Postpartum Physical Therapy in Chicago

Recovering from childbirth involves much more than your six week checkup. Whether you delivered vaginally or by C-section, your abdominal wall, pelvic floor, and the way they work together have all been through major changes. Postpartum physical therapy helps you heal well and return to daily life, exercise, and the activities you love without pain or leakage.

At our River North clinic, every visit is a full hour, one on one with your physical therapist.

Postpartum concerns we commonly help with

• Bladder leakage, urgency, or frequency
• Pelvic heaviness or pressure and prolapse symptoms
• Diastasis recti (abdominal separation) and core weakness
• Low back, hip, and pelvic pain
• Pain with intercourse after delivery
• Constipation, pain with bowel movements, or difficulty controlling gas or stool
• Upper back, neck, and wrist pain from feeding and carrying your baby
• Returning safely to running, lifting, and high impact exercise

C-section recovery

A cesarean section is major abdominal surgery. Scar tissue can restrict how the layers underneath move, and the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles often lose their timing with each other. We help with tight, numb, sensitive, or painful scars, a pulling or tethered feeling at the incision, and difficulty engaging your core. Your therapist will perform hands on scar mobilization and teach you how to continue it at home so the scar stays soft and mobile.

Perineal tears and episiotomy

Tearing of the perineum is common during vaginal delivery and can range from a minor skin tear to a deeper tear involving the pelvic floor muscles or anal sphincter. An episiotomy can have similar effects. We help with perineal and scar pain, pain with sitting, pain with intercourse or tampon use, and bowel or bladder changes. If you had a third or fourth degree tear, an earlier evaluation can be especially helpful.

When to come in

Most women begin once they are cleared by their provider, often around six weeks postpartum. It is never too late to start. Whether you are six weeks or six years postpartum, scar tissue and muscle coordination both respond to treatment.

What to expect at your first visit

Your first visit includes a detailed conversation about your delivery, recovery, and goals, along with an assessment of your posture, strength, breathing, core, and movement. A pelvic floor exam may be part of your evaluation, but it is always discussed with you first and done only with your consent. From there, your plan may include scar tissue mobilization, pelvic floor strengthening and relaxation, core retraining, strategies for comfortable bowel and bladder function, and a gradual return to exercise.

Related pelvic floor care

Still pregnant? See our prenatal physical therapy page. Dealing with leakage? Learn more about urinary incontinence physical therapy, or read our blog post on how physical therapy can help postpartum.

Explore all of our pelvic floor physical therapy services at our River North clinic.