Postpartum Return to Exercise
What happens after your six week postpartum checkup? Were you given the green light to work out, run, and return to your previous activity level? Did you feel ready to get back to any of these activities? For the vast majority of people the return to these activities is not only a physical hurdle, but a mental one as well. Did you know there was a way to safely and confidently return to your desired fitness level? Pelvic health physical therapy can help prepare your body for your return to running and other strenuous physical activities.
If you are experiencing leakage, pressure, pain, or are just feeling weak and unprepared to be active again you would benefit from a pelvic physical therapy assessment. In therapy we will assess the source of your symptoms, perform a full body movement screen, and assess your pressure management along the with the effectiveness of your movement patterns.
Leakage can occur from underactivity and weakness, but it can also be present due to overactivity as well. It is vital to assess and address this, as you need to treat an overactivity prior to addressing muscles that aren’t performing up to par in order to achieve balanced strength. Pressure can be present due to lack of pelvic support or strength and does not necessarily present as a symptom prior to returning to increased activity. There are a variety of sources of pain including underactivity, overactivity, decreased stability, asymmetry, and nerve damage that can be present from birth or show up with return to fitness.
Once your symptom origin is assessed we will take a look at what activities your symptoms recur in. We will assess appropriate management of pressure with activity, what your body is doing when balance is challenged, strength is challenged, and impact is added. From this point we will progress activity in a way symptoms are controlled and you can confidently progress back to your desired level of fitness.
The confidence in movement your body deserves is possible and achievable. During birth your body does amazing things which demonstrates just how strong and resilient you are. Pelvic health physical therapy is here to restore your confidence, strength, and connect you back to your strongest capabilities.