Post-Partum Physical Therapy

After giving birth, you may find that you have muscles that have become strained, weakened, or even damaged. Even though you may still look like you did before pregnancy, your body is never quite the same afterward. Around one-third of women in the U.S. experience pelvic floor disorder after childbirth. Symptoms include:

  • Bladder or bowel incontinence
  • Difficulty emptying your bladder
  • Pain in the pelvis, low back, tailbone or abdomen
  • Uncomfortable sex
  • Pelvic organ prolapse
  • Diastasis recti

If this has happened to you, pelvic floor physical therapy may be the answer. The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that form a “sling” from in front of the pelvis back to your tailbone. They support the pelvis and internal organs (uterus, bowel and bladder) around the pelvis. Pelvic floor physical therapy strengthens the pelvic floor and relaxes tight muscles.

Physical therapist and female patient