My journey with exercise from pregnancy to present
The second pillar of lifestyle medicine is physical activity. Again it’s not surprising that increasing our activity level through cardiovascular and strengthening exercises impacts on our health and wellbeing but what does this look like at an individual level? Here I share some of my own journey in the hope that it shows the real life impact that the right exercises and support can have on wellbeing.
In my pre-pregnancy days I would have considered myself a fairly active person. I was out for dog walks most days and went swimming once a week.
Fast forward to Summer 2023, around 18 weeks pregnant, I was hit with severe pain in my pelvis which was making it difficult to walk. I was diagnosed with pelvic girdle pain (PGP).
For those who haven’t heard of it, PGP is a collection of uncomfortable symptoms caused by a stiffness of your pelvic joints or the joints moving unevenly at either the back or front of your pelvis. It comes on in pregnancy and it thought to be caused by too much of the hormone relaxin which softens the ligaments in your pelvis. You need relaxin to have a baby but too much results in pain. It varies in severity but impacts your ability to walk, go up stairs and turn in bed (1).
Worried that the pain was getting worse, I made a physiotherapy appointment with Laura Forker. Laura (also known as Physiofem) specialises in pelvic health physiotherapy and runs pre and post natal pilates courses.
To my relief Laura was able to prescribe exercises and was confident I’d be able to get moving again. One of the keys was to get my core strength built up to relieve the pressure on my pelvis. After 6 weeks of consistent exercises I was able to fully return to work and even take the dog back out for walks. I still needed some pain relief but only sparingly. I felt I had regained some of the joy of pregnancy that pelvic pain had stolen away and that feeling continued until I had my daughter.
I’m continuing to rehabilitate and build strength with help from post-natal fitness coach Katy Stewart. Katy (also known as MamaFitNI) runs fitness classes for mums which allows them to get strong while being mindful of their new post-partum body.
While I wouldn’t wish to relive the PGP I experienced in pregnancy, it highlighted to me the importance of building strength at every stage of life. Exercise allowed me to take control of my pain in pregnancy and continues to do wonders for my well-being post-partum.
For more information on how much and what type of exercise is needed for your age and stage I’ve linked the helpful NHS Physical Activity guidelines below; this includes guidelines for early years, teens, older adults, those with disabilities, pregnancy and post-partum.
References:
Resources:
Physiofem | Pelvic Floor Health | Online Pilates | Northern Ireland
