Physiotherapy during Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a time of physical, metabolic and emotional changes. Obstetrics physiotherapy focuses on the treatment and care of pregnant women in order to relieve them of the conditions that come with pregnancy. Typical conditions include water retention in the hands, feet and legs, fatigue, insomnia, lumbopelvic pain, back pain, piriformis syndrome, lumbosciatica, rib pain, muscle cramps, varicose veins and haemorrhoids, urinary and bowel incontinence, and pain during sexual intercourse.
The pregnant woman’s treatment and care is done through an assessment, personalised treatment and monitoring to prevent relapses. This leads to an improvement in the pregnant woman’s condition and allows the recovery to be long-lasting.
Personalised, individual sessions, ideally done as a couple.
These consist of theoretical and practical chats about the anatomy and physiology of pregnancy, care during pregnancy, the mechanics of the birth and postpartum recovery.
This is aimed at pregnant women and/or couples from Week 32 of pregnancy.
The personalised, individual sessions consist of teaching the pregnant woman and her partner how to perform an external massage (vulva) as well as preparation of the area. It also covers internal massage (perineal muscles), in order to stretch the perineal area through which the baby’s head and body will be delivered.
The massage provides an examination of the area and the EPI-NO helps to become familiar with the sensation of delivering the baby’s head, to help prevent episiotomies, tearing and other conditions (incontinence).
This is aimed at pregnant women with fatigue and insomnia, tension, anxiety, and back and neck pain.
What it consists of: a therapeutic massage of the areas of the body affected by tension and pain. The aim of the massage is to give vitality, relieve back, neck and pelvic pain, and calm stress during pregnancy.
This is aimed at pregnant women with water retention, swollen legs and hands, strains in the legs, cramps, fatigue, and feelings of heaviness in the feet, legs, arms and hands.
What it consists of: draining fluid from the feet, legs, arms and hands, towards the lymph nodes, using the manual techniques of the Vodder Method, from Austria.
This is aimed at pregnant women with specific conditions, such as: lumbopelvic pain, back pain, piriformis syndrome, lumbosciatica, rib pain, muscle cramps, groin pain, varicose veins and haemorrhoids.
What it consists of: manual therapy to help balance and proper musculoskeletal alignment. The therapy ensures good facial, visceral and musculoskeletal functioning in each trimester of pregnancy.
This is aimed at pregnant women from the second trimester, in order to achieve wellbeing during pregnancy and to physically prepare the body.
What it consists of: recommending exercises to prepare the body for the birth and motherhood.
The aim is to prevent discomfort during the pregnancy, with relaxation, breathing and pain-control techniques.
The pregnant woman is assessed and a table of exercises is prepared.
The table of exercises will be reviewed every month to make changes.