You’ve noticed that you’ve felt a little more “wobbly” during your pregnancy, or even longer flexible than you were If you have, fear not. This is completely normal and is due to one of the (many) hormonal changes of pregnancy.
While there are a number of hormonal changes that the pregnancy body undergoes, there is one particular hormonal change that can have a big effect on your movements – and that is the increase in a hormone called relaxation.
In this article, we’ll discuss what slack is and why it can affect your movements. Next, we’ll discuss the specific implications for physical activity and provide strategies to help you feel strong and fit throughout your pregnancy.
What is Relaxin?
As the name sounds, relaxation works to Relax joints, ligaments and other connective tissues to allow your body to adjust to carry a growing baby. In addition, it provides the looseness and mobility needed for birth, especially in your pelvic area. So in that sense, it is very helpful when it comes to carrying and birthing a baby. On the other hand, this increased mobility also has an impact on your daily movements.
How does Relaxin affect movement?
A consequence of the laxity of the soft tissues is that often increases your mobility and lowers your stability.
Think about it: hormones don’t work in isolation — they do whole body belongings. So if your ligaments and tendons are telling you to relax, so are your joints (because ligaments and tendons hold your joints together). As a result, you may have more mobility in parts of your body that you are not used to.
For example, maybe your shoulder can reach further behind your head than it could before, or you feel a little more “wobbly” when standing on one leg. Some pregnant people are greatly affected by the effects of chalasin, while others feel no change in their movements. But it’s important to be aware of these changes so you can monitor them and modify your moves if necessary.
Relaxation affects the whole body but it is most commonly felt in the pelvic/hip areaespecially when combined with shifts in alignment and center of gravity. So you may have more trouble controlling activities with one leg, such as lunges, climbing stairs, or quick changes of direction.
Implications for physical activity
Here are some important things to keep in mind when it comes to physical activity.
- Avoid excessive stretching: While you can touch more flexible, you don’t want to further widen that gap between mobility and stability. So when you stretch, go exactly where you feel your natural stopping point. Don’t push further.
- Be careful when performing weight-bearing activity with one leg: If you feel a little less stable than usual, you may want to back off the move you’re making to find a more stable option. For example, if lunges don’t feel comfortable, go for squats (where your weight is evenly distributed on both legs) instead. Be especially careful with ballistic monopod activities with jumping lunges, skaters and other high-impact single-leg exercises that involve rapid changes of direction. These high impact movements carry increased risk as slack continues to increase.
- Focus on strength training: Strength training can create more stability and potentially help offset some of the effects of laxity. Below are some great exercises to help you build strength in a safe and effective way.
4 Movements to increase stability
Here are 4 exercises to help you build strength and stability. Progress through them to numerical order. Only proceed if you feel in control of the current movement.
1. Split Squat
This motion more directly simulates a launch pattern while still giving you the stability of two points of contact with the ground. You can widen the legs to add more stability.
2. Squat with Rear Leg Reach
This movement begins to remove one supporting leg for a short duration, causing more of the stabilizing leg.
3. Lateral Slide Lunge
This movement maintains two points of support on the ground, but causes the non-moving leg to stand for longer periods during the gliding movement. You can use a paper towel or socks on a hard floor if you don’t have a skid plate.
4. Squat with Side Leg Reach
This movement, similar to the Rear Leg Reach Squat, is designed to make you more stable on one leg as the moving leg briefly leaves the ground.
You may not go through all the motions, and that’s totally okay. As mentioned, relaxation affects each person differently. So do what feels safe for you. If needed, you can always focus bilateral movements like squats, deadlifts and bridges where your weight is evenly distributed on both legs.
Want additional resources?
For additional resources to help you exercise safely and Efficiently during pregnancy, explore us Education Programs and Services. You’ll find a variety of offerings tailored to different needs — from training, to self-directed programs, to the ability to work with an experienced coach.
Or, if you are a health and fitness professional interested in coaching pre and postnatal clients check it out ProNatal Training & Certification.
