In February, our meeting refreshment sponsor was MRPT.  During her brief speech, our members were very interested in learning more, so we asked Marianne to write a quick article for us, you'll find it below along with her contact info if you have any more questions.
How Can Physical Therapy Help Me?
By Marianne Ryan, PT, OCS
Clinical Director MRPT Physical Therapy 
Physical therapy treatment during pregnancy and after giving birth is
an essential component in healthy living. The impact of added weight
and stress on the body during and after pregnancy can have life long
consequences on the pelvis and abdomen, and can lead to: lower back and
neck pain, pelvic organ prolapse, and a leaky bladder. To reverse these
changes our team of MRPT physical therapists focus on exercises and
manual therapy to help put the body back together.
What happens during pregnancy is that your brain forgets how to use
your core muscles, and our program will help you to train your brain to
wake up them up. Core exercises are very subtle and easy to learn with
the right therapist. Chiropractors and massage therapist are not
trained to identify and correct muscle imbalances. Pilates and Yoga
exercise classes do not give enough individualized attention in
training your brain to remember how to perform basic core exercises.
Healthy tips for Mom's and Dad's
When taking care of young children parents are forced to bend down to
the child's level an average of 40 times per child per day! This does
not include lifting grocery bags, strollers, picking up toys, etc.
Two very easy exercises are back arches and mid-back stretches.
 
Standing Back Arches-Stand, place hands on low back then arch backwards
& hold for 5 counts. Repeat 5 times several times throughout the day.

Mid-back Stretch-Sit on a chair with 2 hands behind neck and stretch
arms open while arching the mid-back.Hold stretch for 5 counts and
repeat 5 times several times throughout the day.

MRPT Physical Therapy is conveniently located in midtown Manhattan, 6
East 45th Street. You can get in touch with us at 212 661 2933 or email
any questions to MRPTny@aol.com .