Dr. Kimberley Wilson PT, DPT

Thank you to everyone who took the time to wish me happy birthday!! I am very blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Postpartum journey

🤰🏼Your pregnancy and postpartum journey is much like any other journey of life that you find yourself on...

If you find yourself going somewhere you’ve never been before, you will most likely need a roadmap to arrive at your destination in a timely and safe manner!🕓🛑

Here is a general road map so that you can have confidence in your postpartum recover process.🗾

1️⃣The first step to focus on is restoring good, deep breathing patterns. Normal breathing can become very restricted, especially during the third trimester of pregnancy. It is very important to restore rib mobility and diaphragmatic movement as soon as possible after baby arrives…you can safely start to restore healthy breathing patterns before you even leave the hospital!

2️⃣In order to restore stability for your back and pelvis, the next phase of recovery would include exercises to target the deep core. These exercises should be only be performed in gravity eliminated positions until you’re ready to move to the next phase!

3️⃣To improve your core strength and stability, the next phase of recovery will transition you into deep core exercises that will be performed against gravity!

4️⃣You know you are supermom when you transition safely into this next phase of recovery which includes even harder core stability challenges to be performed in weight bearing and in all planes of movement!

☎️If you need help navigating your pregnancy or postpartum recovery, don’t hesitate to contact Inspire Physical Therapy!! We will get you moving in the right direction! 🤰🏼👩🏼‍🍼🏃🏼‍♀️

❤️❤️This testimonial means the world to me because this is what I always want my clients to feel: that they are heard!! 🦻🏻🗣

🌀There is a serious deficit in postnatal care for moms, and it is my mission to help bridge the gap from pregnancy to postpartum recovery and beyond…

…so that all mamas can rock it from start to finish!!💃💪🏻

I’m so excited to share that I attended a Spinning Babies Workshop this week!!!! I learned soooo many valuable nuggets that I will be able to share with my clients. I absolutely love working with moms during pregnancy to help prepare them for labor and delivery, and I always want to be providing them with the best and most up-to-date information! Spinning Babies is leading the way for a better birthing experience and significantly reducing rate of c-section births, and I am thrilled to be part of this community!

Any moms out there that have utilized Spinning Babies to help prepare for or during birth? I love to hear your story!!!👇🏻👇🏻

Pelvic Health Motivation Monday

You are growing a human — you deserve support! 🤰🏼🤰🏼
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The hormones that prepare your body for belly growth and baby delivery also cause increased mobility in your joints during pregnancy.
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It’s not uncommon to feel like you need more support during your pregnancy.
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☑️Try a pregnancy support belt
☑️Use gentle stretching and strengthening of areas near the hip and abdomen
☑️Get care from a Pelvic Health Physical Therapist! 💪🏻
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Did you have pain or discomfort during pregnancy or need extra support? Let us know! 👇🏻👇🏻

Pelvic floor dysfunction can be difficult to understand. Honestly, one question that I get asked a lot is “what causes the pelvic floor to tighten up”?

More often than not, the pelvic floor muscles are not so much tight as they are over active.

Pelvic floor overactivity can be a result of trauma. This commonly happens during pregnancy and/or childbirth.

Another thing that might result in an overactive pelvic floor is over recruitment of those muscles, or muscle guarding.
The good news is that it is completely treatable! In fact, a pelvic floor physical therapist specializes in recovery for pelvic floor dysfunction and can help anyone dealing with these issues find real, lasting solutions!
Read more about the causes of pelvic floor tightness by clicking on my link fir my blog in my bio!

🔸The average head weighs about 12 pounds🤔

🔸Every inch of forward head posture adds an additional 10 pounds of pressure on your cervical spine 😳

🔸3 inches of forward head posture = 42 pounds of pressure on the cervical spine 😳😲

This message was from an adult son who has been taking his mom to a “traditional” outpatient PT clinic every week for several weeks…

During the initial evaluation, his mom expressed her disappointment that no one at the PT clinic where she had been going had ever physically touched her—she said she had just been given a set a exercises and someone watched her do them every time she went to her PT appointment 🤦🏼‍♀️😳😠

Physical therapy is so much more than a set of exercises 💯

🗣Don’t settle for traditional just because insurance will pay for it

🔸Look for a physical therapist who has the time and skill to be able to figure out the “why” for your symptoms💪🏻💪🏻

Comment below if you’ve had a similar experience 👇🏻

This message was from an adult son who has been taking his mom to a “traditional” outpatient PT clinic every week for several weeks…

During the initial evaluation, his mom expressed her disappointment that no one at the PT clinic where she had been going had ever physically touched her—she said she had just been given a set a exercises and someone watched her do them every time she went to her PT appointment 🤦🏼‍♀️😳😠

Physical therapy is so much more than a set of exercises 💯

🗣Don’t settle for traditional just because insurance will pay for it

🔸Look for a physical therapist who has the time and skill to be able to figure out the “why” for your symptoms💪🏻💪🏻

The right PT can help you FULLY recover. Contact us to see if we may be able to help you today 😀

🔹Rehab considerations must include a total body analysis…📝

🔹And diastasis recti is no exception!

🔹The position of your ribs could be a big piece of the puzzle as to why you have not been able to close the gap on your abdominal separation

🔹Serratus connects with diastasis via the external obliques

💪🏻Consider how well you scapula is moving and whether or not it is strong enough to do its job

💪🏻Strengthening the serratus significantly improves core rehab

🤓As you can see in the picture above, the two muscle are directly connected

✅So improving serratus activation can be the key to getting your abs on board💯

✅A strong serratus will help external obliques to get your ribs in and down

✅End result: strong core support system!!💪🏻💯😃

Questions? Drop them below👇🏻

🤔Is there a connection between diastasis recti and the pelvic floor muscles?

YES!!💯

🤔How do we restore the connection if it is broken?

1️⃣Start with fixing your breathing. Good breathing strategies increase the PF + core’s natural functioning.

2️⃣Improve back & side rib expansion during inhalation. This will eccentrically lengthen PF & abdominals—belly breathing does NOT produce eccentric lengthening of the transverse abdominis (TrA). Back and side rib expansion will help to improve the natural tension on the midline (linea alba), which will help to correct diastasis.

3️⃣Get your PF contracting! Then depending on whether you need to improve strength or increase length, increased awareness of movement in the PF during inhales & exhales will support the natural functioning of the PF.

4️⃣Work on abdominals to reduce unwanted tension (pulling) on the diastasis. For example, if the external obliques are not showing up, this can result in a widening at the bottom of your rib cage. This will generate unwanted stress or tension on the abdominal midline, potentially increasing the diastasis.

5️⃣Investigate the whole kinetic chain and other influencing factors like the serratus, the traps, the glutes, arch strength, etc.

6️⃣Be patient. Remember the linea alba is made up of tendinous fibers which can take up to 6 months to heal or remodel.

To recap:
🔸Rib expansion is a must 💯
🔸Fix pelvic floor issues first💪🏻
🔸You will generate too much pressure on the PF if you try to fix the abs first—which can increase risk for organ prolapse😳
🔸Muscles/tendons change during pregnancy🤭
🔸Set appropriate expectations for recovery😊
🔸Don’t do too much too soon🤓
🔸Establish better breathing then expect better movement💯💪🏻

Let me know what you think about these tips👇🏻

PM me if you have additional questions or would like to schedule an appointment 😃

🤔Is there a connection between diastasis recti and the pelvic floor muscles?

YES!!💯

🤔How do we restore the connection if it is broken?

1️⃣Start with fixing your breathing. Good breathing strategies increase the PF + core’s natural functioning.

2️⃣Improve back & side rib expansion during inhalation. This will eccentrically lengthen PF & abdominals—belly breathing does NOT produce eccentric lengthening of the transverse abdominis (TrA). Back and side rib expansion will help to improve the natural tension on the midline (linea alba), which will help to correct diastasis.

3️⃣Get your PF contracting! Then depending on whether you need to improve strength or increase length, increased awareness of movement in the PF during inhales & exhales will support the natural functioning of the PF.

4️⃣Work on abdominals to reduce unwanted tension (pulling) on the diastasis. For example, if the external obliques are not showing up, this can result in a widening at the bottom of your rib cage. This will generate unwanted stress or tension on the abdominal midline, potentially increasing the diastasis.

5️⃣Investigate the whole kinetic chain and other influencing factors like the serratus, the traps, the glutes, arch strength, etc.

6️⃣Be patient. Remember the linea alba is made up of tendinous fibers which can take up to 6 months to heal or remodel.

To recap:
🔸Rib expansion is a must 💯
🔸Fix pelvic floor issues first💪🏻
🔸You will generate too much pressure on the PF if you try to fix the abs first—which can increase risk for organ prolapse😳
🔸Muscles/tendons change during pregnancy🤭
🔸Set appropriate expectations for recovery😊
🔸Don’t do too much too soon🤓
🔸Establish better breathing then expect better movement💯💪🏻

Let me know what you think about these tips👇🏻

PM me if you have additional questions or would like to schedule an appointment 😃

🔸Can you heal a diastasis? 🤷‍♀️

🔸Maybe🤔

🔸It depends on how much fascial damage has been done

🔸But you can ALWAYS improve movement strategies💪🏻

🔸Diastasis is a TOTAL BODY iissue

🔸The width and depth of a diastasis recti is DIRECTLY related to how you move, breathe, and load your body (impacting men and women and NOT solely related to pregnancy)

🔸Do not underestimate the importance of the kinetic chain (how joints and body segments have an effect on one another during movement)

🗣Everything from arch strength to head alignment plays a role in how the system works together

🔸The missing piece might be something you don’t expect🧐

Questions? Drop them below!

Learning and implementing appropriate breathing strategies is foundational to support our body’s systems. 💪🏻💪🏻

✅The diaphragm & PF move together when we breathe: both lengthen (relax) during inhale and shorten (contract) with exhale.

✅Good breathing patterns create intra abdominal pressure to protect our spine

✅Breathing can change our stress hormones through the sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous systems. The nervous system interprets shallow breathing patterns to mean something is wrong, cueing the body to be on high alert, thus triggering the sympathetic nervous system. On the other hand, if breathing allows for good expansion of the diaphragm, the parasympathetic system is alerted and you can relax.

♦️♦️Breathing is intrinsically linked to your nervous system—your body has no choice but to calm down if you are breathing well.

✅Good breathing patterns help to promote healing & tissue repair by increasing oxygen

✅Appropriate breathing strategies facilitate lateral rib expansion, which eccentrically loads the transverse abdominis (TrA)—the deepest abdominal muscle—and increases core strength and stability.💪🏻

✅Appropriate breathing reduces the infrasternal angle of the ribs, reducing unwanted stresses to the linea albea between the re**us abdominis which can contribute to diastasis recti.

🗣🗣If you are not sure if you are breathing in a way that supports your overall health and wellness, make an appointment with a pelvic floor physical therapist—It could make all the difference for helping you reach your health and fitness goals!

There are a lot of changes that take place during pregnancy, and hormones play a HUGE role in those changes.

Here are a few of the main players:

* Estrogen—supports uterine growth
* Progesterone—has many jobs during pregnancy but primarily serves to maintain a healthy pregnancy
* Relaxin—helps to stop premature uterine activity
* Oxytocin—stimulates uterine contractions
* Prolactin—milk production

For more information about these hormones and how they show up during pregnancy, check out today's blog post!
http://www.inspiremobilept.com/blog/whats-with-those-pregnancy-hormones

There are a lot of changes that take place during pregnancy, and hormones play a HUGE role in those changes.

Here are a few of the main players:

* Estrogen—supports uterine growth
* Progesterone—has many jobs during pregnancy but primarily serves to maintain a healthy pregnancy
* Relaxin—helps to stop premature uterine activity
* Oxytocin—stimulates uterine contractions
* Prolactin—milk production

For more information about these hormones and how they show up during pregnancy, check out today’s blog post!

http://www.inspiremobilept.com/blog/whats-with-those-pregnancy-hormones

Your pelvic floor could be causing your low back pain👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
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Are you frustrated 😕because your low back just keeps hurting even after you’ve been to physical therapy, chiropractor, and/or massage therapist?
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Have they considered other areas of the body such as the thoracic spine (mid-back), hip, abdomen, and the pelvic floor?
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If not, you could be missing the “why” that causing your back pain🧐
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One study found that 95% of women who reported low back pain were discovered to have some form of pelvic floor dysfunction
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So…if you are experiencing any type of low back pain, make an appointment with a pelvic floor physical therapist. It could make all the difference in your treatment and help you find the lasting relief you’re looking for💪🏻💪🏻

Elderberry has a rich history in alternative medicine for treating the common cold, influenza and Herpes virus infections, often use as a complimentary therapy along with classic antioxidant nutrients including vitamins C and zinc, to help support the body’s natural process of recuperation.

There are many reported benefits for consuming elderberry on a regular basis:

💪🏻Supports gastrointestinal system
💪🏻May be beneficial in lowering blood pressure
💪🏻May help to manage diabetes
💪🏻Boosts the immune system
💪🏻Aids in eliminating excess cholesterol from the body
💪🏻Promotes strong bones and building of new bone tissue
💪🏻Helps to alleviate respiratory conditions such as cold and cough

✅Purchase your elderberry extract from a reputable source and make it part of your daily routine!

If you would like to know my favorite brand or are interested in simple elderberry recipes, comment below!