Jogging after giving birth: what’s important

Jogging after pregnancy

Jogging is especially popular with mothers. After all, it needs little time, is flexible, and compatible with work and family. No wonder the sport is particularly attractive to us women. All we need to do is run out the front door and we’re off.

Rules of thumb for mothers after childbirth

After pregnancy and childbirth, many women like to try jogging as a way of getting back into sport and fitness training. But much uncertainty exists as to when to restart and whether jogging is sensible and healthy at this stage?! The rule of thumb is: jogging at the earliest 2-3 months after birth and intensive exercise 4-6 months after birth are fine.

Feel-good rule for the restart

Or the feel-good rule: as soon as you can manage to walk briskly again for a longer period, you feel fit and your pelvic floor has regained its elasticity, you can try jogging again. The «waiting period» is necessary because hormonal changes have caused the connective tissue to loosen, and this first needs to recover. Our tip: start later rather than sooner in order to give the recovery process time.

Rediscover your body's core: pelvis and posture

It’s clear that pregnancy and childbirth put a lot of stress and strain on a woman’s pelvic floor. These changes to the body can often lead to bladder weakness and a tendency to prolapse. Women often maintain the poor posture and movement patterns they adopted during pregnancy – a more pronounced hollow back due to their growing belly – after the birth too. Pain in the lower back and posture problems are bound to result. The combination of a heavy strain on the pelvic floor and uncoordinated posture is particularly detrimental.

Activate the pelvic floor when jogging

The old recommendation to permanently tense the pelvic floor while running is long out of date! We are now advised to tense and relax the muscles in time with our movement. The idea is to rhythmically activate the three-layered pelvic floor muscles — providing a massage of the pelvic organs at the same time! Walking and running – done correctly – automatically improve the speed at which the pelvic floor reacts, and its elasticity.

Timing is key

When the basic level of tension is too low, the pelvic floor is less strong and less quick to react, while too much tension is linked to constipation and haemorrhoids. Achieving the right balance while walking and running has a significant influence on continence. It all depends on tensing and releasing the muscles at the right moment. Timing is everything!

Uterine descent after childbirth

Weak connective tissue or a vaginal birth: these are common reasons for why a pelvis gives way and the uterus slips down. How to recognise the symptoms and what to do about them.

This article is presented by: www.medical-running.com