Along with the joy of motherhood also comes back and pelvic pain for many women. For years, women were expected to ‘live with this.’ But now, the Compass Rehabilitation Center in East Lansing offers help for this population, offering the first and only comprehensive, evidence-based physical therapy program in the Greater Lansing Area specifically catering to the needs of pregnant and postpartum women. The Pregnancy Pain Management Program at the Compass Rehabilitation Center combines manual therapy, patient education, exercise and aquatic therapy with a one-to-one individualized treatment program working directly with a prenatal physical therapist. With an individualized program of care, pain during pregnancy or afterwards can be avoided or minimized.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends pregnant women perform a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day. Few physical therapists specialize in treatment for pregnant and postpartum women, but The Compass Rehabilitation Center has a prenatal physical therapist who can evaluate and develop a safe and healthy exercise routine tailored to meet each pregnant woman’s concerns. Besides addressing issues such as back and pelvic pain, a prenatal physical therapist can help prepare women for a safer labor and delivery, positions of comfort, postural exercises and more. Multiple studies suggest that women who exercise regularly during pregnancy have fewer complications such as pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes, miss fewer workdays, have shorter second stages of labor and experience significantly faster recovery times with easier deliveries.
The Compass Rehabilitation Center program offers one of the largest warm-water therapy pools in the mid-Michigan area. The research overwhelmingly suggests that warm water aquatic therapy is the gold standard in physical therapy treatment for pregnant women. Some of the benefits include improved cardiovascular endurance, decreased pain with exercise, decreased edema and improved weight control during pregnancy.