Achy Joints During Pregnancy And Postpartum

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “… I didn’t realize it was connected to my pelvic floor”

That’s the thing the pelvic floor supports so many systems within our bodies and it is so under served in standard practice. That’s why I opened Body Motion PT, because there were so many issues I saw people struggling with that if they had a healthy Pelvic Floor they wouldn’t even be dealing with.

So let’s review!

Joints, our pelvic floor is the best friend of our joints. The pelvic floor is there to support the joints through the hard times; the box jumps, squats, runs, crawling after little ones and pretty much all of the movement we do throughout our lives.

Think of your core as a spring, the diaphragm is the top and the pelvic floor is the bottom. A healthy pelvic floor and core can absorb the force exerted by our bodies. But if there is a problem with the bottom of the spring our bodies pass the force off to our joints like our hips and knees.
Something that isn’t talked about enough is that during your first trimester of pregnancy your body releases a hormone called Relaxin which softens the joints and its purpose is to relax the hip joints so they can over extend and allow the baby to come through the vagina. But that Relaxin hormone also affects the rest of your joints, that’s why clinically we see people get injured easier from activities that they can usually do with ease or struggle with hip and knee pain during pregnancy. Postpartum Relaxin leaves the body and our joints regain their strength but now the pelvic floor has been through some things…

This matters because the generations before us never got treatment for their pelvic floors and we’ve all heard of the little old lady who breaks her hip and the main reason this is happening is because after she had her kids she lived another 40 something years with all the force getting put on her joints.

We have a chance now to prepare our bodies for the rest of our lives. We want the standard postpartum to be immediate pelvic floor support, tips for protecting your core while you’re in the healing 4th trimester and then pelvic floor treatment to address the trauma caused to the core whether you had a c-section or vaginal birth and personalized movement plans to help you restore your core and pelvic floor coordination. These are not exercises to lose anything, these are movements to gain strength and confidence in your body’s ability to carry you through life.

Birth is an experience that is empowering and amazing and it can also make you feel very vulnerable. I know first hand how life changing Pelvic Floor PT is postpartum. Having someone who knows your goals and your fears and can put your worries to rest and help you feel like yourself again is just amazing.