You’ve just had a baby (or babies!) and want to run – maybe around the block, maybe long hours on the trails. No matter what type of running you want to do, your body has been through a lot, and how you get into running can impact your risk of injury, your pelvic health, and your overall enjoyment now and in the future. Whether you are a seasoned runner or first-timer, keep reading to learn how to get into running postnatally.
Pregnancy and childbirth impact your body in many ways. During pregnancy, your pelvic floor muscles and abdominal muscles lengthen, your pelvis widens, and your joints and muscles adapt to the increased weight and position of your growing baby. During vaginal delivery, your pelvic floor muscles can stretch up to three times their normal length. During cesarean delivery, you undergo major abdominal surgery.
Safe to say, your entire abdomen has undergone a lot of change by the time you’ve delivered your baby. Put simply, your pelvic floor and your abs are impacted, and they need time to recover. (See our blog post on The First 6 Weeks.)
Research suggests that healing from pregnancy and childbirth is not unlike healing from an injury, and this takes time. While some minor birth injuries (i.e., first and second degree perineal tears) can heal well within the first six weeks, it takes longer to feel connected with your body and build functional strength. And if you’ve had a cesarean section delivery, or experienced an instrument-assisted delivery, your body will need more time to recover.
Current recommendations suggest waiting until at least twelve weeks postpartum to start any running or jumping exercises, assuming you are symptom free. (See below for types of symptoms to look out for and what to do if you have them.)
This doesn’t mean you need to wait three months before starting any exercise. With guidance, gentle and progressive loading of the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles can start a few weeks following delivery. These exercises can then be progressed to incorporate the full body to prepare for a return to run program.
Many variables can slow or delay progress, and it is important to be patient, and make sure to address any symptoms as they arise. Symptoms may include:
- urinary urgency or leakage
- faecal urgency or leakage
- the sensation of heaviness or dragging in the pelvis/vagina
- pain in pelvis, vagina, perineum, or abdomen
- abdominal separation (see our blog post Understanding Diastasis Recti for more info.)
It is also important to consider other factors that may impact your recovery, such as:
- sleep and energy levels
- hydration
- nutrition
- childcare demands of new baby and any other children at home
- breast feeding demands and breast size
- fitness and activity levels before and during pregnancy
Here at Liberty Pelvic Health Physiotherapy, our pelvic health physios will help you understand how your body is progressing postnatally and guide you through exercises to get your body ready for running. Thorough, ongoing assessments help our physio’s address any pelvic health concerns you have and create a tailored program to get you back to running, whether it’s to run around with your kids at the park or hit the trails for hours.
Give us a call or book in today for an appointment to see how our physios can help.
