Did you know that pelvic floor muscle training during pregnancy may shorten your delivery time?

It may also help decrease urinary incontinence postpartum.

Many women wait until after delivery to begin thinking about their pelvic floor but at Full Moon Physio we believe that preventative care is the best kind of care.

We highly recommend a prenatal pelvic floor assessment to check your muscle strength, tone and function. At a prenatal appointment, we will teach you how to contract and relax your pelvic floor and give you some relaxation and stretching exercises which can be helpful for preventing perineal trauma during delivery.

This exam can be done anytime up to 36 weeks but the best time to start is in your 2nd trimester - this gives you time to work through the exercises and see real changes in the muscles.

This is one of the most common symptoms of pregnancy - particularly as you move towards your third trimester.

Physiotherapy offers the perfect blend of manual therapy, exercise and soft tissue work to keep you feeling great right up to the delivery. Our physiotherapists can provide you with education about supportive sleeping positions and postural supports that can help ease your pain throughout your pregnancy.

Are you experiencing low back/hip/glute pain or pain in your pubic bone?

Does it hurt to walk, roll over in bed, climb or descend stairs or stand on one leg?

You may be experiencing Pregnancy-Related Pelvic Girdle Pain. Pelvic Girdle Pain is pain in one or both SI joints and/or at your pubic symphysis joint (aka: lightning crotch or SPD). Physiotherapy is a tried and true method to make your Pelvic Girdle Pain feel better during your pregnancy.

Our therapists are trained in Rost Therapy techniques to treat pelvic girdle pain and help you to move better for the rest of your pregnancy.

This pain usually comes on after your belly has had a growth spurt and is caused by stretching of the ligaments supporting the uterus. If you are experiencing a sharp pain in your low belly or groin with movements such as standing up from a chair or rolling over in bed you may be having round ligament pain - and physio can help.

Our goal is to make sure that every single mom-to-be knows how to protect their pelvic floor during labour and delivery. We make sure all of our clients receive comprehensive prenatal education during their third trimester.

Topics discussed include prenatal preparation for labour, the effects of instrumentation and pain medications on your pelvic floor, finding your best labour and delivery positions, how to push, and a postpartum care plan for your first 6 weeks.

Regardless of if you had a c-section or vaginal delivery, the 9 months of carrying your baby during pregnancy can be a significant stress on the pelvic floor muscles. Because of this, many common pelvic floor concerns present in the postpartum period. These can be normal in the weeks immediately postpartum but if they persist, pelvic floor physiotherapy can help restore function to your pelvic floor.

Our physiotherapists can help you resolve concerns such as incontinence (leaking urine, stool or gas), pelvic organ prolapse, internal scar tissue or perineal scar tissue from tearing or episiotomy, painful intercourse, tailbone pain, queefing, constipation and vaginal dryness

During pregnancy, your abdominals naturally stretch out as your belly grows. Diastasis recti refers to the spreading of your Rectus Abdominus muscle (your six pack abs) as the connective tissue in the middle stretches. This can leave a feeling of a gap at the midline of the belly which may bulge or tent during abdominal work. 100% of women will have a diastasis during their 3rd trimester - it’s your body’s natural way of making space for your little one to grow.

For many, this gap will heal easily postpartum but for some bodies, a little extra work is needed. That’s where physiotherapy can help by using a combination of education, movement modification and targeted exercises to restore core strength and functioning.

Clinical pilates is an excellent treatment choice for clients with diastasis - see Melina or Hayley to learn more!

A C-section is a major abdominal surgery which can have a huge impact on your core functioning and movement patterns. Physiotherapy can help you rehab from your surgery with techniques including scar massage and scar care education, progressive core strengthening exercises and pelvic floor work. Remember: c-sections are not protective against pelvic floor concerns postpartum.

As a new c-section mom herself, Emilie is very passionate about this area of care!

Most women are given the all clear to return to exercise at their 6 week postpartum check up however, most postpartum people need more time to regain strength and adjust changed movement patterns before jumping back into the activities you were doing pre-pregnancy.

At Full Moon Physio, we want you to be able to continue doing the activities you love for the long term and sometimes that means taking a more gradual approach when returning to exercise to avoid injury. We are here to guide you in that return and make sure you are building the strongest postpartum body you can possibly have.

Being a new parent is hard on your body! Physiotherapy is fantastic for reducing pain from common concerns such as:
- Back/neck pain
- Tailbone pain
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- DeQuervain’s tenosynovitis (aka: mommy thumb)