Eastern Osteopathy Melbourne

I had the privilege of becoming an active birth practitioner.. training under janet balaskas, the midwife who started the movement of active birthing in the 80s.

Since then there has been much research into the benefits of being upright and active during your birth, following your intuition.

For many all they know and see about birth is on TV.. the birthing person on their back.. legs in stirrups and loads of screaming.

In our birth appointments we educate our pregnant patients about the importance of birthing in an upright position involving standing, sitting, and kneeling! These positions allow the pelvis to move. Adapting and creating space as the baby rotates and descends down into the pelvis!

Love the team at eastern osteo xx

How did you birth?

New logo! New colours! Thanks to Nat and Cat from .co for creating the new vision to represent the direction of our clinic

Xx

June is pelvic organ prolapse awareness month, and prolapse is something the osteopaths feel really passionate about, passionate about helping our patients manage their symptoms!

As pelvic health trained osteopaths and Australia’s largest pelvic health clinic owned by osteopaths we will do a thorough examination and treat the muscle and fascia of the pelvic and those that influence the pelvic floor.

Do you have a prolapse? Or think you may have one? Do you want a whole person approach to your prolapse management? You have found the right clinic!!

These figures bring up so many feelings, making us both angry and sad, and so very disappointed in our healthcare system. This system is set up in such a way, that a new mama, (who has had so much change both internally and externally, is most likely exhausted and trying to keep her s**t together, while occasionally wetting her pants), once discharged from hospital or their midwifery or obstetric care, is provided with just one recommended healthcare appointment compared to the multiple appointments recommended as a mama to be and for the new addition to the family.
What do we know? We know that approximately;
💕20% of women are still suffering with painful in*******se at 18 months postnatally
💕44.4% of women suffer with some degree of incontinence 5-7 years after delivery
💕92% of women who are incontinent at 12 weeks are still suffering the same fate at 5 years
💕50% of women have pelvic organ prolapse after birth
💕If a woman has a Diastasis Recti at 12 weeks postnatally and has no treatment/rehabilitation, it is likely to still be present at 12 months
💕25% of women suffer with pelvic girdle or lower back pain postnatally
There are also hormonal issues, mental health concerns, nutritional insufficiency and breastfeeding difficulties
We know all of this, yet our healthcare system has a significant gap in the care and support given to new mamas. Healing takes time and is multifactorial. We believe postpartum care should be ongoing, rather than a single appointment and must be tailored to the needs of the mama as well as involving a variety of healthcare practitioners
At Eastern Osteopathy we feel very passionately about this and are putting our hands up to support all new parents.. We pride ourselves on asking the appropriate questions, and creating a supportive and safe environment for our patients to discuss their health concerns and referring to other healthcare professionals when required. 💕💕💕
Any questions please ask!!

Did you know at Eastern osteo we do postpartum checks? Ideally we do this 6 weeks after you have birth either va**nally or via the belly. Yes you heard that right.. if you have birth from a caesarean birth you should have a check up too!

Our postpartum check ups extend beyond the pelvic floor and also include an assessment of your breath, the abdominal wall (ab separation), load transfer and scar healing and integrity.

As osteopaths we also treat!! We will treat and release tension that maybe causing you pain or extra load on your pelvic floor. Sounds amazing hey?!

You can see from this post we assess for lots of things and when he comes to exercises we look past the pelvic floor too.. we want the pelvic floor to be functioning well but we also want it to be working well in its team (aka the core system) we also want the whole body to be strong to support this new phase of your life and healing journey!

If you’re after a whole body assessment and treatment where your pelvic floor concerns are holistically treated come see us!! It’s never too late.. you could be 6 weeks postpartum or 16 years!

Love Kate and the team xx

As someone who has had a C-section, I know firsthand how important the recovery is. Before I even left the hospital I was ordering my supplements, probiotics, baby’s probiotics!

💊First of all - the birth parent has been exposed to a fair few medications for the safety of the procedure such as opioids, fentanyl, morphine, endone, tramadol, ibuprofen, paracetamol, perhaps some prophylactic antibiotics. In some cases, beta blockers. And we all know many medications come with side effects. By knowing this, is it important to reinoculate the birth parents’ microbiome with some strain specific probiotics postpartum. To nourish their body with an array of essential nutrients including but not limited to - omega3 fatty acids, calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, zinc, B vitamins.

👶🏽 for baby - we look at ways we can expose their juvenile immune and gastrointestinal system to probiotics of strains of microbiota we would find in the va**na. Including but not limited to - lactobacillus rhamnosus GG + bifidobacterium breve.

👩‍🍼This includes lots of skin to skin time with their birth parent. Picking up the microbiome through the skin.

🤱🏽Breastfeeding - engaging in the microbiome around the ni***es (I recommend wearing silverettes in the early nursing days to help heal your ni***es).

🛁Having bath time with babe - exposing them to your va**nal microbiota.

The WHO recommend a baby is breastfed for the first 24 months of their life. We know this is not possible for everyone whether it’s ever, a few months or 1 year. We can consider probiotic support in formula in this case.

🎂Whether the mode of delivery was c section, or a va**nal birth - the birth parent may require some support for wound healing and ongoing (ie haemorrhoid support, prolapse, va**nal tear, c section wound).

🩷 Know that however you brought your babe in to this world - you are a mega bad ass!!!! Birth is a very empowering, powerful and completely shattering experience. A birth and a rebirth happening all at once.

If you need any postpartum support I am in the Kew Clinic each Friday. Jennalea xx 🥑

A cesarean birth is major abdominal surgery and as osteopaths who work with and assess patients who have given birth via a cesarean it amazes us how little education on post operative care is given.

And why is it that a sporting injury or arthritic knee receives adequate and appropriate care post surgery while a parent who has just given birth, trying to work out this parenting stuff while recovering from surgery receives a fraction of the education and early management advice? We are working to change this!!
This is not a wake up call for those who’ve had a cesarean birth, but the health care providers who work with the postnatal population too. A reminder to educate yourself on cesarean births.

Cesarean births represent 36% of births in australia (AIHW 2021) it’s time as health providers we educate ourselves on cesarean birth.. early management, desensitization, massage and scar treatment and rehabilitation. Let’s all start bringing the care and education to these patients need to the table..!

Let’s give these patients the same care you’d give to someone after a knee reconstruction.
Love the team at eastern osteo xx

The moment you’re straining and it’s not easy - you’re constipated.

You’ve got your squatty potty, you’re doing your breathing techniques - add these tips to your day and see the difference. Go wild, eat your kiwi fruit with the skin ON! 😅 🥝

If constipation is an ongoing issue for you, please consider it’s time to take a deep dive into your dietary choices and eating habits. Our Nutritionist is available each Friday in Kew to support you optimising your pelvic health.

Have you ever wondered how nutritionist and pelvic health osteo work together to help with constipation? Well we have the live for you as our nutritionist and Meg a pelvic health trained osteopath and a lover of all things gut health come together to talk about how we work collaboratively to help our patients with constipation.

Can’t make it but have some questions for our team?! Leave them here 👇🏽

If you’ve been around the clinic recently you may have noticed Nikki .to.babe.osteo has been growing a small human. Nikki and her husband will be expecting their first child in march.

As much as she will be missed in the clinic, we are all very excited to see her in her new role as a mother!!

We have been really lucky to have geetha and Mia increase their hours and another pelvic health osteo, Jessie woods has joined the team.

If you’d like an appointment with Nikki before she finishes up, get in quick as her appointments are filling fast.

I could not be happier or more proud of Mia. She has been working in pelvic health for years in field of rehab, return to running post baby and diastasis. But now Mia is a a triple threat, she is our expert in real time ultrasound, our expert and go to for diastasis and rehab prescription and now she is trained in pelvic health internal assessment.

Watching her her over the weekend, I was incredible proud. She stood out as a student, her knowledge, her understanding and her confidence because she has already so much experience in the pelvic health field.

Love you Mia xx

We are so excited to have a massage therapist join our amazing team of osteopaths.

Welcome Varsha!

Varsha comes to our clinic, she has been working in the industry since 2014 helping with sporting, acute and chronic pain and pregnancy aches and pains!!

Your little one may wee too often or not often enough. They may struggle to sense the urge to go or they may feel it but not be able to hold on to get to a toilet in time. Or they may get to the toilet but find it really tricky to let their wee out. Perhaps your child doesn’t poo every day? Or they soil themselves? Or wet the bed at night.

These (among others) are all symptoms of bowel & bladder dysfunction and an osteopathic treatment may help 🧻🚽

Chloe, Nikki & Mia # #

Set your alarms, send us your questions and join us live!

We are going to be chatting about:
✨What is enuresis and constipation
✨What causes these conditions
✨Why is breathing so important in childhood
✨The link between mouth breathing and bowel/ bladder concerns in children
✨What things you can do if your child is mouth breathing
✨What do we do in the clinic to support kids with these concerns

We can’t wait 💛✨⭐️ We hope to see you there!

Mia and Kate # # #

Welcome to the team Dr Lara Stoll, I can’t tell you how excited we all are about Lara joining the team!

I’ve known Lara for years and about 4 years ago Liz and I (yea back in the Liz days) friend to get Lara to join our team… but it wasn’t the right time.

Lara will be starting next week, she is trained in pelvic health.. loves working with pregnant patients and the postpartum period and has years of experience working with general osteo clients too!

She is the perfect fit for our growing team.. Liz will be jealous as she wanted lara to make the sea change and move to QLD! Kate 1 Liz 0

Lara will be hanging out in our socials say hi if you see if around xx

We hope all of our community enjoy the upcoming weekend and any festivities that have. Stay safe. Stay warm.

We are all spending time with family and friends (and eating lots of chocolate ) over the long weekend and will return to work Tuesday the 11th of April feeling refreshed!!

Love the team at eastern osteo xx

It’s cesarean awareness month!!!

A cesarean birth is major abdominal surgery and as osteopaths who work with and assess patients who have given birth via a cesarean it amazes us how little education on post operative care is given.

And why is it that a sporting injury or arthritic knee receives adequate and appropriate care post surgery while a parent who has just given birth, trying to work out this parenting stuff while recovering from surgery receives a fraction of the education and early management advice? We are working to change this!!
This is not a wake up call for those who’ve had a cesarean birth, but the health care providers who work with the postnatal population too. A reminder to educate yourself on cesarean births.

Cesarean births represent 36% of births in australia (AIHW 2021) it’s time as health providers we educate ourselves on cesarean birth.. early management, desensitization, massage and scar treatment and rehabilitation. Let’s all start bringing the care and education to these patients need to the table..!

Let’s give these patients the same care you’d give to someone after a knee reconstruction.
Both and have experienced osteopaths to help with you preparing for a beautiful cesarean birth, educate on early recover and assist with rehab scar treatment.
Reach out if you have any questions.

Our osteopaths are trained in paediatric bladder bowel conditions such as night and day time wetting, constipation and soiling of pants.

We also love and enjoy helping our patients or their parents to help make the transition from wearing a nanny to using the toilet as easy as it can be.

Before the big day make sure you think about your language when describing a bowel movement, get your little one taking their clothes on and off, make the environment safe with a squatty potty, teach them about moo to poo! And don’t forget.. involve them in decisions to start!!

Any questions please reach out!

Love the team at eastern osteo xx

JOIN Mia and Meg two of the osteopaths at eastern osteo TUESDAY JULY 19 as they CHAT ALL THINGS PLASTIC ♻️
 
This month, it is plastic free July! We have been doing lots of little things in our everyday to try and minimise our plastic use.
 
We are going to be chatting everything plastic free and lox tax for the environment, our general health and our hormonal health!
 
Do not miss this!
 
Mia & Meg xx
 
 

Let me introduce you to the real time ultrasound machine and Mia one of the Osteopaths at
A real time ultrasound (RTU) works by transmitting sound waves through your body, which deflect off your internal organs and muscles.
The RTU machine is then able to create an image in real time of what is happening when you engage your core and pelvic floor, giving Mia important information about the structure and function of your core muscles and pelvic floor.
It can be particularly helpful in cases of diastasis recti, where it assists with biofeedback. As you feel how an appropriate contraction feels you are also able to see on the screen the core muscles engaging, this helps with the association of knowing, seeing and feeling an appropriate contraction.
Next comes Mia one of the osteopaths at Eastern osteopathy. Mia is one of the most highly trained osteopaths in Australia in the field of Diastasis recti assessment, treatment and rehabilitation.
If you have any questions please reach out via the DMs

It was an absolute pleasure working with and training these amazing osteopaths Meg Nikki .to.babe.osteo and Geetha in the area of pelvic health over the weekend through the .institute
What does this mean? is the largest osteopathic clinic that works in pelvic health in Australia.
We have four osteopaths trained in internal assessment and treatment of the pelvic floor.
It doesn’t stop there either! Mia is trained in the real time ultrasound allowing her to assess the pelvic floor externally along with assessing the anterior abdominal wall. This is essential for separation rehab. Mia is an awesome osteopath who is highly trained in pelvic health rehab!! And has started a 6 month intensive training in breathing 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
We also have three osteopaths, Chloe, Meg and myself ( ) trained in children paediatric bladder bowel conditions like constipation and be wetting!! (Soon to be five as nikki and Mia are also training up)
Watch this space people.. watch this space! Pelvic health as we know it is changing 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

This post is coming from one parent to all of the parents, grandparents, sibling, guardians and anyone who regularly carries babies and small children (or large children if you live in my house 🤦🏽‍♀️)
I’m far from perfect and the posture up there.. with the big fat cross. That has certainly been me; occasionally holding a child this way isn’t the worst thing in the world.
But if you consistently hold the younger members of the family this way, I ask that when next you find yourself In this posture... Do a quick body scan.
You’ll most likely find your back is compressed, your hips are thrusted forward, your butt is tucked under and your glut are clenching!!
What you might not feel is; this posture puts extra pressure on any diastasis recti making it harder for it to heal, it’s an inefficient way to engage your core muscles, it’s harder to breath and while in this posture extra pressure is directed to your pelvic floor and pelvic organs.
What does all this mean?
It’s not an optimal posture for anyone, but if you have a diastasis recti, pelvic floor concerns, prolapse symptoms or lower back and hip pain maybe it’s time to un tuck that butt, stack your ribs over your pelvis and breath efficiently.
Good luck! Let me know how you go!!
Love KJ

***a **na

Have you met Nicole? She has recently started her own insta page where she will be sharing lots of information on pregnancy, pelvic health and the treatment of kids. Head over to .to.babe.osteo to see more of Nicole.
I have had the privilege of working with Nikki for almost 7 years. I love having sneaky treatments with her when we are both available.
Nikki is very passionate about supporting those who are pregnant with their pregnancy aches and pains and helping them to prepare for their upcoming birth.
Nikki has also completed further studies in paediatric care and enjoys treating the younger members of the family.
She is always up skilling, she is always wanting to learn and grow as a practitioner which I love and admire. Like myself forever a student!!
Watch this space as Nikki is joining me in the pelvic health arena this year 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
***a **na

Congratulations to mia for reaching 1000 followers 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
I watched mia from afar before she joined our team. I loved her content, knowledge and enthusiasm. When the opportunity arise I snapped her up so so quick.
I work really closely with mia in the clinic developing rehab programs for my patients especially those with diastasis, prolapse and light bladder leakage and then helping to treat them when I’m booked out 8 weeks in advance 🤦🏽‍♀️ I have big plans for this lady within the clinic.. big collaboration. I’m loving watching her grow and develop.. it’s an honor.
If you aren’t following mia.. do so!
Love KJ xx

Perineal trauma or tears are experienced by up to 90% of parents giving birth for the first time.
Most are minor and heal well and fast.
When talking to expectant mothers, tearing seems to be a common fear associated with childbirth.
Perineal tearing most commonly occurs during crowning of the new arrival. The perineal skin needs to thin and stretch allowing the baby to be birthed. When this area isn’t able to stretch - a tear or episiotomy (cutting of the perineum to make more space) is preformed.
Perineal damage can range from a graze to tearing all the way to and into the a**s.
For first time mamas it can be hard to avoid some degree of tear. The great news is the following tips can help reduce the likelihood of severe perineal trauma.
Swipe left for my tips!
Have you anything to add to this list? 👇🏽please share 👇🏽👇🏽
***a

Having a healthy pelvic floor is the aim.. it’s not all about strength.
We want it to have an appropriate contraction for the given task.
It needs to be well coordinated.
Have good timing.
Pliable.
And it need to be able to lengthen and go through it’s full range of motion.
Here are some of our favorite exercises to encourage lengthening of the pelvic floor muscles.
Give them a try with some relaxed breathing and let us know how you feel.
**na **nahealth