Osteopathic treatment during pregnancy
Aches and pains are common during pregnancy and can develop as your posture changes – the arch in your lumbar spine increases as the baby gets bigger, and your ligaments become more lax. Combined with increasing weight, these changes can lead to additional strain to the joints in the body, including the spine and pelvis. Osteopathic treatment can help relieve the stresses and strains in your body by helping it adapt to these changes. Osteopaths like to ensure that the pelvis is as balanced as possible.
Treatment after birth
Immediately after giving birth, the new mum must start caring for her baby. It is no surprise that this can be physically a very demanding time with feeding the baby (sometimes for periods in awkward positions), bending over cots, lifting car seats and holding the baby on one hip. All this when your body must adapt again posturally to no longer being pregnant; you have less tone in your supporting abdominal musculature, your ligaments are still more lax if you are still lactating and you are trying to recover from giving birth and probably not getting much sleep!
Osteopathic treatment can be helpful at this time to correct any imbalances (pre-existing or from birth strain) the effects of which may be amplified by the above unique circumstances!
