Childbirth is a beautiful thing, but it’s also difficult on the mother’s body. Thankfully, physical therapy can help you recover quickly and safely. I am Toni Drinkard, a physical therapist here at Rebound Physical Therapy in Topeka, Kansas. And today we’re going to be talking about postpartum care and why physical therapy is so necessary and vital.
Does a Mom’s Body Bounce Back After Pregnancy?
If you think, “Oh, my body is just going to get back to its natural state after pregnancy,” that’s not always the case. Your body over those 9 months has gone through a lot of changes, so to expect that everything will just go back to normal is not always realistic. We need to give ourselves a little bit more grace when it comes to recovering postpartum. But studies have proven that physical therapy can help you recover faster.
A Physical Therapist Will Support Your Recovery Step by Step
Having someone there to actually coach you through activating and strengthening your core muscles after giving birth is vital. And in my opinion, it’s so encouraging because, I don’t know about you, but sometimes looking up exercises on the internet can leave me feeling like, “They’re doing great, but I don’t know what I’m doing, or where I should be feeling this.” When you have a physical therapist with you, there’s no confusion or uncertainty because we’re there to support you every step of the way.
We Can Teach You How to Move Safely to Avoid Injury
Whether you are trying to breastfeed, bottle feed, or bathe your child, there’s correct ways to do it that follow proper body mechanics. And learning the right ways to move or hold your body is vital because you’re feeding, bending, changing a diaper so many times a day with a newborn. You could be getting into positions that are setting you up for injury or just pain, without even realizing it. We bring this to your attention during therapy, and even just having that knowledge or awareness can make a world of difference in your recovery. That’s why I always recommend having postpartum care with physical therapy.
Moms Deserve More Care After Delivery—and We Provide It!
If you look at the number of visits that you have with your precious baby in their first few months of life, it’s several. And then for us mamas, we typically only have one six week follow up appointment. That’s silly to me because you need to take care of mama first, and then mama can take care of everyone else.
I always recommend for new mothers to get a PT evaluation and take a look at how to correctly move so you can get started on your road to recovery after birth. We’ll help you get back into functional activity, whether that’s an exercise program, whether that’s a marathon, whether that’s just trying to catch up with the rest of your kids. And we’ll help you do it safely.
Call Rebound for an Evaluation
If you’re getting ready to deliver or have recently given birth, check us out at Rebound Physical Therapy. Give us a call at (785) 271-5533 and we’ll help you get back in action.
Tags: wellness
