What are the benefits of seeing a physio during your pregnancy?

Having a physiotherapist on your team during pregnancy is essential! It’s a great touch point to have throughout your journey and allows you to get on top of aches and pains early or even prevent them from coming on all together.

It allows you to remain comfortable whilst your baby is growing and we can give advice about how to mange with self-management tips for home, exercise modifications or new things to try (like a prenatal hydrotherapy class for example!)

pic: pintrest

What common conditions pop up during pregnancy?

Some common aches and pains we see amongst pregnant women include:

• Low back pain

• Sciatica

• Lateral hip pain or bursitis

• Pelvic girdle pain (SIJ and pubic symphysis pain)

• Lightning crotch 

• Upper back pain

• Neck pain and headaches

• Rib stiffness

We also treat anything else that comes up, it doesn’t have to be pregnancy related. 

Most of the time we find that we just follow the pain. If your lower back pain improves, but you start to get upper back and neck pain – then we just move there!

What can physiotherapy do for my aches and pains?

We use hands-on treatment to provide you with relief from stiff, sore joints and those tight, achy muscles. We use a combination of massage, mobilisations, trigger point therapy and cupping to achieve this. You will walk out feeling better than when you come in, guaranteed!

pic: Belly Pillow https://bellypillow.com/

How do I lie down for treatment?

We have specialised Belly Pillows that allow you to lay down safely on your stomach for treatment if required.

However, if you don’t feel comfortable doing this or it makes you feel dizzy or nauseous then that’s okay too! We will make it work and can treat either in sidelying or sitting instead.

How does this differ from normal physiotherapy?

Our physiotherapists have further education and knowledge around pregnancy and post-natal conditions, and have seen them many times before! We know what to expect, what is normal, how to manage it best and even better… how to prevent them! A maternal health physio is truly worth their weight in gold!

If you are pregnant or wanting to become pregnant soon, then don’t hesitate to get in touch or make an appointment online with us at Sunny Side Physio. 

We love helping our local community in Somerton Park, Brighton, Glenelg, Hove, Marion and Warradale.