Time Out for Mom: Physical Therapy for Postpartum Back Pain Relief
Congratulations! Your body just created a new human being! You are in love like you’ve never been before with that tiny, adorable human (humans if you had multiples). At the same time, your hormones and emotions are all over the place! You ugly cry over diaper commercials. Then, 15 minutes later you belly laugh when your baby burps milk all over your mother-in-law’s new outfit. Oops! And now you have to change your pants because you leaked a little when you laughed. You’re more sleep-deprived than you knew was possible, and you ache just about everywhere especially—your lower back.
While you might feel like nobody understands what you’re going through, more than 40 million women worldwide are right there with you—32 percent of whom also have back pain postpartum, not to mention a list of other complications that come from the experience of pregnancy and childbirth. The bottom line is this: You must take time out for yourself. To be the best mom you can be, you need rest, good nutrition, mental, and physical healthcare so you can adapt, adjust, and thrive as a new mom! Postpartum PT is an essential part of that strategy.
Common Postpartum Physical Challenges
Postpartum PT can help you recover from the amazing thing your body just did. It can help you get stronger and more balanced. It can provide you with welcome drug-free pain relief as you give yourself the care you need. Give yourself space, grace, and time. You’ve done something heroic, and it is very common to go through challenges afterward. Some of the most common postpartum challenges physical therapy can help with include:
Diastasis recti (abdominal separation)
Pelvic floor dysfunction (e.g., incontinence, pain, or weakness)
Back pain and posture-related issues
Scar tissue and mobility after a C-section or an episiotomy
Muscle weakness and overall deconditioning
As common as these challenges are, take courage! With time, care, and self-love, you will regroup and feel strong going forward as a mom. Reach out for support from friends, family, and the postpartum physical therapy team here at A Life in Balance, as our wonderful friend Alicia did!
How Postpartum Physical Therapy in Huntington Can Help
“My son came into this world fast and furiously,” says Alicia, age 32, who loves healthy food, hiking, weightlifting, and yoga. “I knew I wanted to go to physical therapy after he was born anyway, but because of his quick labor, I had more pain than I was expecting postpartum. I'm really glad I prioritized going to physical therapy, not only to address the pain from his birth but also to learn how my body changed during pregnancy and how it was adapting to carrying around and tending to my new baby all day.”
Our Physical Therapy Assistant, Lauren, explains why physical therapy should be on every mom’s self-care plan: “Postpartum PT can help reduce pain and incontinence,” she says. “It can improve your daily function by strengthening weakened abdominal and pelvic floor muscles. This improves body mechanics, taking the strain off the overworked muscles and ligaments, thus improving overall well-being, posture, circulation, and sexual health.”
Lauren recommends scheduling an appointment to start postpartum physical therapy six weeks after delivery, even if you don’t feel any pain or symptoms. Your ALIB physical therapist can assess your recovery and look for small problems that might worsen if not addressed. This can help you prevent injuries and pain before they start and help you recover your strength, stamina, and balance more quickly, all of which you will need as a new mom! If you are struggling with any of these symptoms, schedule an appointment:
Pelvic floor pain or discomfort
Incontinence
Prolapse
Trouble with bowel movements
Painful intercourse
Abdominal muscle weakness or separation
Any pain that causes functional limitations (difficulty with daily activities)
And even if you can’t make it into the office for an in-person visit (because—baby!), try one of our online physical therapy sessions.
A Full Assessment: More than Just Lower Back Pain Postpartum
Alicia had been to physical therapy in the past for a shoulder injury, but nothing prepared her for just how thoroughly the ALIB team assessed her physicality as a whole:
“I've never had anyone look at my body as a whole, even though the reason I came into physical therapy was specific,” says Alicia. “ALIB takes the time to explain and show you how and why you're experiencing what you're experiencing. Then, they develop a plan to address not only your pain but how you can bring your entire body into better alignment. It’s truly amazing!”
All of our physical therapists have enjoyed working with Alicia, and Lauren explains the interwoven imbalances we discovered and addressed together: “Alicia was having hip pain while holding and carrying her son Jackson, as well as, struggling to get back into a regular workout routine due to pain and feeling of exhaustion,” explains Lauren.
“We found that she had some intrinsic core and posterior chain weakness that contributed to her hip pain and fatigue—but also an underlying issue with her heart rate, commonly known as POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). Her heart rate spikes with postural changes. This caused exhaustion and fatigue after trying to do her usual workout routine. So, we came up with a specific protocol for her to work on during sessions here and at home to reduce these symptoms while teaching her how to monitor her heart rate and symptoms properly to gauge the appropriate exercises to incrementally improve her tolerance and work towards her goals moving forward to get back to her very active lifestyle.”
Postpartum PT Plan for a Stronger Mom
After a full physical assessment that covered everything this new mom was going through, we created a plan to help Alicia recover. Lauren and our physical therapy team helped Alicia focus on strengthening and stabilizing the intrinsic core chain system within the body, focusing on exercises that bolster the abdominals and the pelvic floor, including:
Core strengthening and stabilization exercises
Pelvic floor therapy to address pain or dysfunction
Postural alignment and ergonomic guidance for daily tasks like nursing or lifting a baby
Techniques for improving scar tissue mobility and reducing discomfort
“Alicia is very dedicated and consistent with her visits, home exercises, and being a new mom,” says Lauren. “She is a pleasure to work with, taking on the POTS and finding her own nutritional techniques that have supported our work in the office. We have seen success with core and hip strengthening activities and the specific protocol for POTS.”
You Deserve This, Mom: Lower Back Pain Relief with Postpartum PT
Alicia insists that even if you are a new mom, you must take time to care for your own needs. Suffering from back pain won’t help you or your family. Self-care, education, and empowerment are essential.
“I've definitely focused on working hard for myself!” says Alicia "Just learning about how my body was overcompensating for weaker parts and learning how to move properly has been so amazing to learn!”
Alicia adds, “I'm so glad I committed to show up each week. Pregnancy and childbirth change your body, and caring for your new baby postpartum changes it even more. Learning how to care for your body through all of these changes is worth taking the time out of your busy postpartum life to go to physical therapy. Plus, it's a nice little break from the little one every week!”
Alicia’s postpartum back pain and hip pain have improved, and she’s feeling much stronger now. She’s experiencing the many benefits of postpartum PT:
Improved mobility, strength, and functionality
Reduced pain and discomfort
Prevention of long-term complications like prolapse or chronic pain
Faster return to normal activities, including exercise and parenting tasks
Functional Movement Challenge for December: Carry That Weight!
As a mom, you know what it’s like to carry a wriggling baby while balancing a plate of cold spaghetti more than anyone else. Alicia gets it: “This month's challenge is carrying! It's an important movement for me because I do it every day carrying my four-month-old! You don't realize how heavy twenty pounds is until you're carrying it around with you all day!”
So, for the functional movement challenge this month:
Most people: Carry weight equal to 25% of your body weight for 1 minute.
Athletes or those wanting a challenge: Carry 50% of your body weight for 1 minute.
Needing a modification? Start with 20 pounds.
This movement engages key muscles used in everyday tasks, promoting better functional fitness and overall stability. Whether you’re testing your limits or easing into it, this is a fun and powerful way to finish the year stronger. Let’s see what you can carry into 2025! And if you have any questions about how to go about this move safely, reach out to us, please!
Take Time Out for Postpartum Physical Therapy in Huntington County
Whether you’re a new mom, a future mom, or have been a mom for a long time, take time out to take care of your needs! Self-care isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. Schedule an appointment to meet with our holistic physical therapy team, and if you have to do it while the baby is napping, we’ve got you with virtual, online physical therapy sessions too! You deserve this. Listen to Alicia: “Physical therapy at ALIB has truly been life-changing! Even though pregnancy and childbirth brought me into physical therapy, I wish I had gone before having kids!”
