Well, the last few weeks, I had a class on how to properly lift, sleep, carry, etc for a healthy back or if you have acute back pain. That was kind of interesting. I didn't learn too much. I already learned how to do a "log roll" to get in and out of bed for less stress on the back. I did figure out that I need to work on my squats as I was not adept at squatting properly by thinking about sitting in a chair. Something to work on for the future.
My last visit with my PT was helpful and she gave me exercises that I really needed to concentrate on to make sure I was doing them correctly. She instructed me to just keep working on it in different combinations to keep challenging myself and improve.
Things I learned from going to Physical Therapy:
1) I need to stretch. I learned that other muscles and perhaps scar tissue in my torso/leg area might be inhibiting my abdominal muscles from completely closing.
2) I need to use the transverse abdominals and pelvic floor all the time. If I want to improve my abdominals I need to think about them all the time. Lifting the baby, bending to pick up things. washing the dishes or just lying down. You use your abdominals all the time, and if they are not strong enough either from a diastasis recti or other condition, your back will suffer. You need to retrain and strengthen your abdominals to remember how to work properly.
3) I need regular visits so I actually do my physical therapy prescribed. It really motivated to improve because I knew I was going to see my PT every week. I think it really helped to push me so that I saw improvement sooner rather than later.
4) I need to be more proactive in my health if I want to get better. It took me 15 months postpartum before I saw a PT. I should not have waited so long. My OB was not curious about what conditions I had after I had the baby. I had to figure it out, unfortunately. That won't be happening again.
My PT experience was good and if you have a condition that isn't going away like I did, I really suggest you see a professional. The sooner the better.
