There are so many different causes of pelvic pain. Because our pelvis interacts so closely with our organs, many people get really concerned when their pelvis starts to hurt. Rightfully so! It can start to affect our bowel and bladder habits, our workouts, and eventually affect our daily activities as well.
When it comes to postpartum pain, did you know that of women who have pain in the first 3 months postpartum, ⅓ of them continue to have pain beyond the 3 month mark? Did you know that 13% of people experiencing postpartum pain feel their pain is moderate, while 7% feel it is severe?
There can be a lot of different causes or contributing factors to your pain. You can have pain related to scarring from birth interventions (like episiotomy or C-section), perineal tearing, pelvic organ prolapse, which may all be a result of your birthing story. Your pain may be left over from pregnancy, either because you had pelvic pain while pregnant, you decreased your activity level while you were pregnant, or because your muscles are still stretched out from pregnancy.
All of this can be complicated by emotional and social changes that are going on in your life. You may be experiencing postpartum depression or anxiety, which may contribute to increased pain levels, or may cause your pain to persist. We have also learned through years of research that when it comes to low back and pelvic pain, things like changes in sleep patterns, eating patterns, perceived social support, and beliefs about movement and what movement can do to your pain greatly affect your recovery.
This is where PT comes in! Here at FX we thoroughly examine your core, low back, hips, and pelvic floor in order to find the appropriate body parts to target with our treatment. We then work with you to craft goals specific to get you back to the activities you enjoy. Then the work begins! Through a combination of hands on treatment, internal treatment (when indicated), strength and conditioning, and education on your diagnosis, we work hard to get you back to where you want to be.
You may have pain but pain doesn’t have to have you! Schedule an appointment today with one of our trained pelvic floor therapists to get back to where you want to be!
