Postnatal Physiotherapy: Your Guide to a Strong Recovery
Having a baby is a physical marathon, and your body deserves dedicated recovery.
At ESIC we offer a safe, expert-guided path to rebuilding your core strength, managing pain, and returning to the activities you love.
We always require medical clearance from your GP or midwife before starting any physical therapy programme.
1. Rebuilding Your Foundation: Pelvic Floor and Core
Pregnancy and birth, stretch and challenge your deep stabilising muscles. Our early focus is on reconnecting your mind to these vital areas:
Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation
The pelvic floor muscles are essential for bladder and bowel control, supporting your organs, and sexual function.
- Targeted Support: We use our Real-TIme Ultrasound Scanner to ensure you are effectively engaging the right muscles.
- Exercises: We guide you through progressive exercises to strengthen the muscles and boost blood flow, speeding up the healing of any damaged tissues.
- The Goal: Reducing common symptoms like light bladder leaks (urinary incontinence)
Core Reconnection
In the first six weeks, we focus on reawakening your core, not aggressively strengthening it.
- Mind-Body Link: Using our Real Time Ultrasound scanner, we teach you how to gently reactivate the deep abdominal and pelvic floor muscles that were stretched or temporarily affected by nerve changes during birth.
- Gentle Start: This phase is about regaining awareness and the mind-body connection. We start incredibly gently, as the intensive strengthening comes later.
2. Targeted Treatment and Movement
Once you’ve safely reconnected with your core, we progress to therapeutic exercises tailored to your unique needs.
Therapeutic Exercise Programmes
- Gradual Progression: Your programme starts with very low-intensity activity and gradually increases effort. We ensure the pelvic floor system is progressively loaded to build its capacity and strength over time, especially after the initial 12-week mark.
- Movement and Stability: We teach exercises that stabilise your joints, strengthen your core, and ensure you return to movement safely.
Diastasis Recti Assessment and Treatment
- Checking for Separation: We assess for diastasis recti (the separation of the rectus abdominis muscles, or “six-pack” muscles).
- Specific Rehab: We design specific abdominal rehabilitation programmes to safely close the gap and restore the integrity of your core.
Caesarean Section Recovery
We provide specific, practical strategies to manage pain and promote healing after a caesarean section delivery.
Beyond the Physical: Enhancing Overall Health
Postnatal physiotherapy provides far-reaching health benefits that go beyond muscle strength:
- Mood and Mental Health: Exercise has been shown to improve mood and reduce the risk of postnatal depression and anxiety.
- General Health: We help improve your cardiorespiratory fitness, promote healthy weight loss, and enhance your ability to move comfortably, encouraging a safe return to sport and the things you love.
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