The Benefits Of Postnatal Pilates
The changes the body undergoes during pregnancy are significant and vast, and not all of them stop or reverse when the baby arrives. That is why postnatal care is crucial to help you become as healthy and mobile as possible.
When you have a new baby, it might seem impossible to fit in exercise. However, choosing a beneficial form of activity that you enjoy is important when you begin the recovery process and can truly make a difference to you and your baby in the short and long term. Pilates can be a great way to ease back into exercise, strengthen your body, improve your flexibility, and develop a safe way to move as you care for your baby.
At our Northern Spinal and Sports Injury Clinic, we provide postnatal clinical Pilates programs as part of our treatment regimens to support you after your pregnancy. Our qualified physiotherapists, osteopaths, and chiropractors tailor these to your requirements after a full assessment.
What Is Pilates?
Pilates was created by Joseph Pilates in World War I to assist soldiers who were undergoing rehabilitation and recovery. Like yoga, Pilates is a controlled exercise that focuses on mind and body and has an added emphasis on core stability.
Pilates can improve lean muscle tone and align the spine, allowing for more overall strength and mobility. The goal is to lengthen muscles rather than shorten them and add bulk like some other forms of exercise.
Our Pilates classes are developed to improve and enhance strength, flexibility, endurance, posture, and mental health. We focus on low impact exercises in a safe and supportive environment to help you reduce your risk of injury and improve your day to day functionality.
Five Ways Clinical Pilates Can Be Beneficial After Pregnancy
Because the body undergoes such drastic changes, you will generally find you cannot dive straight back into the exercise you were doing prior to your pregnancy. Postnatal Pilates can be an ideal option and involves an array of benefits.
1. Overall Fitness
Along with the usual activities you were doing prior to being pregnant, you now have a baby to lift and move about with, as well as all those many, many bags that seem to follow you on every trip outside the house. Pilates will help provide the strength and control required for these movements at an appropriate pace, and will teach you the best ways to do them.
You may have also lost a fair bit of your pre-baby fitness, so Pilates can help you regain this and become fitter and stronger.
2. Core Strength
Pregnancy can significantly affect core muscles, and even lead to abdominal separation. Because Pilates has a focus on the core region, it can be particularly useful postnatally.
Our programs include exercises to help you improve the deep muscles that have weakened and stretched during pregnancy, and strengthen the muscles in your back, sides, thighs, and bottom to add to your control over your abdomen. This can help to improve posture, stability, and overall safety and comfort.
3. Pelvic Floor
The pelvic floor consists of muscles that sit at the base of the pelvis. It supports your bladder, bowel, and womb. These can loosen and stretch, leading to concerns such as urine incontinence.
Working to regain pelvic floor control is highly beneficial after pregnancy. This area has not only been significantly affected during birth, but also through the months of having your baby pressing down into it. Whether or not you are noticing issues, it is important to strengthen this area to decrease the chance of issues down the track. Our programs can help you to engage your pelvic floor muscles and increase their strength.
4. Posture
Not only can weak muscles negatively impact your posture after pregnancy, but the new, and often repetitive movements that come with caring for your baby can do a real number on it, especially when you throw in the inevitable exhaustion.
Pilates includes stretches and exercises that target the posture muscles, such as those in the shoulders, neck, and pelvic region, and teach you how to control your body safely.
5. Socialisation And Support
Having a child can be a rewarding and exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming, exhausting, and isolating.
While improving the strength and flexibility of your body, Pilates can also help your emotional and mental health by enabling you to interact with people who can understand what you are going through. Being part of a Pilates program can be such a great way to meet people in similar circumstances.
You can even go for a coffee after class!
Our Pilates programs can also help you to feel more comfortable and safe in your body. Taking time for yourself is important to restore your energy, feel calmer, improve your energy, and regain your confidence.
Pilates Can Be a Significantly Beneficial Part Of Postnatal Care
At Northern Spinal, our clinical Pilates programs are personalised to your specific requirements and goals. Our qualified physiotherapists, osteopaths, and chiropractors support you as part of an overall treatment regimen to help you improve your health and fitness after pregnancy.
We use exercises that are particularly relevant to postnatal needs and support you in a safe and friendly environment. Once your doctor has cleared you to take part in exercise after your pregnancy, we can provide you with a program to help you.