guidelines to return to running postpartum

Dr. Karlie Causey DC, MS, CCSP, CSCS

One of the things I get asked by a lot of my postpartum patients is around returning to running. When can they do it? What is the best way to start?

While the general guidance looks like waiting until your 6 week check up with your midwife or OB and then waiting til around 12 weeks, I don’t think that that is good enough.

I see so many patients in my office who have running injuries from just running- not warming up, not strength training or doing some kind of cross training, and not being strong enough in their core and pelvis to support a one legged sport (remember running IS a one legged sport!)

So you can imagine the things that can go wrong when a new mom tries to return to running after having her baby without any guidelines.

Below are some of the guidelines I have found and used over the years with postpartum patients who want to return to running, as well as some of the other doctors and pelvic floor specialists who have contributed to these guidelines.

1. Be able to hop on each foot for 30 second without any symptoms

This means no pain, no leaking of urine, no feelings of instability or being unable to support yourself.

2. Be able to hop of two feet for 30 seconds without any symptoms

It is important not only to feel stable in your ankles, knees and hips, but also to make sure you don’t feel pressure or pain in your pelvic floor. If you feel any heaviness in your pelvic floor, like something is going to “fall out” or any other symptoms I’d recommend finding a pelvic floor PT to be evaluated before returning to running.

3. Be able to hold a 30 second plank and a 30 second superman hold

While this one might seem a little out there, it is important to understand the relationship between the core, pelvis and extremities. If your core is not strong, it is not going to be able to support movement of the arms and legs, especially during high repetitions.

4. Be able to hold a wall sit for 30 seconds- 1 minute

Being able to do a wall sit provides an objective measurement of leg strength. This should be a minimum requirement to run in my opinion in order to avoid injuries down the road.

Again, this is just a general guideline, but I have found it to be effective with many women postpartum who have been runners in the past and are excited to get back to it after having their babies.

When did you return to running? I’d love if you’d drop a note below and we can chat more :)

Questions? I’d love to hear them? 

My goal is ALWAYS to help pregnant and postpartum women feel strong, confident and physically capable, so let me know how I can help!

Reach out on IG at Drkarlie or email at Drkarlie@karliecausey.com.