Physical activity has many wonderful health benefits for mums. However, it is fundamental that return to exercise postpartum is specific, guided and gradual.
During pregnancy, your centre of gravity changes and shifts weight forward. This alters your posture and changes the biomechanics of your pelvis and back. Furthermore, changes in hormones during pregnancy alter lumbopelvic stability to help you physically prepare for the birth of your baby!
Seeking advice from a women’s health Physio (WHP) is essential to educate women on the importance of pelvic floor health, abdominal separation and gradual, safe return to exercise.
This is particularly important as 2 in 3 women postpartum have urinary incontinence and 50% of women after 1 vaginal delivery have some degree of prolapse.
In order to achieve a safe return to exercise, your WHP will:
- Return you to activity slowly: often we see mums try to do too much too quickly after they’ve been cleared by their GP or Obstetrician at their 6 week follow up. This can result in further injury or dysfunction to our pelvic floor, core and overall health
- Provide you with appropriate stability and strength exercises to prevent future injury, restore lumbo pelvic stability and optimise overall function.
If you’ve recently had a baby and want to get back to exercise, do it the right way.
Book an appointment with one of our expert physios today !