A Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy center based in New York City.
Returning to Running Postpartum
A very common question we hear from our postpartum patients is, “How soon can I run after giving birth?” Often a new Mom is cleared by her physician to exercise, but she may not feel ready to get back to running.
Why would someone feel this way? During pregnancy, the pelvis widens, ligaments became more relaxed and muscle tension, stability and control change. Whether it is vaginal or c-section delivery, birthing is a trauma to the body. Running is a high impact activity requiring a lot of stability and muscular control. As a result, it is strongly recommended that the return to running be methodical and conservative in order to avoid injury.
Guidelines developed by Australian Physiotherapists address returning to running and empower health professionals to help new moms get back to the sport they love by gaining strength and not experiencing pain. These physiotherapists recommend low impact exercise for the first 3 months after delivery, followed by a return to running 3 to 6 months post-delivery.
A postpartum Mom can benefit from a pelvic floor assessment prior to returning to exercise, especially when returning to high-impact activities such as running. An assessment and individualized care plan can greatly reduce and manage pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction. During the first 3 months post-delivery, when practicing low impact exercise, pelvic floor strength should be assessed and muscles should be trained in preparation for high impact exercises, e.g. running. During this period, awareness of your body is crucial to protect from prolapse, diastasis, and incontinence.
Return-to-exercise timelines will vary based on strength development and a variety of other factors.
Factors that may cause issues when returning to running include:
Being less than 3 months postpartum
A pre-existing hyper-mobility condition
Breast feeding
History of pelvic floor dysfunction or lumbo pelvic pain
Predisposition to increased exercise intensity or duration
Basic core exercises e.g. pelvic tilt bent knee drop out, side lying abduction
Walking (for cardiovascular exercise)
Week 2 to 4
Progress walking/ pelvic floor muscle/ core rehab
Consider introduction of squats, lunges and bridging, in line with the functional requirements of day to day life as a new mother
Week 4 to 6
Introduce low impact exercise e.g. static cycling or cross-trainer, taking into account individual postnatal recovery, mode of delivery and perineal trauma. Recovery should be such that the new mother is comfortable sitting on a saddle
Week 6 to 8
Scar mobilization (for either c-section or perineal scar)
Power walkingIncreased duration/intensity of low impact exercise
Deadlift techniques beginning at light weights no more than the weight of the baby in a car seat (15kg) with gradual load progression e.g. barbell only with no weight. This aims to strengthen and restore strategies for carrying out the normal everyday tasks required when caring for a newborn and/or older siblings.
Resistance work during core and lower limb rehab
Week 8 to 12
Introduce swimming (if lochia has stopped and there are no issues with wound healing)
Spinning (if comfortable sitting on a spinning saddle).
This exercise progression is an example of methodical postpartum recovery. Being assessed and working with a pelvic floor physical therapist is the best way to safely return to running and other high impact activities. Since each person’s physical situation is unique, you will do best with an assessment and a plan that considers your strengths, limitations, and specificity of activity.
If you have any questions or want to come in for a session, please email us at info@solsticept.com or call us at 929 269 2505. If preferable, we can do a telehealth session in lieu of coming in.
References: Groom, T., Donnelly, G. & Brockwell, E. (2019). Returning to running postnatal--guidelines for medical, health and fitness professionals managing this population.
Gromm, Donnelly and Brockell (2019), Example of Exercise Progression for 0-3 months. Appendix 2:
