MADISON, Wis. – Parenting has a lot of challenges, and as many new parents find out, pain can be one of them.
Last year, Kayla Armstrong was pregnant with her daughter Claire and developed severe carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists that was likely caused by her pregnancy. So, she sought medical treatment at UW Health and was referred to Megan Bjella, an occupational therapist who specializes in care during and after pregnancy.
Bjella was able to help Kayla manage the pain in her hands postpartum, but she also explained to her some of the possible ongoing challenges that might come up that could also cause pain, Kayla said.
“There are so many things you can’t plan for,” Kayla said. “I was very athletic and had a lot of goals for after pregnancy, and Megan was able to help me with a plan for those, and for what to do as a mom and how we use our bodies.”
Bjella and her colleague, Sarah Wittak, a hand therapist at UW Health, both saw the need to support birthing people and their families as they transition to parenthood. So, they recently started a dedicated program to help parents who developed pain from movements their bodies aren’t used to making, like bending over a crib rail to pick up a child, breast feeding or kneeling to change a diaper.
“Occupational therapists are uniquely positioned to be able to help individuals get through life transitions, and I think becoming a parent is one of the biggest life transitions someone can make,” Bjella said.
Patients can be referred to the Postpartum Occupational Therapy Program by their primary care or OB-GYN provider.
It turned out there were plenty of things her body wasn’t ready for, Kayla said. She developed upper back pain from breast feeding, lower back pain from twisting and bending to pick up Claire or change her diapers and developed an abdominal muscle separation.
Because they had been meeting for months already, Kayla and Bjella already had appointments on the books to meet and go over corrective stretching and exercises to build up strength to support those areas impacted by the new movements. They met four times over the course of a few months to teach new techniques and evaluate progress.
A key part of the program is designing exercises and stretching that fit into the daily life of the new parents, according to Bjella.
“We design these techniques in a way that allows them to be completed during everyday activities in many cases,” she said.
For Kayla, that meant fitting occupational therapy into her “mom life,” some of them even with Claire.
“The plan we developed was so easy to work in my daily routine, and incorporating my daughter made things fun for her,” she said.
Kayla had her last visit with Bjella about a month ago, and since then has been able to resume much of her active lifestyle, like lifting weights and getting back to running, she said.
“There is no doubt that working with Megan early in my pregnancy helped me return to my preferred lifestyle faster than I would have on my own,” Kayla said. “And, with Claire, it’s so much more enjoyable to spend these precious moments with her without being in pain.”