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Five low intensity exercises to help during pregnancy

  • April 27, 2022

Easy to learn, low intensity exercises to help you maintain fitness while pregnant

In collaboration with Dr Carlos Olson from Wellness Osteo Richmond & Carlton.

When you're pregnant, you're not expected to be training for a marathon or breaking records on the weights bench. Your primary focus will be nurturing and growing the precious, tiny human inside of you!

So while you won't be pushing yourself to the limits, moderate aerobic and light strengthening work such as brisk walking, swimming, or yoga, is a fantastic way to burn off excess energy, maintain a healthy metabolism and will go a long way to improving your much-needed pregnancy sleep!

We've sat down with Osteopath Dr Carlos Olson from Wellness Osteo Richmond & Carlton and asked for five low-intensity exercises to help during pregnancy.

Try out a regular routine with these five exercises:

The Cat/Cow:

  1. Start on your hands and knees, with your hands under your shoulders, and knees under your hips.
  2. Start by breathing out and allowing your stomach to slowly drop down, lifting your head up, and pushing your tailbone out.
  3. Hold this position for 2 seconds
  4. Next, breathe in and arch your back up by tucking your head and tailbone in, and pulling your belly button in towards your spine.
  5. Hold this position, and then repeat for 10 reps.

    Woman Performing Cat/Cow Stretch

Thread The Needle:

  1. Start on your hands and knees. Your hands should be under your shoulders and your hips over your knees.
  2. Take one hand off the floor and reach in and through between your other hand and leg on that side.
  3. Allow your shoulder and head to follow, moving down towards the floor as your hand reaches through.
  4. Allow your back to twist. You should feel a stretch down your side, your shoulder blade, and neck.
  5. Hold and then relax and repeat for 5 reps on each side.

Woman Demonstrating How To Perform Thread The Needle Stretch

Seated Piriformis Stretch:

  1. Start in a seated position.
  2. Cross one of your ankles onto the opposite knee.
  3. Apply gentle pressure to the knee as you lean forward, increasing the depth of the stretch.
  4. Hold this position for 10 seconds and relax.
  5. Repeat 3 times each leg.

Woman Performing Seated Piriformis Stretch

The Clam:

  1. Lie on your side with your feet, ankles and knees together. (Bend the legs a little.)
  2. Keeping the feet together, lift the top knee up.
  3. Make sure you don't roll your body back with the movement.
  4. Control the movement as you bring the knee back down to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for 10 reps each leg. (To make it harder, add a resistance band around your knees)

Woman Performing Clamshell Exercise

 Wall Squat With Exercise Ball:

  1. Stand with the ball between a wall and your mid-back. Your feet should be placed in front and hip-width apart.
  2. Keeping a straight back, tighten your core stability muscles and gently squat down, as far as you can go comfortably, by bending through your hips and pretending to sit in a chair.
  3. Tighten your buttock muscles to drive your movement back up to the start position.
  4. Your back should stay straight throughout this movement, and your weight should be on your heels, not your toes.
  5. Repeat for 10 reps

 

Woman performing Seated Wall Squat With Exercise Ball

A bit about Wellness Osteo Richmond & Carlton

Wellness Osteo is an Osteopathic clinic located in Carlton and Richmond.

 

Their focus is on achieving optimal health and wellness by creating individualised plans based on the most recent, evidence-informed techniques and management strategies.

At Wellness Osteo, they treat all sorts of complaints such as postural strains, sporting injuries, degenerative conditions, low back pain, shoulder pain, headaches, and more!  Further, their practitioners are experienced in and passionate about treating pregnancy-related musculoskeletal aches and pains.

Common pregnancy-related conditions they see include:

  • Pelvic girdle pain
  • Symphysis pubis dysfunction
  • Pudendal neuralgia
  • Pelvic instability
  • Carpal tunnel
  • Back & hip pain

Throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period, the female body undergoes significant hormonal and physical changes that can contribute to increased pressure on joints and surrounding structures. With osteopathic treatment, they aim to improve joint mobility, reduce pain and inflammation, and get their patients back to doing what they love.


You can get in touch with Wellness Osteo via their website, where you can make an appointment for a consultation.

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Read More

How to Put On Pregnancy Compression Socks Without Straining Your Belly

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The Physical struggle of pulling on tight compression socks over a growing bump can cause you to strain your lower back or compress your abdomen. By transitioning to the "Inside-Out Method" and adjusting your physical posture, you can slide your garments on seamlessly without putting any pressure on your belly.

Treating compression fabric like a standard sock by scrunching it into a ring creates immense structural resistance. Instead, convert the garment into an accessible foot pocket: slide your hand inside to pinch the heel, peel the long leg sleeve backward so it is completely inside-out down to the ankle, slide your foot into the waiting pocket, and smoothly unroll the fabric up your calf. To keep your abdominal area entirely clear while doing this, use the "Cross-Ankle Lounge" posture on a couch or place your foot on a low step stool so your knees can flare naturally to the sides.

Should You Wear Compression Socks to Bed While Pregnant?

Should You Wear Compression Socks to Bed While Pregnant?

For most expectant mothers, the general rule is to avoid wearing tight, firm compression socks to sleep overnight. Graduated compression garments are specifically engineered to assist your veins in working against gravity while you are upright—standing, sitting, or walking. When you lie flat, gravity stops pulling blood and extra fluids down into your lower limbs, allowing your circulation to naturally even out. Wearing high-pressure stockings horizontally is not only unnecessary, but it also carries a risk of constriction; if the fabric bunches or rolls as you toss and turn, it can create a tight band around your calf that actively restricts blood flow.

The ideal routine is to wear your maternity compression socks for about 30 minutes during your evening wind-down, then slide them off right before you turn out the light. This short pre-bed window provides a final circulation boost to move the day's residual fluid and ease that restless, twitchy end-of-day feeling.

An overnight exception exists only if you are dealing with severe Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) or intense throbbing that keeps you awake. In those cases, wearing a gentle, low-pressure (15-20 mmHg), breathable garment made from a soft bamboo blend is acceptable, provided it does not dig into your skin. Otherwise, you can support your nighttime circulation bare-legged by utilizing a modular pregnancy pillow to maintain a strict side-sleeping position, which keeps your heavy uterus from compressing the inferior vena cava (the main pelvic vein returning blood to your heart).

Why Pregnancy Swelling Feels Worse at Night, and What Can Help

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Evening swelling, or gestational oedema, is a common pregnancy symptom caused by increased blood and fluid volume. This puffiness peaks at bedtime due to a combination of daytime gravity pulling fluids downward and your growing uterus compressing the inferior vena cava, which restricts lower-body circulation. When you finally lie flat, your body begins reabsorbing this pooled fluid to be filtered through your kidneys, resulting in a tight, throbbing sensation in your lower limbs just as you try to drift off.

To prevent this evening spike, implement a proactive routine earlier in the day. Front-load your hydration by drinking the majority of your water before 4 pm to help your kidneys flush excess fluid without keeping you awake with a full bladder. When relaxing, elevate your feet above heart level using pillows to let gravity assist your veins, and wear graduated maternity compression socks during the day to provide steady mechanical support that prevents fluid from pooling in the first place. Conclude your evening by massaging a non-greasy magnesium cream into your calves to relieve skin tightness, then settle into a supportive side-sleeping position with a modular pregnancy pillow to keep your pelvic veins completely clear of uterine pressure overnight.

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