This information provided on
this video is for educational resources only.
It is not intended to serve
as a recommendation for the treatment or management of any medical condition.
As with any new exercise program, it is advised to consult
with your health care provider prior to performing these activities.
The following exercises should be performed with no pain.
If you experience any pain or discomfort, stop immediately
and seek attention from your health care provider.
This video is an introduction to stretches
and exercises to target the muscles that may become tight or overworked due
to postural and hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy.
The first set of exercises can be done at home
in a chair or, if you're working, can be done at your desk.
You have muscles on the inside of your thigh called the adductor group of muscles
that can cause a pulling sensation on the inner groin or pubic bone
for the first adductor stretch.
Gently bring your leg out to the side, sitting at the front of your chair.
You should feel this down the inner thigh.
You can lean forward if you need a better stretch,
but make sure you're bending at the hips and not at the back.
The leg is in the diagonal position and you're going to hold for 30 seconds
repeating on each side, making sure to breathe as you're doing this stretch.
Again, this should not be painful
if you have to use your hands to support your legs as you're performing.
Go ahead and place your hands on your thighs
again.
Both legs, 30 seconds.
The next stretch is the hamstring stretch, which is a muscle
at the back of your leg attaching from your buttocks to your knee.
You'll start
by bringing the leg forward into the chair.
You can point your toe or have your toe relaxed again.
You'll lean forward at the hips
and feel that stretch from your sit bone
or your buttocks into the back of your knee.
Could
repeat on each side for 30 seconds.
The next stretch is called the performance stretch.
It's located.
This muscle is located at the back of your hip and into your buttocks.
You'll start the stretch by crossing one
leg over into a figure four position.
This may be difficult for some of you to achieve,
but if able continue with the stretch,
if unable to get into this position,
move on with other stretches from this video.
You can lean forward if you need to feel a deeper stretch.
Lean towards the leg that is crossed, holding again for 30 seconds.
Using your hands to support your upper body.
Resting on your legs.
The last of the stretches in seated position
is going to target your hip flexor, which is the group of muscles at the front
of your hip responsible for flexing the hip
and stabilizing your pelvis.
For this one, you'll need to shift your body over to the side of the chair
and you'll bring one leg back.
The pointed
leg that is back, the knee will point towards the ground.
You should feel the stretch at the front of your hip.
If you need more of a stretch, you can tuck your buttocks
feeling it in your hip and lower abdomen.
Hold for 30 seconds on each side.
Now we'll address the muscles in your upper spine, shoulders and neck.
The first stretch will target the middle part
of your spine or your mid thoracic region.
You'll want to interlace your fingers.
Pushing them forward.
Rounding the back, dropping your head.
Feeling that nice stretch through your shoulder blades and in your mid spine.
You can come in and out of this
hold for ten repetitions
or just hold if you need that deep stretch.
This is especially helpful for women
that work at a desk or maybe on their computer all day,
really dropping that head, feeling that stretch deep.
The next stretch is meant to help with the range of motion of your neck.
This should be neck rolls.
You'll gently drop your head towards your chest, tucking in your chin.
You should feel the stretch
through the back of your neck and into the base of your skull.
Roll to one side to one shoulder, allowing
that you're to rest on that shoulder for as close as you can.
Drop the shoulders down.
Feel that stretch now.
Rolled down towards your chest.
Roll to the other side.
Keeping that shoulder down and relaxed.
Feeling that stretch through the opposite side of your neck.
Again, you can do about ten repetitions of this
or whatever is needed to feel that nice, gentle stretch.
We try not to look backwards
to put undue stress on the spine.
Lastly, in a sitting position, you'll be working your shoulders
and will be performing shoulder circles to help with tightness
and range of motion.
You're going to want to bring your shoulders up to your ears,
rolling them backwards, squeezing your shoulder blades
together, and then rolling them back up towards your ears.
Really exaggerated circle motions.
You can perform ten of these in one direction,
squeezing those shoulder blades as you go backwards
down and back.
And then as you change positions, roll your short shoulders forward.
Feeling that stretch through those back
muscles could
turn of those.
If you're finding that
you're a little stiff or you have a moment to take a break from your day,
you can do a few of these exercises in the standing position.
Pelvic tilts work on the range of motion through your spine and your pelvis
to counteract the pulling of the pelvis and spine forward from your growing belly.
Gently tilting
your pelvis backwards as you tuck in your buttocks
and then returning back to a neutral position, engaging the belly
as you tilt your pelvis backwards, feeling that stretch
through the low part of your back into your buttocks.
Good.
Most other areas of your body shouldn't be moving.
You should need to use your shoulders or your upper abdominal muscles
to perform this
exercise.
Try ten repetitions.
You can also do this in your chair
or on a yoga ball.
Just a nice way to move the pelvis.
Next, we're going to look at those hip flexors
muscles again, the muscles at the front of your hip
in a mini lunge position.
The other, the forward leg will have a slight bend in the knee
and you're going to tuck your buttocks and feel the stretch
in the front of your hip with the leg that's backwards.
So tucking in that pelvis, feeling the stretch, if you have to bend your back
a little bit more, you can to feel a deeper stretch.
Try not to lean back when you're doing this.
If you need
more of a stretch, you can raise your hands in the air
and lean away from the leg that's pointed
back.
Opening up that hip joint.
Hold for 30 seconds.
Repeat on both sides for a total of 60 seconds.
Stretches.
The next exercise is a child's pose.
This allows stretching through the low back into the buttocks
with your toes together and your knees open to allow room for the belly.
You'll bring your hands towards the floor.
Setting your buttocks into your heels.
Feeling a deep stretch into that
low back.
You can breathe as you lower your elbows to the ground,
making sure to keep the buttocks back.
If you can't tolerate this position, you can rest on your forearms instead,
but still placing your buttocks towards your heels.
You can shift from one side to the other.
So bringing your arms out to one side, feeling this stretch through the side
of your rib cage, breathing in
to the belly, into that rib cage.
Once you
feel adequately stretched, you can move to the other direction
and feel that stretch to make sure we have strong muscles in our hips
and pelvis will include
a hip strengthening exercise.
You'll need to lie on your side
to perform an exercise called the Clamshells.
So make sure your spine is in neutral,
that you're not rolling forwards or you're not rolling backwards
through your hips, and that they should be pointing straight towards the ceiling.
With your feet together, you're going to open your knee,
keeping the feet together, and then coming back to the starting position.
Try preventing the hips from rolling backwards or forwards.
You should feel the contraction or the activation in the back of your hip,
not down the side of your leg.
Once you're done performing at least ten repetitions or until fatigue,
you'll roll to the other side and perform ten on that side as well.
A yoga ball is a nice tool that women during pregnancy find helpful
to alleviate pain in their backs and their pelvis.
If you have one at home, you can incorporate it into your exercises.
A variation of the childs pose would be to use a yoga ball for support,
placing your hands on the ball, spread your knees
to allow room for your belly and then keeping your feet together.
Push the ball away from you as you gently feel the stretch in your low
back and buttocks.
No need to push into this.
It's just a gentle stretch.
You can work in and out of it, depending on how you're feeling.
You can stretch for long 22nd to 32nd, hold
making sure you're breathing the entire time.
You can alter the direction of the stretch,
moving the ball one direction,
feeling the stretch, and then moving the ball in the other direction.
Feeling the stretch.
This ball is a little bit larger than needed,
so find a ball that adapts to your body that provides the support
as you relieve the muscle tension in your back.
You can also use a yoga ball to sit on during your day
if you're feeling discomfort
in your pelvis or pubic bone or just need to change positions,
it can help allow for pelvic neutral position and alleviate any pressure
you might feel between your legs and the perineum.
An exercise that you can perform while on the ball is tilting your pelvis,
gently engaging your abdominal muscles called a pelvic tilts.
We reviewed this in standing, but you'll gently tilt that pelvis stretching
into the back and then going back into a neutral position.
So tilting your pelvis towards your back.
Tucking in the tailbone.
There shouldn't be a lot of movement in your shoulders or your upper back.
This is an isolated pelvic exercise.
You can also perform pelvic circles.
You'll start by tilting your pelvis forward.
Gently rocking it to the side backwards.
And then the other side.
Making small circles.
Shifting the weight from the front side.
Back into the other side.
You can perform ten of these in one direction.
And then alternating directions.
Perform ten
the other way.
With all of our exercises
up to 2 to 3 times of day
for stretches would be appropriate or to help manage
your stiffness and soreness in one position
or another.
Thank you for watching the video today.
I hope you found the information useful
during your pregnancy and postpartum journey.
If you are experiencing symptoms such as low back or hip pain,
urinary incontinence or urinary frequency
or pain during intimacy with your partner, please feel free to reach out
to your provider, your obstetrician, or your maternity care coordinator.
We'd love to help you place a consult for pelvic health physical therapy
so we can help you return to the activities you once enjoyed doing.
Thanks again. Have a good day.