Pregnancy is an exciting time, but it also brings significant changes to your body. As your baby grows, your muscles, joints, ligaments, and posture all adapt to support your changing body. While many of these changes are completely normal, they can also lead to discomfort that makes everyday activities more challenging. If you are experiencing pelvic pain, low back pain, hip pain, bladder leakage, or pressure throughout your pregnancy, you may be wondering if there is a safe and effective way to feel better.
If you are searching for the best pelvic floor therapy for pregnancy in Andover, KS, Empower Physical Therapy is here to help. At our Andover location, Dr. Demi Kraus, DPT specializes in pelvic floor physical therapy for pregnant women, helping expectant mothers stay active, reduce pain, prepare for labor, and recover more confidently after delivery.
Many women believe discomfort during pregnancy is simply something they have to tolerate until their baby arrives. While some changes are expected, persistent pain and pelvic floor symptoms are not something you have to simply accept. Pelvic floor physical therapy can often provide meaningful relief while supporting a healthier, more comfortable pregnancy.
What Is Pelvic Floor Therapy During Pregnancy?
Pelvic floor therapy is a specialized form of physical therapy that focuses on the muscles, ligaments, connective tissues, and nerves that support your bladder, bowel, uterus, and other pelvic organs. These muscles also work together with your abdominal muscles, diaphragm, and lower back to provide stability throughout your body.
During pregnancy, your pelvic floor muscles experience increasing demands as your baby grows. Additional weight, hormonal changes, shifting posture, and changes in movement patterns all place greater stress on these muscles.
A pelvic floor physical therapist evaluates how your body is adapting throughout pregnancy and develops an individualized treatment plan to improve movement, decrease discomfort, and prepare your body for labor and delivery.
Rather than simply treating symptoms, pelvic floor physical therapy addresses the underlying movement patterns and muscle imbalances contributing to your discomfort.
Meet Dr. Demi Kraus, DPT
Choosing the right provider is an important part of your pregnancy journey. At Empower Physical Therapy in Andover, Dr. Demi Kraus, DPT specializes in treating pregnant patients, postpartum mothers, and individuals experiencing a wide variety of pelvic floor conditions.
Dr. Kraus understands that every pregnancy is different. Some women continue exercising throughout pregnancy, while others struggle with daily pain just walking through the grocery store. Some experience bladder leakage, while others develop significant pelvic girdle pain, hip discomfort, or pressure that limits their activities.
Her approach is always individualized. She takes time to understand your symptoms, answer your questions, and develop a treatment plan designed around your goals, activity level, and stage of pregnancy. Her focus is helping you stay as comfortable, active, and confident as possible while preparing your body for childbirth.
Why Does Pregnancy Affect the Pelvic Floor?
Pregnancy naturally changes nearly every system in your body. Hormones allow your ligaments to become more flexible in preparation for delivery. Your growing baby shifts your center of gravity, changing how you stand, walk, and move. The muscles throughout your abdomen and pelvic floor must work harder to support these changes.
As these demands increase, the pelvic floor muscles may become weak, overly tight, fatigued, or poorly coordinated. This can contribute to discomfort throughout the pelvis, hips, lower back, and abdomen.
Some women experience symptoms early in pregnancy, while others notice increasing discomfort during the second or third trimester. Regardless of when symptoms begin, pelvic floor physical therapy can often help improve comfort and function.
Common Pregnancy Symptoms That Physical Therapy Can Help Treat
Many women are surprised to learn how many pregnancy related symptoms may improve with specialized physical therapy. Every pregnancy is unique, but some of the most common concerns treated by Dr. Demi Kraus include:
- Pelvic pain
- Hip pain
- Low back pain
- Sciatica
- Pelvic girdle pain
- Bladder leakage
- Urinary urgency
- Pelvic pressure
- Pain when walking
- Pain when rolling over in bed
- Pain climbing stairs
- Core weakness
- Difficulty exercising comfortably
A thorough evaluation allows your treatment plan to be tailored specifically to your body and your pregnancy.
How Pelvic Floor Therapy Helps During Pregnancy
One of the greatest benefits of pelvic floor physical therapy is that treatment is completely individualized. Rather than giving every patient the same stretches or exercises, your therapist first determines why your symptoms are occurring.
Some women need to improve strength throughout their core and pelvic floor muscles. Others actually benefit more from learning how to relax muscles that have become overly tense. Improving breathing mechanics, posture, movement patterns, flexibility, and muscle coordination often plays a significant role in reducing discomfort.
Treatment may also include education on body mechanics for lifting, sleeping positions, strategies for getting out of bed comfortably, and techniques that reduce unnecessary strain on your pelvis throughout daily activities.
By improving how your body moves throughout pregnancy, many women are able to remain active longer and enjoy greater comfort as their pregnancy progresses.
Preparing Your Body for Labor and Delivery
One of the most valuable aspects of pelvic floor therapy during pregnancy is preparing your body for labor.
Healthy pelvic floor muscles need to do more than simply become stronger. They also need to lengthen and relax appropriately during childbirth. Understanding how these muscles function can help improve body awareness and confidence before delivery.
During treatment, Dr. Demi Kraus provides education on breathing strategies, relaxation techniques, positioning, and exercises that help prepare your body for labor while supporting healthy movement throughout pregnancy.
Many women appreciate having the opportunity to ask questions and better understand how their bodies work before welcoming their baby.
Pelvic Floor Therapy Is Safe During Pregnancy
One concern many expectant mothers have is whether pelvic floor physical therapy is safe while pregnant.
In most cases, the answer is yes. Treatment is always modified based on your stage of pregnancy, medical history, and recommendations from your healthcare provider when appropriate.
Every exercise, stretch, and treatment technique is carefully selected to support both your comfort and your safety. Your therapist continuously monitors your symptoms and adjusts your program as your pregnancy progresses.
Because every pregnancy is different, individualized care is especially important. What works well for one patient may not be appropriate for another, which is why professional guidance is so valuable.
Recovery Starts Before Delivery
Many people think about postpartum recovery only after their baby is born, but preparing your body during pregnancy may help make recovery smoother.
Improving muscle awareness, learning proper breathing techniques, maintaining mobility, and supporting healthy pelvic floor function before delivery gives you a strong foundation for the weeks and months that follow childbirth.
After delivery, pelvic floor physical therapy can continue to help address bladder leakage, pelvic pain, diastasis recti, scar mobility, core weakness, and safely returning to exercise and everyday activities.
Establishing care during pregnancy also provides continuity after delivery, allowing your therapist to guide you through each phase of recovery.
Why Choose Empower Physical Therapy in Andover?
If you are looking for the best pelvic floor therapy for pregnancy in Andover, KS, choosing a provider with specialized experience matters.
At Empower Physical Therapy, every patient receives one on one care from a therapist who understands the unique physical changes that occur throughout pregnancy. Dr. Demi Kraus, DPT is passionate about helping expectant mothers reduce pain, improve mobility, prepare for labor, and recover successfully after childbirth.
Our clinic provides a welcoming and supportive environment where you can ask questions, discuss your concerns, and receive individualized treatment based on your specific needs. We believe every pregnancy deserves personalized care because no two women experience pregnancy in exactly the same way.
Whether you are experiencing pelvic pain, hip pain, low back pain, bladder leakage, or simply want to prepare your body for labor, our goal is to help you enjoy a healthier and more comfortable pregnancy.
Many women wish they had started pelvic floor physical therapy sooner after realizing how much better they could feel. If pregnancy discomfort is beginning to interfere with your daily life, you do not have to wait until after your baby is born to seek help.
If you have been searching for the best pelvic floor therapy for pregnancy in Andover, KS, Empower Physical Therapy is here to support you every step of the way. Dr. Demi Kraus, DPT is dedicated to helping expectant mothers move confidently, stay active, reduce pain, and prepare for a successful labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery through personalized pelvic floor physical therapy.
Click here to schedule.
📍 Empower Physical Therapy Andover
826 E. Founders Pkwy STE 100
Andover, KS 67002
📞 316-201-6051
