Returning to Exercise

Returning to exercise with Women’s health Physio Madison Cutmore.

@physiomads @therunningroom @strengthtostrength_

Maddy and I both understand not everyone has access to a Women’s health physio, which is why we created this interview. For all women to have accessible information and advice from a qualified professional regarding the key points around returning to exercise post partum.

We would love to know what you think or if you have any questions please feel free to reach out to us.

Madison has also provided us with a basic guide around the Pelvic Floor and what to do with in the first six weeks post partum. It is important to note everybody and their recovery journey will always be different, it is important to not compare and focus on you and your own health and recovery journey.

Congratulations on your new bub and we hope you find this helpful.

See below our interview. :)

Click here to see Maddys Tips around Pelvic Floor..


TOP TIPS for Pelvic Floor Rehab for the first six week postpartum (and beyond).

Madison Cutmore - Physiotherapist in Women’s Health

Pelvic floor health is important throughout the lifespan, however it is especially important in the

first six weeks postpartum. Not only have postnatal women spent ~9months carrying the

pressure of a growing baby on their pelvic floor, if they’ve had a vaginal delivery, they have had

the added stress of pelvic floor stretching and/or tearing.

To understand your pelvic floor you need to first understand some anatomy. Your pelvic floor is

a group of muscles and fascia that form a ‘sling’ and run from your pubic bone to your tailbone

and help support all of your internal pelvic organs, help prevent leakage and are important in

sexual function.

To kick start your pelvic floor rehab

1. Start ASAP postnatal to begin strengthening and to restore neural pathways that can

be broken due to trauma and damage during delivery. The easiest cue for activating

your pelvic floor is to simply think about stopping the flow of urine when you’re on the

toilet. Whilst you don’t want to train your pelvic floor on the toilet as this can create bad

patterns, you do want to visualise this cue and think about the contraction in three parts:

squeeze, lift, relax.

2. Train it like any other muscle in your body, your pelvic floor needs regular and

consistent training. You need to train your pelvic floor at least three times a week, just

like you would any other muscle. Training is most effective when completed in a block,

with exercises focussed on strength, endurance and coordination. And, the good news is

that it actually works - pelvic floor muscle training has been shown across many studies

to cure urinary stress incontinence in 50% of women and improve symptoms of leaking

in 75% of women (Cochrane, 2018).

3. Time your training with your breathing - it can be helpful to link your training to your

breathing; your pelvic floor naturally descends when you inhale and lifts when you

exhale. SO cueing your breathing with your training to inhale relax your pelvic floor then

exhale contract, squeeze and lift, can help you learn the correct patterning.

4. Coordinate with movements - once you have nailed your pelvic floor contraction, start

to incorporate this into different positions and with different movements. See if you can

activate in childs pose, 4pt kneeling and then with a bridge!

5. Try this! Given the variation in women’s pelvic health, there is no perfect program or

exercise for everybody and It’s important that you consult a women’s health

physiotherapist to do a vaginal exam to assess the quality of your pelvic floor. Here’s a

common pelvic floor program for an under active pelvic floor:

Repeat for 5mins:

● Pelvic tilts x10

● 5second Pelvic floor holds x5

● Bridges with pelvic floor contraction x10

● Pelvic floor in childs pose (quick ones to fatigue) x10