Post pregnancy pilates, osteopathy and the pelvic floor - what’s the best advice to get you in top condition after having a baby
Being pregnant, giving birth and post-natal care puts enormous demands on your body. Soft tissues and joints stretching and adapting can make you more vulnerable to injury whilst you’re adjusting to your new routine.
During this time trying to remain strong and flexible can really improve how your body handles these demands. Osteopathy can help throughout pregnancy - when your body, especially your pelvis, has to cope with dramatic changes, but also after it, by restoring balance, removing tension and assisting you as a new mother to cope better with broken sleep, breastfeeding, caring for, and carrying a new baby.
With these changes your pelvic floor muscles become lax and can weaken. It is easy to overload them during activities like lifting, coughing, running, jumping, and some abdominal exercises. All of which increase the pressure in your abdomen, demanding your pelvic floor to support what’s above it. So exercising your pelvic floor is a must do to improve stability and reduce the risk of developing pelvic conditions such as urinary incontinence. Pilates can be a great way to specifically train your pelvic floor, but also start you gently into exercising different parts of your body again.
I like to combine my osteopathic hands on skills with my pilates knowledge. I find this creates the best outcome for the patients I see with pregnancy related problems, and also helps to prevent further issues from developing. Here are some key things to watch out for, and seek advice about:
- pain around your low back, hips, headaches, shoulder and wrist pain are all common in the early months after childbirth
- an uncomfortable feeling in your back or pelvis
- your tummy doming when exercising
- a feeling of dragging or a pressure in your pelvic/saddle area
- urinary urgency and/or leaking
- continuation of bleeding
The overwhelming advice from healthcare practitioners is to get checked and have supervised guidance especially when getting back into sports and activities.
