Breathing and Posture in Pregnant and Postpartum Runners
Bringing a child in to the world is one of the most joyous moments and times in your life. The joy does a good job of carrying you through those sleepless nights, endless fatigue and aches and pains of new parenthood. The joy of your child doesn't have to be an excuse to settle for some of the diagnoses that come along with pregnancy and motherhood.
If you're dealing with issues like diastasis recti, prolapse, SI joint pain, pubic symphysis or back pain - I'm talking to you. And definitely if you've accepted that it's OKAY to pee when you run or enjoy life - I'm talking to you! Because if you're reading this, running or being active are things that are important to you. They keep you mentally and physically healthy which allows you to be a better parent to your child. The joy of becoming a parent doesn't have to equal a loss of running, training and time for yourself to do what you enjoy and feel good while doing so.
Pregnancy, Breathing & Postural Changes
The number of changes occurring as your pregnancy progresses are endless. Orthopedically and as it applies to runners, there are a few things we want to pay attention to. The first being changes that occur with your breathing and posture.
Breathing
Breathing patterns are likely to change throughout the course of pregnancy. This is due to changes in muscle tension and stress, your growing belly limiting room for diaphragm expansion and changes in posture. These patterns become learned late in pregnancy and can sometimes be hard to shake even when your diaphragm has reclaimed that space after birth. Shallow breathing patterns and increased use of accessory breathing muscles in the neck and chest can perpetuate cyclical tightness and affect pressure distribution into the pelvic floor.
Posture
As your belly grows it will shift your center of mass, you will begin to reflexively extend more at your spine and hang on your bones and ligaments. This creates notable tightness in the muscles of your back and increased stretching and tension into your abdominal wall. This creates pulling on a diastasis and throws off breathing patterns and pressure management through your abdomen and pelvic floor. Rounded shoulder posture and thoracic stiffness is often continued postnatally with breast feeding positions.
How We Fix It
As you can probably tell, there is an often cyclical cascade of changes that are bound to occur through pregnancy, birth and postnatal childcare and breastfeeding. Despite all the complexities, our very first goal can be boiled down to pressure management and addressing these two foundational pieces before really progressing strength and activity.
B R E A T H
Priority #1 is to maintain or restore a normal breathing pattern. Poor breathing patterns can create pressure down on to pelvic floor causing or provoking prolapse and leaking as well as out on the abdomen which pulls on a healing diastasis. Through pregnancy and early postnatal, find time to focus on breathing.
A good breath should:
Fill your trunk 360 degrees around. Think letting your ribs expand and filling air into your back as well. Ribs open out to side like a bucket handle.
Come in through the nose and out through the mouth for nice long exhale
Especially if your tight through your pelvic floor - think about letting your inhale come all the way down to touch the pelvic floor
Occur with ALL exercises and should never be held. Think exhale on hardest part of your exercise
A good breath shouldn't:
Cause excessive engagement of your neck and upper traps
Cause pressure through your pelvic floor and abdomen on exhale
Inhale should coordinate with expansion of chest and trunk while exhale with gathering and activation. Look out for paradoxical breathing pattern which can cause the opposite to occur
Look out for pooching or pushing out of your lower abdomen on exhale
P O S T U R E
The most common postural pattern in this population is the tendency to hyperextend at the spine and dump the pelvis forward. It occurs in static standing, strength exercises, jumping and especially running.
This position can wreak havoc in a number of ways for all common maternal diagnoses. Here's how:
Diastasis - it creates pulling and tension on the tissue you want to heal and gather. Breath unable to access the back and ribs will push out further on this tissue
Prolapse & Leaking - Poor pressure management will occur when your body doesn't allow for proper inhale into stiff back and ribs. Air has to go somewhere so it will push down on the pelvic floor thereby perpetuating leaking and prolapse
Back/SI Joint pain - tight muscles in the low back can become painful, a rounded stiff thoracic spine will lead to excessive motion of the lumbar spine and excess anterior tilt creates shearing and pain at the discs and joints of the lumbar spine
Addressing Posture
Identify poor postural patterns with the help of your PT and be vigilant on correcting it especially in vulnerable times like breastfeeding
Speaking of breastfeeding - bring the baby to you not yourself to the baby, use supports and let those shoulders relaxxx
Thoracic mobility drills like extension over the foam roller and thoracic rotations and chest stretching to reduce stiffness in upper back and chest
Work on positions like the deep squat sit to let your back round and stretch tight muscles. While you're there, focus on breathing with big deep inhales focusing on expanding your ribs and back.
Even if you're many years postpartum and have already returned to running. If you're still getting leaking or pain with running, this is often a reason. Having a gait analysis is great way to identify this and work on correcting it.
Muscle imbalances and weakness are also key and we will address those in part 2!
Are you seeking to return to run after having your baby? Or looking to take the preventative steps while pregnant to reduce your risk postpartum? Whether you're expecting, newly postpartum or years postpartum - our For the Moms options have the programs for you!
Check out our free Ebooks for healthy pre and postnatal running or schedule a discovery call today!
