New moms deal with a lot of changes, not the least of which is life with a newborn baby. After delivery however, a postpartum body goes through many changes as well. A common place for medical issues to arise is the pelvic floor.
How can pelvic floor PT help?
Pelvic floor muscles help keep organs like the bladder, bowel and uterus in place. Postpartum, they can be weakened, stretched and sometimes even painful. That’s why Sanford Health offers postpartum pelvic floor physical therapy to patients in need.
“I compare pelvic floor therapy to any other physical therapy. If you injure a muscle or have surgery, we often have physical therapy to help that muscle recover. I always tell my patients the pelvic floor muscles are just like any other muscle in your body. They also need help recovering,” said Melissa Kreun, a physical therapist at Sanford Women’s Health Plaza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Sanford Clinic in Luverne, Minnesota.
According to Kreun, issues with the pelvic floor can vary for each patient, but there are many common symptoms. These include incontinence of the bladder and bowel, pelvic pressure or heaviness, back pain, pelvic pain or prolapse. Physical therapy for the pelvic floor typically begins around six weeks postpartum.
“Our basic goals right away are to teach good posture and positioning and how to move correctly as they’re doing their day-to-day movements and caring for their baby,” Kreun said. “We’ll start teaching the correct breathing patterns and some basic core and pelvic floor coordination exercises to get those muscles working well together again.”
Benefits of a professional physical therapist
Kreun says there is a lot of good information for new moms available on the internet, but working with a trained physical therapist is preferable to a “do it yourself” approach.
“We hear about Kegels, but in the clinic I see a lot of people doing those basic exercises very wrong,” Kreun said. “Nobody really teaches women how to do a pelvic floor contraction. There are probably more resources and knowledge articles online than there ever used to be, but I think it’s super important to ensure that women are doing those basic things right, because that affects everything down the line.”
Kreun says that physical therapy typically starts with one or two sessions per week in clinic. After that, treatment depends on specific therapy goals. Physical therapists will also work with patients to develop a home training program to help meet their goals as well. Direct access allows patients to use physical therapy services without a doctor’s order, although some insurance plans may require a referral.
There are also times when seeing your provider is preferrable to attending physical therapy. Pelvic floor issues can vary with each individual patient. Some common symptoms that may require provider follow-up include:
- Signs of infection, such as odor or discharge
- Bleeding which worsens over time
- Sudden or severe pain
Kreun says that physical therapists can help determine when a patient should see their provider as well. They will also connect patients directly to their physicians when necessary, so they receive the care they need to meet their postpartum recovery goals.
Learn more
- Urogynecology can help with female pelvic floor issues
- Podcast: Pelvic floor dysfunction explained, and how to fix it
- Get the facts about a common post-pregnancy body change
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Posted In Pregnancy, Rehabilitation & Therapy, Women's
