 3 visits, I already started noticing a difference. I feel so much stronger overall and confident again. I didn’t realize how much my pelvic floor tension was affecting me. Dr. Lauren individualizes my plan, make modifications and gives me functional exercises to practice at home. You can tell she truly cares about her patient’s health and recovery. Thank you so much for changing my postpartum experience!! If you are considering PT, don’t delay. The sooner the better and Empower is the best!”
“Wish I could give higher than 5 stars! I worked with Aimee starting a couple months postpartum after dealing with mild prolapse from my VBAC delivery. Aimee was not only incredibly professional, but warm with me and my children (they make house calls for PT which was a godsend for me!) She would talk with my rambunctious 3 year old and hold my newborns paci in so I could finish my reps. Not only that, but she worked to actually educate me on all the different muscles affected by pregnancy and birth which I really felt helped me to effectively learn to re-activate them and do the exercises properly. She was patient and accommodating as I had multiple setbacks from illnesses in my recovery, and ultimately she got me running and exercising again with no pain or pressure! My physical recovery truly made all the difference in my mental and emotional health during this postpartum and I am so grateful to Aimee and empower pt! If you are on the fence- DO IT! You won’t regret it!”
We hope this empowers you to take charge of your postpartum health! Remember, mamas, you deserve to feel your best. Don't hesitate to reach out to a qualified physical therapist to get the support you need on your motherhood journey
Dig Deeper: Uncover More Secrets to Pelvic Floor Health
Hi! We are Dr.Aimee and Dr. Lauren
We are the owners of Empower Physical Therapy and Wellness. We are pelvic floor physical therapists who specialize in helping women from pregnancy, into postpartum and through perimenopause, menopause and then beyond! We believe all women deserve to do all of the things they love without symptoms!
You can contact us via our website, email at hello@weempowerpt.com or social media!
The information provided in this blog is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or symptoms. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this blog.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any medical or healthcare institutions.
