I remember being in elementary school and having other kids ask, "Are you PT?" If you said, "Yes," they would reply, "Ohh--you're a pregnant teacher!" If you said, "No," they would reply, "Ohh--you're not potty trained?" Well, now I am PT--I am a pregnant teacher. And I am potty trained. And yesterday I got a new PT, Physical Therapy!
I have been to physical therapy in the past but this is the first time I have been while pregnant. I went right before I got pregnant with Imma for some other issues I'd rather forget about for the rest of my life. This time, it is because I am having a lot of pelvic girdle pain. What is pelvic girdle pain, you may ask. Well, it's basically when the ligaments between your legs feel like they are being stretched to the point of snapping, like someone is stabbing you there, like acid is eating your legs from the inside out. Sounds like fun, right? There are a few things that can cause it but mostly it has to do with the hormone that is released to make your ligaments stretch and the weight and shifting of your body. It could be too much hormone, and it could be too much shift and weight. With me, the right side of my body is moving just fine when I walk or climb stairs, etc. but the left side isn't shifting right, so it is being dragged. This means that the ride side of me is working a lot harder to make up the difference. I am having pain on both sides. One from over-working and the other from shifting and dragging.
My physical therapist is very nice. She is a definite Christian, I found out from just a few minutes of talking to her, and the mother of four, including twins. So she knows all about pregnancy. She is also very familiar with Chronic Myofacial Pain Disease, something I was diagnosed with about four years ago. She thinks that she can correct my pelvic issue, and maybe even some of the other muscle pain issues I have. She said that she thinks we have caught this in time. Otherwise, I could end up with a girdle or using a walker towards the end of my pregnancy.
I had this same pain with Imma. With her, I told my doctor and she basically chalked it up to being pregnant--things hurt. This time, I guess I was a little more vocal, and I also talked to the nurse practitioner. I love my doctor but I think other ears heard me a little better. I really wish I had been able to go to therapy when I was pregnant with Imma because I think it would have made a huge difference. Towards the end of that pregnancy, I could hardly walk. I had to shuffle my feet and pivot. No fun!
This time, I have pretty strict directions about what I am not allowed to do. Hardest of all, I can't pick up Imma unless she is standing on a table! (No squatting.) I can't sit on the couch because it is too squishy. I am supposed to pretend I am wearing a mini-skirt at all times and keep my legs together. So I have to swivel getting in the car, sitting down, turning, etc. I am also not supposed to climb stairs if I can help it (and I live in a two story house!) So all of this will be really difficult. But I need to do it to make myself feel better.
My advice? If you start to feel any pain in your pelvic region, talk to your doctor about going to see a physical therapist. It would be much better to get help early on so that you don't end up in a girdle or with a walker!
In other news, I missed Imma's speech therapy last night but she did really well! She repeated several phrases for her "teacher" and even said some words on her own. The preschool evaluation team called me today and they are getting ready to screen her, as her birthday is now about 90 days away. Hopefully, their test will come out much differently!
