Did you know that osteopathic treatment during pregnancy is incredibly common? In fact, pregnancy related discomfort and pain is one of the most frequent complaints we treat in the clinic. Throughout pregnancy there are copious amounts of musculoskeletal and biomechanical changes that occur in the body. Sometimes our bodies can struggle to adapt to these changes and as a result soreness may take place. The pregnant body is growing, there are hormones at play that cause the ligaments to stretch, you may not be able to perform the exercises you loved doing pre-pregnancy, and the way your body moves post pregnancy can also be different.
When it comes to treating pregnant patients, us osteopaths have a few main goals. We aim to firstly educate. Our team at Total Balance Healthcare are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to pregnancy and all the changes that occur through this incredible time. One of our favourite mottos at TBHC is ‘Knowledge is Power’. We believe the more that our patients know about what is going on with their bodies, the better the outcomes. This is why we spend time and enjoy educating the community on our instagram page.
Another big goal when it comes to treatment is to aid the body in adjusting as best as possible to all the musculoskeletal and biomechanical changes that are occurring. This can be done with hands on treatment as well as specific rehabilitation exercises. Exercising through pregnancy can be very beneficial and is something we commonly recommend. However it is important that you are aware of what exercise forms are best suited to you at certain times in a pregnancy.
One of the amazing things about osteopathy is that we can treat women at any stage of pregnancy. Our treatment techniques and patient positioning will change depending on how far along in the pregnancy the patient is. One of the prime examples of how treatment change, is due to the fact that as women progress through their pregnancy they lose the ability to lie on their fronts. We are still able to treat pregnant patients right up until the day they give birth, we just do so in a side-lying position or we have the use of a pregnancy pillow which has a cut-out in it for the growing baby bump.
A common question we get asked in the clinic is if “osteopathy is ‘safe’ in the early stages of pregnancy?” and our osteopath Sarah has written an amazing blog on our website about this topic. There are numerous other blogs on our website that discuss the common questions and topics surrounding pregnancy, so definitely check them out if you are or know someone who is pregnant at the moment.
As we always say, please feel free to reach out to us at the clinic on 9773 8085 if you have any specific questions at all. You can also book an appointment online if you would like to see one of our osteopaths.
Cheers, Bec 🙂
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This blog post is an educational tool only. It is not a replacement for medical advice from a registered and qualified doctor or health professional.
Phone: (03) 9773 8085
