Did you know that addressing injuries or impacts to the pelvis are an important key to a smooth birth for your clients? Working with the pelvis postpartum can also lead to a quicker and fuller recovery.

In today’s podcast Lynn discusses the impact the pelvic bones have on labor and the postpartum period and the importance of asking these important questions:

• What impacts, injuries or traumas have occurred to your pelvis?
• What position did you give birth in?

The sacrum can tell us a lot about prior impacts and injuries. When the sacrum lacks micromotions this can often be due to a past injury. This lack of motion can prevent the bone from being able to flex and extend and can have an impact on birth.

In addition, assessing the pelvis to learn what position it is in can help the birthing team guide your pregnant client into a more optimal position for birth.

After baby is born, it is important to, once again, assess and treat the bony structures. The pelvis needs support to return to optimal stability and pelvic floor muscle function after birth as often times the bones do not completely return to their original state.

In addition to this podcast, here is a video showing one way to work with the pelvic bones to return them to a neutral position after birth.

By addressing these pieces in our pregnant and postpartum clients, we, as pelvic health practitioners, can make a huge difference in prenatal and postpartum support. To learn more about the ilium ischium rebalancing technique mentioned in the video check out either of these courses at the Institute for Birth Healing: Treating the Postpartum Pelvis or Holistic Treatment of the Postpartum Body.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? I would love to hear from you. Message me on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Me.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

How do we determine the risk factors of birth injuries? What can we do as practitioners to educate and prepare our clients for a safer birth?

In today’s podcast Lynn talks with Dr. Mariana Masteling, a biomechanics engineer focusing on the prevention of childbirth-related injuries and Dr. Jenny LaCross, a women’s health physical therapist about the research they published on factors influencing birth injuries.

In this conversation, Lynn, Jenny and Mariana talk about the complexities of childbirth and the challenges of measuring and predicting birth injuries as there are so many factors that can influence a birth. The pelvic bone shape, ligamentous laxity, urogenital hiatus length, viscoelastic properties of the pelvic floor muscles and tissues, and the baby’s size in comparison to the mother’s pelvic size can all play a factor in potential birth injuries - just to name a few.

Listen in to learn what you can do as a practitioner to help your clients navigate the risks, so they can stay empowered in the process of their baby’s birth.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? I would love to hear from you. Message me on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Me.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

About Today’s Speakers

Dr. Mariana Masteling is a Research Fellow at the University of Michigan Biomechanics Research Lab and Pelvic Floor Research Group. She is passionate about biomechanics, data science and the intersect between engineering and women's health.

Dr. Jenny LaCross is a board-certified clinical specialist in women’s health physical therapy. She has over a decade of clinical experience working in women’s pelvic health. She is a current post-doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor’s Pelvic Floor Research. She is also an adjunct faculty member in the DPT program at South College-Knoxville.

Link to their research: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00192-024-05912-2

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

A day in the clinic can bring a variety of pieces to consider, and it is important for you as a practitioner to know your scope of practice and what issues may be better addressed by a practitioner in a different specialty. In addition, it is always good to ask about past injuries when taking a client’s history as you never know when old injuries are at the root cause of new pain.

In today’s podcast episode, Lynn talks about 6 clients she saw in the clinic recently. She shares about what came up in each client session, including the complaints her clients had, the techniques she used in her assessments, and her recommendations for treatment.

In her day in the clinic, Lynn worked with 6 clients to address a variety of issues:

• A client who had a stoma due to a large intestine removal
• A bodyworker who was having consistent SIJ pain
• A client who reported pain with side lying and sleeping
• A client who had just had the hardware removed from bunion surgery and was experiencing bladder issues
• A pregnant client who was at 14 weeks and who wanted Lynn to hold space for her baby and and support for her feminine energy
• A client who was experiencing insertional pain with intercourse

Lynn used local listening techniques, worked with scar tissue, addressed postpartum patterns, supported trauma release, connected clients with other practitioners, and supported ligament and tissue releases all in a day’s work. Listen in to hear the details of each client’s story and what Lynn did to get to the source of the pain and dysfunction.

If you want to learn more about the assessment and treatment techniques mentioned in today’s episode, check out the Holistic Treatment of the Postpartum Body course. The Institute for Birth Healing is starting up the first online cohort for this course on September 30, 2024. This course will help fill the gaps you may have in your own training to get you better results. You will learn many aspects of working with the postpartum body including joint mobilizations, visceral techniques, myofascial release, thoracic and rib mobilizations, pelvic floor muscle assessment and treatment of the organs in just one course. This holistic approach eliminates the soreness often felt after imparting on the body instead of working with the body and respecting the tissues.

For more information and to register for this practice changing course go to: https://instituteforbirthhealing.com/postpartum-body/

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? I would love to hear from you. Message me on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Me.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

Are you noticing a gap in your education and what you need to know to effectively treat your pregnant and postpartum clients? Are you curious about the pieces you may be missing?

In today’s episode Lynn talks with Dr. Kathleen Vigo, a Physical Therapist and founder of Painless Pregnancy about the gaps that exist in traditional pelvic health education. Kathleen shares how she and her team have addressed these gaps through classes at the Institute for Birth Healing and discusses her experience with this training.

In traditional pelvic health education, many clinicians are getting only a portion of what they really need to know for effective and efficient treatments. In physical therapy training, many clinicians are taught the standing stork test for the SI joint assessment. This test requires balance and the ability to determine minute changes in position. Through the Institute for Birth Healing, you learn an even easier way to assess SI joint mobility, and the best part - it takes the guessing out of the assessment.

The Institute for Birth Healing’s Holistic Treatment of the Postpartum Body is kicking off its first ever group cohort for this course on September 30, 2024. This course will help fill the gaps you may have in your own training to get you better results. You will learn many aspects of working with the postpartum body including joint mobilizations, visceral techniques, myofascial release, thoracic and rib mobilizations, pelvic floor muscle assessment and treatment of the organs in just one course. This holistic approach eliminates the soreness often felt after imparting on the body instead of working with the body and respecting the tissues.

For more information and to join the waitlist for this practice changing course go to: https://instituteforbirthhealing.com/postpartum-body/

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? I would love to hear from you. Message me on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Me.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

ABOUT TODAY’S SPEAKER

Dr. Kathleen (Kat) Vigo, PT, DPT, is the founder of Painless Pregnancy, a physical therapy practice specializing in in-home concierge care for pregnant and postpartum clients.

Kat developed a love for the obstetric population after having her first baby in 2012. Her birth experience incited a passion to help other women during this critical time in life, and she began her journey taking every course she could find that focused on pregnancy and postpartum physical therapy.

She has trained with the American Physical Therapy Association, Herman and Wallace, Pelvic Guru, Pelvic Pain Institute, and the Institute for Birth Healing.

Guest Speaker’s Website: https://painlesspregnancy.com/

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE

The Birth Healing Summit has been running for 10 seasons now! Today, Lynn shares some of the highlights from the 2024 Summit which focuses ib Pregnancy and Labor and begins on April 8th.

As with every season, Lynn loved all of her interviews as it is always such a thrill to talk about what other practitioners are up to and what they are learning. There is so much insight and wisdom shared in this collaboration. Lynn highlights her top 10 in no particular order in today’s podcast.

Gabrielle Brennan talks about the fascial tensions and how they present in the body to help practitioners know where to treat. Taryn Hallam talks about anal sphincter injuries and how we can prepare clients for subsequent labors. Amanda Ogden talks about the importance of colostrum and how it can help develop the baby’s intestinal tract. She talks about how it can be harvested during pregnancy. Sandi Gallagher gives us an overview of the use of TENS during labor and its effectiveness for clients trying to avoid an epidural. Laura Rowan teaches us about release of the rectum and constipation. Gina Mundy gives you a lawyer’s perspective of what is going on when labor goes wrong and some of the ways to prepare your clients for successful deliveries. Ken McGee is speaking on how we can best support transgender clients in their birth journey. John Wilks informs us on the effects of pregnancy from a craniosacral perspective. Yeni Abraham educates practitioners on infertility and pain. Uchenna Ossai, who goes by UC, discusses her approach to sex education.

All of the speakers will leave you with tools that you can begin applying in your clinical practice the next day. For more information and to register, go to the 2024 Birth Healing Summit.

Have a comment or question about today’s episode? I would love to hear from you. Message me on Instagram or Facebook, or Email Me.

If you enjoyed today’s podcast and are interested in more topics to support your clinical practice and treating your clients, find us on your favorite podcast app and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

To learn more visit: InstituteforBirthHealing.com

Visit Institute for Birth Healing to learn more about how to care for the pregnant and postpartum body: CLICK HERE