One woman tells how her exercise regime lead to pelvic floor weakness and incontinence...
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AFTER losing 17kg and running a half marathon in one hour 50 minutes, Sally Thompson appeared to be a postnatal fitness success story.
About a year after the birth of her second child, Thompson had signed up at a gym and engaged a personal fitness trainer to help her lose her post-baby excess weight and regain her former high level of fitness.
Within six months she'd achieved her goal.
"I was so strong, fit and healthy, but then my insides let me down," says Thompson, now 39, who went on to learn she'd been building her body fitness while leaving behind her pelvic floor, the platform of muscles, ligaments, connective tissue and sphincters that combine to support and close the bladder, vagina, uterus and bowel.
Little wonder she ended the half marathon with wee-soaked socks.
"I first started experiencing urinary stress incontinence [leaking urine when under stress such as when coughing, running or sneezing] about three months into my fitness kick. There were some exercises I just couldn't do. But I pushed on thinking I simply had a weak bladder and ended up being unable to walk or run without having to go to the loo all the time."
After about seven months of dedicated pelvic floor strengthening exercises three times a day, Thompson can now run 5km and stay dry. "I've changed my gym routine completely: no abs, no wide leg squats or side lunges and low impact classes only. It's about gradually bringing my pelvic floor strength up to my body's fitness level," says Thompson.
Sally Thomson specialises in personal training for women who have a weak pelvic floor or for those who are at risk of developing a weak pelvic floor. Visit Sally's own website
www.clearlynow.com.au to learn more about Sally's story and her
'Pelvic Floor Safe Personal Training'
programmes.
