THE QUICK READ
• Post-natal recovery can be likened to
recovering from a sporting injury
• 1 in 3 women who have ever had a
baby experience urinary leakage, and
training of the pelvic floor will help to
reduce the risk of this
• In the first six weeks early post-natal
recovery exercises include walking,
pelvic floor and post-natal abdominal
bracing and back stretches
• From 6 weeks to 3-4 months, the
focus should be on regaining core and
pelvic floor control and building fitness
• From 4 months onwards, progressively
build intensity and training load
• At each level of increased training,
clients should not experience any
‘warning signals’ from their recovering
body during or after training, such as
back or pelvic pain or pelvic floor issues.
FURTHER READING
1. Breastfeeding Australia: www.
breastfeeding.asn.au
2. The Continence Foundation of
Australia: www.continence.org.au
3. Fitness Australia’s Pre and Post-
Natal Exercise Guidelines https://
bp-fitnessaustralia-production.
s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/
uploaded_file/file/219/Pre-and-
Post-Natal-Exercise-Guidelines.pdf
4. Tania Tian, Stephanie Budgett,
Jackie Smalldridge, Lynsey Hayward,
James Stinear and Jennifer Kruger
(2017). Assessing exercises
recommended for women at risk of
pelvic floor disorders using multivariate
statistical techniques. Int Urogynecol
J. 2018 Oct;29(10):1447-1454.
doi: 10.1007/s00192-017-3473-6.
Epub 2017 Sep https://www.ncbi.
nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28905083
their program intensity levels due to sleep
pattern alterations affecting energy levels, or
because they still feel that their pelvic floor
needs further recovery time and specific
attention.
Clients returning to running, higher
impact exercise and sport can progressively
build their intensity and training load. At
each level of increased training, they should
not experience any ‘warning signals’ from
their recovering body during or after training.
These can include:
• back pain
• pelvic floor or vaginal heaviness or
pressure
• leakage of urine or difficulty controlling
their bladder
• pelvic joint or ligament pain
•
lower abdominal wall discomfort,
pressure or pain.
If any of these occur during or after training,
including up to several days after training,
then step down their intensity for at least
one to two weeks before rebuilding it.
If any of these symptoms continue, refer
them to a local physiotherapist working in
women’s health or back to their GP.
When a player is recovering from a
sporting injury, such as a knee or ankle
injury, they will be tested before returning
to the full game. They may attend training
partially after a rest period, then build their
training time and intensity back up again,
before fully testing if they are ready to
perform in the game. Similarly, post-natal
women should listen to their bodies, take
time to recover post-birth, and rebuild their
core and pelvic floor fitness levels, along
with their resistance and cardio fitness, to
avoid ongoing symptoms from overtraining
too soon.
MORE?
To develop your expertise in training
pregnant and post-natal clients, CLICK
HERE to find out more about Network’s
range of courses, accredited for CECs
and CPDs.
Dianne Edmonds
A physiotherapist based in an obstetric GP clinic,
Dianne is a course creator, Women’s Health
Ambassador for Australian Fitness Network and the
Director of The Pregnancy Centre. She has worked
in women’s health and fitness for 25 years and was
integral in the development of the Pelvic Floor First
resources.
NETWORK AUTUMN 2019 | 41