Let's face it: You may
feel like you have been hit by a train after childbirth. You did the equivalent
of a triathalon. Exercise may be the last thing on your mind after birth.
Yet this may be the best time to soothe your postpartum aches and pains
with very gentle healing exercises that you can easily incorporate into
your new daily routine.
The exercises in this
plan can help you begin to feel better physically and mentally. Keep in
mind that the immense transformation your body undergoes during pregnancy
reverses gradually. Although you may be anxious to regain your pre-pregnancy
figure, it generally takes six weeks for the hips, pelvis and connecting
muscles to realign. It may take longer to shed extra pounds.
Gentle exercises can
hasten the restorative process and help you to stand taller, flatten your
abdominal muscles, prevent long-term posture problems and prepare you to
return to your favorite sports. It is important that your back, pelvis
and the connecting muscles return to their proper alignment before resuming
regular exercise. Chronic pain can result from premature sessions of running,
stepping or weight lifting with misaligned posture and loose joints and
ligaments.
Check with your health
care provider before starting this plan. After an uncomplicated delivery,
you may begin the day after delivery. The goals of the restoration plan
include:
-
Kegels (pelvic floor exercises)
to heal the pelvic floor and tone stretched muscles;
-
Stretch the shortened low-back
muscles and pectoral (chest) muscles to improve posture;
-
Tone slack abdominal muscles
to help support the lower back;
-
Realign pelvis and leg muscles
to avoid injury;
-
Improve your mood by taking
good care of your body and self-image.
It
is important that your back, pelvis and the connecting muscles return to
their proper alignment before resuming regular exercise.
The Plan
Here is the four-part plan.
To make the plan easy to follow, try to incorporate the exercises into
your daily routine.
1. Do Kegels 10 to 12
times every time you feed your baby. Do reverse shoulder rolls when you
are finished feeding to loosen and relax the neck, shoulder and chest muscles.
2. When you shower, your
muscles are warm and relaxed. This is a good time to stretch your chest
muscles, hip flexors and lower back. With your back against the wall and
feet hip width apart, press your lower back to the wall and pull your navel
to your spine. Take five minutes to stretch all the leg muscles.
3. Each day, spend five
to 10 minutes on your back practicing pelvic tilts by pressing your lower
back to the floor while pulling abdominal muscles in. Progress to sit-ups.
Splint your abdominal muscles with a towel if you feel a separation in
between your recti (abdominal) muscles right above your navel.
4. Exercise with your
baby by walking for 10 minutes, and add five minutes each week. If it's
raining, play music and dance together instead.
These gentle exercises should
get you on the road to recovery and help you feel like your old self in
no time!
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