Closing a gap in Women’s Health Care Prenatal & Postpartum Stages by Carly Maxwell
We all know or have even experienced that health care systems have quite a few gaps that need to be closed. What better way to take charge than to know exactly what those gaps are? Experiencing one of them myself was reason enough to become a Pre & Postnatal Fitness Specialist.
On my prenatal and postpartum journey, I experienced many symptoms during exercise which, knowing the things that I know now, turned out to be common pains and injuries that could have been fixed with appropriate exercise. My first instinct was to consult my OBGYN but unfortunately, I only received basic guidelines and recommendations that didn’t solve my issues.
This blog post is meant to spread the word on common pains and injuries that can be experienced in the beginning of pregnancy and follow into the postpartum phase. Many of these issues are commonly looked at as a passage into motherhood and it’s exciting to share that this is NOT true. Mamas do not need to constantly have back pain just because they had a baby. Mamas do not need to accept leaking as a new normal. And finally sometimes the belly pooch that leaves many Mamas feeling insecure is a part of a bigger issue that can most definitely be fixed with proper exercise and knowledge.
Below I will briefly cover the 5 most common pains and injuries that prenatal and postpartum women can come across. It’s my goal to empower women to ask more questions at check ups when recognizing any of the following symptoms. This can increase the chance to receive a more personalized check up. Here is where the gap in the healthcare system begins to show…many doctors offices are full and we all know the actual time in front of the doctor is not always long enough. Doctors need to focus on so many very important issues like baby’s growth, health, and certain metrics from Mama that there really is not time for them to cover the following issues in depth. Alright, ready to dive into those common pains and injuries and learn what to do about them?
Here they are:
Diastasis Recti
Carpal Tunnel
Low Back Pain
Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction
These are 5 of the most common pains and injuries and below we will look a little closer at each pain.
Diastasis Recti
Diastasis Recti is a pressure issue caused on the midline tissue of your tummy called the Linea Alba. When this tissue becomes compromised from a wide variety of reasons it can result in a gap wider than 2 fingers width. Once you have 2 or more fingers gap you know that the tissue needs time to heal and rehabilitate. Another way to check for diastasis is the depth at which you can press into that midline tissue. When it feels squishy and easy to press down into, you may also want to consider having it professionally checked and come up with a game plan to work with a Physical Therapist or a Pre/Postnatal Fitness Specialist.
Carpal Tunnel
This pain is more commonly felt in the 2nd and 3rd trimester when fluid retention becomes a bit more apparent. This added fluid retention can build up pressure and press on the nerves causing carpal tunnel. This can easily be managed with proper massage/foam rolling techniques as well as adequate hydration.
Low Back Pain
Even without the growing belly, low back pain is a very big issue for many populations. Depending on the cause of the low back pain, working with a fitness specialist can help ease these pains and bring more comfort throughout your pregnancy and postpartum journey. You want to maintain a strong deep core system because our beautiful kiddos will continue to grow and want to be held so the stronger we can keep our backs the more we can enjoy the moments of carrying our littles around without resulting in extreme back pain.
Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
Pelvic floor dysfunction can be a variety of things, one can have a weak pelvic floor or on the contrary a very tight pelvic floor. Either way these are not optimal (It was an old thought that a tight pelvic floor must be a good thing) BUT when the length tension relationship is off the muscles, even in our pelvic floor, can't function properly. Incontinence is a big indicator that one could have pelvic floor dysfunction, and another is tailbone pain. If you’re experiencing either of these, it is a great idea to chat with your health care provider about your next step. Working with a Pelvic floor specialist or a Pre/postnatal Fitness Specialist would be a great idea.
A fun fact about the pelvic floor is that you can begin during pregnancy to help prevent any issues from developing, as well as learn how to work with and get to know your pelvic floor for an easier delivery.
Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction
Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction is a fancy way of saying one has a hypermobility issue in the pelvis. This could happen for a number of reasons, one could try to prevent developing SPD with proper hip stabilizing exercises however due to the wild card of hormones one could still develop SPD. (Exercise can always help and at the very least make the symptoms not as severe). One could feel SPD in moments when they use a single leg, for example, putting on a pair of pants, swinging one leg out of the car at a time, walking up stairs or a curb, etc. The pain felt is like a lightning bolt zap straight to the front of your pelvic area (where the two bones connect), typically while doing a single sided movement like listed above. Working on strengthening exercises to stabilize the hip region is very important for one with SPD, therefore working with a Pre/Postnatal Specialist is very beneficial.
We covered so many topics here and I hope this empowered you to get another step closer to understanding all that goes on in a woman's body during this beautiful time. These pains are quite common, however you can most definitely do something about any of these to help make it better or prevent it from getting worse. Utilize this list as a gentle guide to ask more questions during your check ups to rule any of these common pains out.
Three KEY techniques to focus on during Pregnancy and Postpartum to help your body prevent or heal are shared below.
Proper Pelvic Floor work (more than just a Kegel)
360* Breathing techniques (Watch Free Tutorial)
Being mindful of how you move your body during mom life activities
Carly is a Certified Personal Trainer specializing in Pre/Postnatal Fitness. Fitness & health have always been her greatest passion. Her own mama-journey, which gave her two wonderful children, made her realize the lack of information and programming for Pregnant and Postpartum Women. Since then she made it her mission to share information and help as many women as possible.
carlymaxwellfitness.com
@fitmamaspecialist