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Birth, to give life. Isn’t that the truth? Mothers give so much of themselves to their children. Often at the expense of their own health. The maternal support for women postpartum is oftentimes a quick 6 week check up. Which includes a brief survey asking how you’re feeling mentally, a run down of whether or not you’re still bleeding and then a swift nod and a “sounds great, be sure to take things at your own pace” then you’re out the door…280 days spent creating a life, while adjusting your own. Hours of labor, fear, blood, sweat and tears all funneled down to “take things at your own pace”. As you navigate life with a newborn it’s often overlooked that you are a newly born mother as well. Someone who needs guidance and support.
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1. Work With A Pelvic Expert At Body Motion PT Work With A Pelvic Expert Physical Therapist To Learn How To Incorporate Safe Pushing Practice That Your Pelvic Floor Will Thank You For. Address any pain that comes up and prepare your pelvic floor. 2. Stay Aligned Proper alignment allows for less strain on the joints as you grow through pregnancy. Proper alignment reduces the tension in your pelvic floor and helps eliminate aches and pains; low back and hip pain are common issues during pregnancy. One of the most essential routines I do during pregnancy is deep relaxation of my pelvic floor muscles and visualization. It is critical that we prepare these muscles and our minds for birth.
Let me explain: Say Carrie is 24 weeks pregnant and has been struggling with incontinence and hip pain for 15 weeks, this is because Relaxin, a hormone that relaxes your joints is released in the first couple weeks of pregnancy. This makes your pelvic floor tighten to maintain stability. Affecting your joints and your pelvic floor. Most people go their entire pregnancy with these issues assuming because they're so common that it's "normal" or "expected". I am so passionate about pelvic floor therapy because I see my clients waiting for changes, missing moments, activities and life events because they're suffering. I see people who brought life into the world missing out on their own. Absolutely nothing compares to the light in their eyes when they get up from the table pain free, when they shed a tear because the fear of surgery is gone, the smile when they tell me what they CAN do now. We do this for those moments. What a gift it is to give to others but it is love when you see them healing and enjoying life to the fullest. We've had clients move away to sail the world because they CAN. Our clients swim in oceans, climb mountains, make love, run marathons and most importantly LIVE pain free, confident lives!
I just received the sweetest email and my patient gave me permission to share;
"Dear Dr. Allison, I hope you're doing well, congratulations on your pregnancy! I have been meaning to email you back thanks so much for checking in, we just got back from our trip to Colorado and I feel so grateful! I can't tell you enough how much it means being able to hike with my boys and not feel left behind, to know that my body can do anything I set my mind to. After the birth of my twins I cried all the time, from pain, from fear, from exhaustion. My low back pain was so debilitating I didn't know how I was going to keep up with them as kids I could barely carry them as babies. After years of struggling and doubting myself and my abilities as a mom I know that the universe brought me to you! Sorry if that sounds corny but I remember leaving your office feeling so hopeful and you and your team changed my life and the lives of my children, I am so happy I found you when the boys were still young, I was so worried I would miss those moment ya know, soccer games, camping, going to the beach and playing in the sand and you gave all of that back to me. I was so hesitant to start PT because of my previous experience but Body Motion is different! You were sooo RIGHT! You all remembered me and showed you cared and made my goals the focus I didn't just feel like a number and I have been telling everyone I know about you and just wanted to personally thank you!" If you are pregnant. Invest in your health now, in your body now and in your future self. It is well worth it. And it may be easier to manage to do it now and take the time, then when you have a newborn to get the recovery care that is required postpartum (and yes, everyone needs recovery care even if you feel amazing). That's a topic for another day or you can read my book “Restore Your body After Kids: The Secret To Avoiding Peeing Your Pants And Achy Joints As You Age”
I am writing this mad so bear with me. We had a client come in today for an Initial Evaluation a really sweet gal who is 2 years postpartum and is currently pregnant and is suffering with really bad low back pain. She had an emergency C-section 2 years ago and wants to try for a VBAC but is really worried she won't be able to because she's already struggling and has weeks to go. She shared with us that she had gone in for Pelvic PT when she was first postpartum 2 years ago and was told that she needed to lose weight, that because she had a c-section the issue wasn't pelvic floor related and was not given an internal exam AT ALL.
She has spent the last two years working out, WITH BACK PAIN because she was trying to prepare for birth and wanted to heal her back pain first. When the weight came off and she was still struggling with the pain she figured that it was just normal and has just been depending on chiropractic and massages for when it gets unbearable. Her and her husband wanted their children to be close in age so they decided it was time to try for baby #2. Now 20 weeks pregnant even her chiro and massages aren't helping like they used to and a friend gave her our information. THANK GOODNESS This woman has been in pain for the first two years of her child's life. She has had to navigate working full time, being a mom and her workout routine in hopes of finding relief. She has spent hundreds of dollars on relief which doesn't last and lived in fear of having another baby because she didn't know that her Pelvic Floor was affected by her c-section and her constant workouts were actually making it worse. She was body shamed by a health care provider who didn't know what they were talking about and they are the perceived authority so she suffered for YEARS. These stories are why I started Body Motion Physical Therapy. These women are why I have spent years creating exclusive protocols that gives real results, why I have shadowed leading experts, taking dozens of courses ,stay up reading new research articles absorbing any and all new information so my practice and our providers are able to change lives. We don't depend on electrodes, biofeedback machines, x-rays or Physical Therapy assistants to do the work that will eliminate the pain and restore the pelvic floor muscles so the core is optimized. You can have a strong core at any size, c-sections are a major surgery that DEFINITELY affects the pelvic floor and any Pelvic Floor PT that doesn't do internal work is not qualified to treat you. I feel like some days it's Spring and some days it's Winter, either way I've been loving getting out in the crisp air for a walk with my kids. I know that it has been a saving grace for my family and I to be able to get outdoors these past few months. I am so grateful to have the support of Dr. Riley and Dr. Victoria as my Pelvic Floor PT's this pregnancy because it's made getting active so much easier than my last two pregnancies and it's so cool to be on the other side of the treatment! I've always loved what I do and known the value but getting to experience Pelvic Floor PT. After I had my first child my daughter who is now 5 I didn't have the support of a Pelvic Floor PT. After I had my 2nd child, my son who is now 3, I started getting treatment from Dr.Riley and it seriously changed my life! It made me realize what I had been missing. Now I'm pregnant with my 3rd baby and I'm so excited knowing that I have these next few months to optimize my body for birth and be ready to handle life with 3 kids.
Just knowing that I'm going to have the support of Dr. Riley and Dr. Victoria is giving me so much confidence and I just wanted to shout it from the rooftops, and have indeed shouted in our lobby just bursting with love and gratitude for the team I get to work with and I just wanted to share with you! My feelings and my team! I want everyone to feel this way during pregnancy and postpartum, it's magical! A big focus here at Body Motion is confidence, it is one of our core values. We work together to nurture confidence in all of our team members. We know that when we show up without a shadow of a doubt we can exude that energy and support others so they can get there too! A big part of confidence is trust, whether it's in your team or yourself.
Trust in yourself is the backbone of confidence and that can be rocked when life flips upside down due to an injury, surgery, pregnancy or birth, a pandemic... routines get thrown off, other emotions get involved and it can be hard to make a decision or feel like you know what to do. We see it so often that patients come to us 2-3, 10 years postpartum at the end of their rope, suffering with pain they have been ignoring, putting their needs on the back burner for others and whenever they try to take a step forward they feel let down.  Diastasis recti is a condition affecting the most superficial muscular layer of the abdominal wall (rectus abdominis aka the 6 pack muscle) causing separation along the midline of the muscle. I will usually encounter this when treating women during pregnancy or in their postpartum recovery. I definitely enjoy working with women in the earlier stages of their pregnancy because we get to work together to help protect the abdominal wall and prevent or minimize any abdominal separation. In this population, DRA is usually occurring due to increased tension across the abdomen to accommodate their growing belly and if left untreated, can lead to core weakness, back pain as well as pelvic floor issues including urinary incontinence, constipation and painful sex.
It is our mission here at Body Motion PT to make you to leave every session feeling loved and clear on what's next on your healing journey, this is why we create personalized healing plans for every client and measure our success on how close we are to helping you complete your goals. We focus on the restoration of the pelvic floor and you won't find this anywhere else. It makes me sad that people think they need to go in network provider. I don’t want to see people waste their time and money and end up getting a surgery. People may get relief for a month going to an in-network provider and then when their issues return they think Pelvic PT doesn’t work and it leads to them having to get a surgery. I'm not saying this to sell to you or brag about my clinic. I'm saying this because I believe in treating our patients with the same love and support that I would want my own mom to receive. Let me tell you why we’re a specialty clinic, we are experts of the pelvic floor. We have really specific protocols that we’ve established while other pelvic floor providers get 1 weekend course and then they're "qualified" to treat Pelvic Floor.
I know sometimes insurance can limit the number of times patients are able to come in and that is why we're out of network, we want to create a plan that if you want to return to running, eliminate pain, swim in every ocean on earth or jump on a trampoline with your kids, we will help you get there. We won't limit your healing to 4 sessions because that's all insurance says you get. We will be here for you every step of the way! If payment is at all a factor just know we have package options and payment plans that we can review with you to make our services more accessible. Thanks so much for taking the time to read about Body Motion PT, we can't wait to help you and are always here if you ever have questions! Tuning into your body is essential for birth, so often we see that once a patient arrives at the hospital there is a cascade of intervention. This can be induction, an epidural or a c-section. These interventions are not always needed birth happens in it's own time, hospitals have standardized timelines for when things should progress and if your birth does not align with that an intervention will be suggested.
I am not saying these interventions are bad, sometimes they are medically necessary and our end goal is always a safe and healthy birth from mom and baby. I want to empower and prepare my clients to feel confident during birth. With the pain comes fear, fear leads to tension and tension can lead to a longer birth or the need for a c-section. This meditation will help you connect with your pelvic floor, visualize your birth and create a mental map which can help keep you in a parasympathetic state which regardless of if you have a c-section or a vaginal birth will help you stay in control and more present. I always say if you were being chased by a tiger your body would not let you give birth. Tuning into your breath and your body will allow you to control the stress and prevent strain on your body. So we're going to sink right into the meditation and you'll be able to listen to this on replay or during your actual birth. So let me have you just go ahead and get comfortable. Wherever you find a meditative spot that’s comfortable, whether that's laying on your side sitting with a couple pillows underneath your butt in a cross-legged position resting your hands on your knees, maybe with your pointer finger touching your thumb. Click Here To Listen To The Meditation. Are you having difficulty connecting to your pelvic floor? Or do you want to take your birth prep to the next level Request A Free 30 Minute Discovery Visit Today! Painful Sex is known as Dysparunia a condition characterized as pain before, during or after penetrative sex.
Pain with sexual intercourse is a common and multifactorial condition which can often be attributed to a combination of musculoskeletal and psychological components. Possible causes of dyspareunia include injury to the pelvic floor during childbirth, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, infection, overactivity in the pelvic floor musculature, stress and painful bladder syndrome. Psychosocial factors such as depression, physical or sexual abuse, and anxiety also are possible causes of dyspareunia. Women may report pain (burning, stinging, sharp) with initial penetration or feeling as though their partner is hitting a wall with deeper thrusting or certain deeper penetrating positions. Pain and soreness can persist after intercourse as well. Do you ever wonder what to expect when you go to a pelvic floor physical therapist you might have had friends that say to you. “Hey, I'm going to pelvic PT. I stopped peeing my pants and all this great stuff”, or your doctor might say “hey you need to go to pelvic floor PT”
What’s important to review is the role the pelvic floor plays in your body; The Pelvic Floor Is Responsible For All Sexual Functions, Urinary and Bowel Functions But It Is Also The Root Of Our Core Strength. Do you ever wonder what to expect when you go to a pelvic floor physical therapist you might have had friends that say to you. “Hey, I'm going to pelvic PT. I stopped peeing my pants and all this great stuff”, or your doctor might say “hey you need to go to pelvic floor PT”
What’s important to review is the role the pelvic floor plays in your body; The Pelvic Floor Is Responsible For All Sexual Functions, Urinary and Bowel Functions But It Is Also The Root Of Our Core Strength. Pain in the sacroiliac joint can be a result of some type of trauma to the pelvis such as a fall as well as be nontraumatic like in the case of age-related degenerative changes like arthritis. However, pregnancy can be another underlying cause to sacroiliac joint pain. The pelvis undergoes a lot of change throughout each trimester of pregnancy which can bring about asymmetries in muscle strength and muscle length in any of the muscles that attach inside and outside of the pelvis.
If you've given birth you may be experiencing some pain and discomfort for the next few weeks. Usually we get cleared at 6 weeks to return to our regular activities but to just "take it easy" for many of my patients the pain and discomfort associated with those first few weeks or months when returning to intimacy never goes away. Frustration builds and fear sets in "will sex always feel like this?" then they check in with friends and hear that yeah once your a mom sex is never the same. But that's not true.
We've all been there, searched our symptoms and came upon information that just sends us spiraling.
Stress, fear and pain can make it near impossible to take action. So we put our needs on the back burner. We convince ourselves that things will get better naturally, that they're not that serious. We hear from clients so often that they were afraid to start because, "What if I don't get better and still have to have surgery?" It can be hard to start physical therapy because many people see physical therapy as the last ditch before surgery and that puts a lot of mental pressure on the outcome you are striving for. Here at Body Motion PT we don't have specific guidelines for what it means to be healed because every single person's goals are different. We create a personalized plan of care which includes milestones, specific to your goals. Still Reeling Over Your Ruined Routine?
We are all in the same ocean on different boats. During times of crisis we want to be a guiding light in how to show up for yourself and how to take positive steps on your health journey that don't involve kale, fasting, or picking up a new at home fitness routine. The truth is that some people relieve stress through exercise and that's a natural response for them, it is also a natural response if you put on weight, it is also a natural and societal response if you've taken a break from the gym and it is healthy if you have been sleeping more. This year has been hard, here at Body Motion Physical Therapy we are huge advocates for gratitude which we have had to refocus on as we all endured so many changes. We are especially grateful for our health, we are grateful for our community and the work we get to do everyday! We are in awe of the women in our community and the abundance of moms who have decided to put their health first. So often we see women who have pushed their bodies past pain and discomfort, ignored symptoms and continued on as though everything is fine.
Are You Fed Up With Peeing Your Pants? At Your Wits End With Leaking When You Laugh Or Jump Or Cough? I hear so often that "I thought surgery was my only option". I had a new client say this to me just last week. She really just wanted to get surgery so she could get a "quick fix and just be done with it" but she couldn't commit to the recovery time and her family and work needs are too much that recovering from a surgery was out of the question right now.
Healing, in general, is an ongoing process. It comes in stages and relies on the completion of each step before you are ready to move on to the next.
It can be incredibly scary to hear, but the fact of the matter is that your uterus may not be quite back to normal size and that translates to larger issues. The ligaments, peritoneum, and endopelvic fascia, which are just fancy words for big sheets that hold the organs in place and attached inside your body, were stretched from holding the uterus and bladder in place, and now in early postpartum have become saggy and are less supportive. The Pacific Northwest is known for it's amazing hiking trails and this summer we want to be sure that you can enjoy your time outdoors. Getting out in nature is so good for the mind and body and is a great family activity. But I hear from clients when they first arrive in my clinic that the thought of heading up a trail with their little ones on their back makes them cringe. They've been suffering with constant knee and back pain since pregnancy and now postpartum they thought it would go away. It's especially frustrating when so many other activities are still unavailable.
I completely understand it's been quite an adjustment but I am here to share my 2 Secrets To Eliminating Low Back and Knee Pain. The reason I started Body Motion Physical Therapy and am so committed to helping moms from day one postpartum through menopause and beyond is because we believe that you should enjoy living life in your body.
For you to enjoy life, it is helpful to enjoy your body. There is no doubt that the body after babies can be frustrating for moms. It can be frustrating to be a new mom and wake up and feel achy and worn out, as if you have aged 20 years overnight. It is equally hard to have to invest in a new wardrobe or look at your clothes and how they fit. So, instead of dwelling on what life was like, we empower you to embrace the body you have now in order to create a solid foundation on which to build your future. Physically, your foundation is your core and pelvic floor. When the foundation is strong and powerful then all of a sudden you get a new lease on how things feel. When things feel good, you feel better and your mental shift is more positive.  A Common Postpartum Issue Is Diastasis Recti, or Ab Separation. This is a condition that needs to be addressed to ensure you restore your core therefore it can protect your joints throughout your life
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Author: Allison Feldt"We Help Women Through Pregnancy And Beyond So They Can Live Active, Confident And Healthy Lives To Prevent Surgery And The Need For Medications." Archives
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