A pregnancy osteo in Melbourne is a very popular way to treat women that are expecting. Basically, it is just like an osteo for non-pregnant people but instead of massaging away pain, it is focused on addressing the many changes your body goes through during pregnancy.
Unexpectedly large amounts of relaxin are released into the pregnant woman’s body at various times in the pregnancy. Relaxin has numerous effects on the pregnant woman’s body, including increasing her ligament flexibility and loosening up her muscles . It makes sense, therefore, that an osteopath would be interested in treating the pregnant woman since this hormone is so influential on her bodily tissues.
One of the main roles of an osteopathic practitioner during pregnancy is to address the changes in posture that occur. This is actually something that they do for non-pregnant patients, who experience many of the same issues relating to their height and stance (not being able to stand up straight, experiencing back pain ect ect…) This sort of issue is more common during pregnancies because women have a tendency to have an altered posture, which is often worsened by the added weight on the front of their bodies. As a result, there are some key issues that arise during pregnancy that an osteopath will address.
One of these is the increased curvature in the back. It isn’t just due to the large size of women’s bellies either; oftentimes it is because of the way that pregnant women hold their bodies, which involves more flexion (bending) in the spine.
Another thing that can contribute to back pain during pregnancy is an increased weight load on the woman’s skeletal system; this is caused by the newborn baby and changes in posture.
Pregnant women are often advised not to get massages during their pregnancies. This is because not all women react well to massage and there are some potential risks involved, such as uterine contractions. Massage is also contraindicated if special precautions need to be taken for the baby or if certain issues relating to pregnancy would be exacerbated by a prenatal massage.
