Yes that hormone which you may have heard about, is responsible for helping to make childbirth easier. Note that I did not say easy…
This hormone is responsible for increasing the flexibility of your ligaments and tendons to allow the pelvic and birth canal to become more subtle and flexible. It is an amazing hormone which does a great job and is highly effective.
The unfortunate thing though is post baby this hormone is still kicking around your body for at least 5-6 months afterwards. In some cases a lot longer.
Relaxin, great name by the way, is very effective at making everything loose and much more flexible. And here is where the problem starts…
With every joint in your body, you have all of your ligaments and tendon which hold it all together.
When relaxin is making everything more flexible it increases the flexibility around all of the joints.
This is great for certain things, such as child birth, but not great for overall joint stability.
For example, I was chatting to a mid-wife the other day who was telling me a story about a lady who was back and running 6 weeks after giving birth. Now this can be done if that person was always a runner and had no other issues.
However, she was also diagnosed with hypermobility before she even became pregnant. That is where there is already too much movement and too little stability around her joints.
Add to this the hormone relaxin kicking around her body, this adds up to some pretty unstable joints. When you analyse running, there is between 5-7 times your body weight going through your limbs every time your foot touches down.
You also need a good degree of stability at your ankle, knee and hip to properly absorb the impact and transmit it to push you forward.
So this lady had no stability, only six weeks previously given birth and now she was attempting to run. It was only a matter of time before she injures herself.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not against running after having a baby. But what I am for is making sure that the body has enough stability to make sure that the running is not causing injuries.
By focusing on some stability exercises specific to your body after giving birth you can ensure that you can run, swim, jump and do anything you want to do.
This is what the Yummy Tummies blueprint is all about. By progressing the body through the correct stages and focusing on the right exercises for your body, you can prepare it for whatever you want to put it through. Whether that be running or any other activity.
You can check that out here:
So whatever you decide to do after having your baby, make sure that you include a good amount
of stability type exercises. If not then you may be setting yourself up for injuries.
Lyndon “stable as a rock” Littlefair
Ps If you don’t want to miss out on vital tips to help you get back into shape after having your baby, why not sign up to my essential daily emails here…
