The Nuance Of Treating The Pregnant & Postpartum Athlete

Do you feel you lack a firm understanding of how to comprehensively treat pregnant and postpartum athletes? Maybe you don’t feel confident in knowing how to modify activity for this population, or you feel that most high-intensity activity should be ceased during pregnancy and early postpartum.

If this is you, might I encourage you to take our upcoming course on special considerations for Pregnant and Postpartum High-Intensity Athletes?

While this patient population is like the general population in many ways, there is a certain nuance in evaluating pregnant and postpartum athletes. This is especially true for elite or high-intensity athletes. Considering the demands of many of these high-intensity sports (running, powerlifting, CrossFit, Orange Theory) it is imperative that pelvic therapists also understand orthopedics, and vice versa. In bridging this gap between specialties, we have the opportunity to optimize performance, while ensuring our patients also remain healthy.

Keeping this in mind, our evaluation will look a bit different than traditional pelvic and orthopedic evaluations. Specifically, each respective specialty should be screening the other. If you are a pelvic therapist, you should also be screening the lumbar spine, SI joint, Hip joint, and mid-thoracic spine. You should also be performing a functional movement analysis that is specific to their desired sport. If you are an orthopedic therapist, you should also be screening for diastasis recti, pressure management capability, and pelvic floor tension and/or weakness. While orthopedic therapists will not be performing an internal exam like their pelvic therapist counterparts, there are still several screening methods that can be used to determine if a patient requires referral to a pelvic PT. And that is exactly what this course aims to do.

Pregnancy and Postpartum Considerations for High-Intensity Athletics aims to bridge the gap between pelvic and orthopedic therapists and to help educate providers on how to evaluate this patient population with confidence. We will cover special medical considerations for this patient population, ways in which to modify activity for this population, and how to keep them doing what they love safely throughout pregnancy and postpartum. So, if you would like to learn more about working with pregnant and postpartum athletes, go ahead and sign up for our September 15th course offering. We’d love to have you!

AUTHOR BIO
Emily McElrath PT, DPT, MTC, CIDN

Emily McElrath is a native of New Orleans and received her undergraduate degree in Athletic Training at the University of Southern Mississippi and went on to receive her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. She is highly trained in Sports and Orthopedics and has a passion for helping women achieve optimal sports performance. Emily is certified in manual therapy and dry needling, which allows her to provide a wide range of treatment skills including joint and soft tissue mobilization. She is an avid runner and Cross-fitter and has personal experience modifying these activities during pregnancy and postpartum. While not working, Emily enjoys time with her husband and two kids.