A true story about pregnancy/postpartum pain – in the patient’s own words:
At the very end of my pregnancy I started to have severe low back/hip pain. I didn’t know what it was(sciatica, a strained muscle, hip pain, slipped disc in my back?), but just attributed it to the typical troubles associated with any pregnancy, compounded by the fact I had a clingy 1.5 year old at home. My due date was rapidly approaching and I figured this pain would go away as soon as I delivered. My obstetrician also was under the impression it would resolve on its own after baby was born and tried a course of steroids to see if this would ease my symptoms.
The pain just continued to get worse and as I was 2 weeks from my due date I could barely walk from my bedroom to the den! I even started using a walking cane in the house to help me get around! It was to the point I would sit and decide if it was worth it to make the “long” trip across the house to get my phone I had left in the other room!
To my disbelief, once I delivered the baby the pain continued to get worse! My obstetrician did not have a good answer for this pain and thought over time the pain would go away. After a few hours at home with a newborn and 1.5 year old competing for my attention I decided I needed immediate help! I was really hurting to the point where I just couldn’t take another step.
I put a lot of thought into where to go next, who could help me with this pain? I decided to start with a physical therapist first- I was confident they would be able to diagnose and treat this type of condition, although I was still unsure what it was exactly.
I had seen a few advertisements about Thrive Physical Therapy and had noticed one of their therapists, Katherine, had received additional training in pregnancy and post-partum ailments. I called right away and limped through the door to my first appointment a few days later. I was quickly diagnosed with sacroiliac joint misalignment/inflammation and started treatment right away.
After only a few sessions the pain started to ease up, a few weeks later I was able to take the stairs up to her office rather than the elevator! This pain had such severe impacts on my current life- I couldn’t pick up my daughter or even walk to the next room without severe pain. These are small quick tasks I wouldn’t have even thought about before.
I was so thankful for Katherine’s help. Once she described what was going on and how to resolve the issue, it made so much sense to me and I had wished I would have seen her sooner for the pain or been treated throughout my pregnancy to prevent it!
I think a lot of pain/issues caused by pregnancy are thought of as par for the course, but I realized it doesn’t have to be that way, these issues can be treated and even prevented with the help of Katherine and the team at Thrive Physical Therapy!