How about a Full Body Factory Reset?! Sound Good?
Join Aileen Convery, physiotherapist, mum of 4, and founder of Bear & Repair, to explore if your body has fully reset since having your baby (yes!)? Here are 10 simple tests to rate your body recovery, maybe identify an undiagnosed physical problem since giving birth + some ideas on how you can heal!
Want to see if your body has fully reset since having your baby? Yes!
As a Mum of four, my body certainly got used to being pregnant. I forgot ALL about being a fancy dancey Olympic swimmer!! I still catch myself in photos and life, years later, standing with my belly out, knees locked back, and hanging off my poor little hip flexors. Habits that we develop in pregnancy stick with us, as do some of the inevitable changes in our rib cage and pelvis. As a physio of 28years I've helped many women overcome these patterns, I'd like to help you too.
We all know the song, your thigh bone’s connected to the knee bone, The knee bone’s connected to the shin bone…that’s what gets results!
This is never truer than when it comes to your pelvis, the center of your body it’s a connection superhighway, a hub, for tons of structures above and below, not just bones. It is also your aircraft control tower directing and ensuring that force and power lands where they should!
Pregnancy really plays around with this finely tuned connection center, we carry a baby here and then push it out through it!! Disruption can also come from a fall on your tailbone or tripping down a curb awkwardly, this drives a force up to one side of the body, or indeed the same with playing a one-sided sport like hockey, tennis, squash.
Muscles and joints eventually go on strike
Many people never truly feel the same again after having a baby. Often this is because some of the connections aren’t firing, one side tightens up, or our body figures out a workaround for a pain point which then puts pressure elsewhere up or down the chain.
Muscles and joints asked to do more than their designed function, eventually, go on strike! Sometimes patterns from pregnancy persist like ribs lifted and flared or high hinge pattern in our spines. This can lead to some common post-pregnancy problem spots.
Where do these common post-pregnancy problems
show up in your body?
Pain in your pelvis, front, back, sides, inside, outside, above, just below!
Backpain, butt pain, leg pain
One hip/side noticeably tighter/weaker
Bunions forming, stiffness in your toes and feet
Creaky knees/ankles going downstairs in the mornings
Jaw pain, tightness in your neck/shoulders, headache
Bladder leaks when you laugh, cough, shout, run, lift
Shortness of breath, feeling gaspy with activity
Take the TEST!
Here are some body tests you can do to check whether you have good mobility and asymmetrical body, well come on, marks out of 10
Side sit comfortably on both sides
Get up to standing from lying on the ground without using your hands?
Stand up and sit down from a chair using just one leg, and then the other one!?
Sit down on your wee hunkers, with your heels on the ground?
Sit on the floor comfortably for >5mins?
Separate your toes, fan them out, all five using just your feet muscles?
Stand on one leg with your eyes closed for a minute?
Place your hands on your head, keep elbows still and roll your shoulders?
‘sit’ on the wall, fingertips touching at your crown, elbows together, then touch the wall?
Jump on a trampoline without a shred of worry about a little leak?
Do a handstand…Nah that’s taking it too far, but perfectly possible for a woman of your age!
If you scored 9 or above
You’re doing really well, your body seems fairly symmetrical and you have good power, balance, and mobility, well done. You will be able to progress through the course relatively quickly and really enjoy the aha! moments, tweaks, and tricks to have your bodywork even more optimally.
If you scored between 4 and 7
This course will be inspiring and interesting with loads of stuff to get your teeth into. It might at times be aggravating! It took me almost four weeks to get my brain to talk to my toes and get them to fan out!
If you scored 1-3
We’ve got a lot of work to do together! Making mobility and strength gains in any of your areas will lead instantly to an easier life day today. We all start from exactly where we are, your body is capable of anything, it’s your mind you have to convince. Start replacing ‘I will never’ with I WILL’!
“There may be times where you have to work on something for quite a while to get it switched on,
balanced, and ready to move on.”
This is the beauty of getting to know your postnatal body, reset and repair it, not a quick fix I’m afraid but incredibly gratifying!
About Bear & Repair
Aileen Convery has been a physio for 28 years now! Initially, her physio superpower was working in Sports Rehab. Aileen works with women in Prenatal, Newly Postnatal, Very Postnatal and Corporate Work, along with Papa Bears. Aileen was a member of the Irish Olympic Swim Team in Seoul in 1988. This inspired her Aqua4mums business, which lead to Bear & Repair. Being in the pool when pregnant simply can’t be beaten! More than 3000 babies and their mums have enjoyed aqua-natal with Aileen being inspired, empowered, and feeling fit for birth.
She adores babies, and delivering baby massage courses for gorgeous babies has been deeply joyful for her.
Come along with Aileen!
