Don’t rush the snapback!: How to avoid injury during your postpartum fitness journey
So you did it! You made it through your pregnancy and delivered your precious baby. You are probably dealing with a ton of emotions as you adjust to motherhood. Once things begin to settle a bit, if you are like many other new moms, you may begin to think about your post baby body. Some women want to complete exercises as part of their postpartum journey. While there is nothing wrong with having postpartum fitness goals, I am here to educate you on strategies to address these goals safely.
“Before starting your postpartum fitness journey, remind yourself of the amazing job your body just did; please don’t get caught up in the snapback culture.”
Before starting your postpartum fitness journey, remind yourself of the amazing job your body just did; please don’t get caught up in the snapback culture. If you rush into your postpartum fitness journey, you can cause serious injury to your body, especially your core and pelvic floor. Read more to learn about the postpartum body and strategies to safely recover in order to avoid potential injury.
Your postpartum body
Your body just made a ton of adjustments in order to accommodate your little one. The most obvious is the stretching of the muscles of your abdomen, but you had many other physical changes that happened during pregnancy. Even after you deliver your baby, your body doesn’t just snap back into place; you are still dealing with lingering effects from your pregnancy, such as the presence of hormones that caused physical changes to your body.
The most obvious change to your body is the expanded belly. Your abdominal muscles have been overstretched in order to accommodate your growing baby; after delivery, your abdominal muscles are still stretched. You may also notice that you have diastasis recti; a term that is used to describe the overstretched distance between the two rectus abdominis muscles. This is often characterized by the coning seen when trying to sit up. It is believed that 100% of pregnant women will experience this by their third trimester and it can still be present after giving birth.
In addition to the muscles of your abdomen being overstretched, your uterus is also not back to it’s normal size after giving birth. This can cause continued strain on your lower back due to the increased pressure. You may also notice that the muscles of your pelvic floor are weak due to the additional pressure and all the work you just did to deliver that baby!
After you deliver, hormones that were responsible for preparing your body for delivering your baby are still present. Relaxin is a hormone that causes the ligaments of your pelvis to relax and your cervix to soften in order to help with labor. This same hormone causes your joints to be less stable and can linger for up to 9 months postpartum. You may also notice that your balance will be impaired for a while after giving birth. This places you at increased risk for injury if you overdo it when exercising.
Due to these many changes, it is important that you take your time and make safety a top priority when exercising after delivering your baby. If you participate in exercises that put pressure on your body, especially your abdomen, you can cause serious injury to your core and pelvic floor.
Your recovery time
After delivering your baby, it’s important that you take time to recover. Typically, the first eight weeks after delivering your baby is when spontaneous recovery happens. During this time, you should rest and recover as your body just went through an amazing transformation and delivered a baby! You can take this time to give yourself grace and remember how amazing you are. You just brought life into this world; you deserve time to rest.
“ You just brought life into this world; you deserve time to rest.”
As you consider postnatal exercise, you must consider the factors that impact how you approach exercise. Your method of delivery, the length of your labor and if you had any complications will impact your recovery time. If you had a c-section you should avoid heavy lifting for at least six weeks. If you had a vaginal delivery, typically it’s ok to do light cardio, such as walking around your neighborhood, within the first week. However, if you had any complications, such as a vaginal tear, you will need extra time to recover depending on the severity.
At about eight weeks postpartum, some women start to feel more like themselves; if you don’t, please don’t worry. Return to exercise once you feel you are ready. Remember, every woman’s pregnancy and postpartum journey is unique, move at your own pace and don’t compare yourself to others.
These are general guidelines. No matter what you went through during labor, always consult with your physician prior to engaging in any exercise program. Your body just went through a lot and you’re not always aware of what occurred during labor, unless of course you had an uncomplicated labor. No matter the case, it’s always best to consult with your physician.
Safe postpartum exercise
After you take time to rest and recover, you should gradually return to an exercise program. Just like the goal of exercising while pregnant should be to prepare your body for labor and delivery; the goal of postpartum exercise should support the many changes that happened to your body. Postpartum exercise can help reduce pain and discomfort, assist with weight loss and increase mood and energy levels.
Initially, your top priorities when returning to exercise after giving birth should include exercises that address the core and pelvic floor. You should begin with retraining your core because your core helps to stabilize you and should be strong before engaging in any other strengthening exercises . Starting with the core breath ( a simple exercise that retrains the keys muscles of the core) is a great starting point. You can also complete progressive core exercises as a starting point. Going too hard on the core can cause strain on your abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor; this can lead to complications such as a prolapsed uterus and bladder leaking.
If you are unsure of where to begin on your postpartum fitness journey, I highly suggest training with a fitness specialist who understands the changes that women go through during pregnancy and postpartum. They can provide a specific exercise program that will keep you safe and help you physically recover. This is not the time to experiment; you want to ensure that you are completing exercises specific to your postpartum recovery and doing them correctly in order to avoid injury.
If you have any questions or want to learn more, please feel free to message me. I’m here to help!
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.