Problems such as low back pain and back pain after childbirth, and loss of body shape during pregnancy have bothered many women. According to experts, scientific and targeted rehabilitation training can help "new mothers" restore their pre-pregnancy healthy posture as soon as possible.
Cong Hui, chief physician of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said that during pregnancy, as the baby's weight increases in the womb, the mother's body center of gravity moves forward, and there is usually an increase in lumbar vertebral convex curvature and an increase in the degree of pelvic forward tilt, which makes the burden on the lumbar back muscles increase or even imbalance, and it often takes 1 to 2 years after childbirth to return to its original state. There are still a considerable number of maternal muscles and joint functions that cannot be fully restored to the pre-pregnancy level, which will cause symptoms such as low back pain, pelvic belt pain, and lax pelvic floor muscles leading to urinary leakage.
"Through scientific, effective and timely postpartum rehabilitation training, the body can return to the pre-pregnancy health state faster and better, and reduce the harm caused to the body by pregnancy and childbirth." Cong Hui said that in general, women who give birth normally can mobilize local deep muscles through gentle active movements such as pelvic flexibility training within 6 weeks after childbirth, and promote the recovery of the lumbar vertebral-pelvic region.
Cong Hui introduced that training methods include pelvic flexibility training, mussel training, abdominal muscle strength recovery training, etc. Wait until 6 weeks after childbirth, you can gradually carry out restorative training, including pelvic floor muscle exercise training, to improve core stability, and then gradually increase the active resistance exercise training and aerobic exercise training of large muscle groups of the limbs. When doing exercise training, you should pay attention to the use of abdominal breathing throughout, inhale during rest, and exert force to complete the action when exhaling to avoid excessive fatigue. In order to avoid postpartum sports injuries, in case of any discomfort, it is necessary to seek professional rehabilitation doctor guidance at the hospital.
Pelvic flexibility training: that is, lying on the bed, bending the legs, imagining that there is a clock in the abdomen, pointing to the head at 12 o'clock, pointing to the direction of the feet at 6 o'clock, the legs are relaxed as much as possible, mainly contracting the muscles of the abdomen, waist and hips, so that the pelvis moves slowly along the direction of 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock, repeating 15 times for a group, you can do 2 sets a day.
Mussel training: lying on the bed on the side, the upper body is relaxed, the legs are bent to 90 degrees, the feet are not separated, the main hip muscles are forced, so that the knee joint of the upper leg is lifted upwards, and the pelvic position is kept unchanged during the whole action, repeated 10 times for a group, which can be 2 groups a day, and gradually increase to 3 groups.
The first stage of abdominal muscle strength recovery training: lying on the bed, bending your legs, putting one leg as close to the trunk as possible, and then extending to flex your hips and bending your knees 90 degrees, repeating 10 times as a group, you can get up in 2 groups every day, and alternate legs.
Abdominal muscle strength recovery training stage 2: lying on the bed, both legs are in the hip flexion knee 90 degrees position, one leg is slowly straightened, maintained for 6 to 8 seconds at the end of the movement, and then withdrawn to the initial position, changed to the other side, the same repeated 10 times for a group, can be up to 2 groups a day.
What should I do if I have low back pain and combined pubic pain during rehabilitation? Cong Hui said that in the early postpartum period, postpartum rehabilitation focuses on relieving pain by mobilizing and controlling muscles, that is, through the active core "pre-activation", by mobilizing the deep transverse abdominal muscles and fissure muscles in the trunk to increase the active stability of the core, so that the body can reduce the pressure on the waist and pelvic structure during activity, so as to avoid pain, or reduce pain.
Active core "pre-activation". (All GIFs are provided by Peking Union Medical College Hospital)
What is core "pre-activation"? Cong Hui said that this refers to consciously and actively contracting the core muscle group before doing activities (such as turning over), "For example, if the strength of the abdomen is 100% completely forced, then use about 30% to 50% of the strength to maintain the tension of the deep abdominal muscles, and maintain this tension during the activity, and then start doing other actions." (Reporters Tian Xiaohang and Mu Tiecheng)