The study undertaken by Christopher and Vallabhajosula with colleagues from the Australian University of Newcastle and the English University of Oxford has just been published in the Journal of Women’s Health Physical Therapy. It is hoped that revised rules for pregnant runners returning to running would be informed by a better knowledge of how pregnancy and childbirth influence them.

Christopher recently spoke with the Elon University News Bureau about the team’s findings and the implications for female runners.

Pregnancy-related modifications may have a significant influence on postpartum running.

Following delivery, up to 80% of women feel agony, prompting many to flee their homes. Because so little research has been done, returning to sports like jogging after delivery might be daunting or overwhelming for women. Pregnancy alters a woman’s hormonal and cardiovascular systems, as well as her musculoskeletal system (Walking, change in balance, changes to abdominal muscles etc.).

For many women, delivery might seem like a serious injury or surgery. Despite the well-documented changes in women’s bodies, there is little information available to help them prepare for a return to running and prevent injury.

Women’s running may be impacted by pregnancy-related changes to their bodies.

The body is recovering to its pre-pregnancy condition throughout the postpartum phase. Pregnancy-related postural and walking-related alterations (such as widening of step width, reduced single leg support time, and increased hip and knee motions) and physiological changes (cardiovascular, thermoregulatory, etc.) are happening. At this time, the body is also healing from any injuries or procedures that happened in the course of giving birth. Depending on the method of delivery, recovery following childbirth might play a significant role.

Women who had given birth were compared to women who had not given birth to examine whether there were any variations in running biomechanics, muscular strength, flexibility, and range of motion.

What did you and your colleagues notice about the differences between postpartum runners and non-mothers while doing your research?

We collected 3D biomechanical data from runners on a treadmill and on the ground as part of our investigation. We were able to obtain a lot of information about their mechanics and how hard their feet were striking the ground thanks to more than 30 markers on their bodies. As a last step, we tested their strength and flexibility, with a special focus on their hamstring and hip strength.

The postpartum runners in our research landed with higher force and showed hip and hamstring weakness compared to the runners who had not given birth in our brief pilot trial.

The pelvic girdle may broaden and change, affecting hip strength, and women may not be exercising as hard as they used to. Pregnancy may be to blame for that sluggish feeling. Hamstrings in postpartum runners were tighter than predicted, which may have been because they were striving to maintain their balance while running. We’re worried about the baby’s range of motion and flexibility because of the presence of pregnancy hormones. 3D biomechanical analysis may be quite useful in this regard.

When it comes to postpartum runners, how may your results influence the advice they get before returning to the running scene?

I was a clinician before coming to Elon, and I specialized in treating runners. I’ve had a lot of postpartum ladies come in complaining of discomfort and wanting to know more about why they’re becoming injured.

Our objective is to prevent these ladies from getting injured when they return to jogging after having baby. For many new mothers, postpartum runners are an afterthought, and there aren’t many suggestions on how to get back into running safely and with little risk of injury. We’re hoping that our findings will lead to recommendations for pregnant women who wish to return to a high-impact activity like jogging.

Gait analysis experts may help postpartum runners analyze their running and strengthen their return-to-running plans.

What are your research’s next steps?

In order to get a better image of postpartum runners’ body motions, we’ve increased the number of markers utilized in our 3D biomechanical analysis by more than double. Pregnant women will also be studied in future research in order to better understand how their bodies and running evolve over time.