Pregnancy exercises to relieve swelling in the ankles are key for moving fluid. Being pregnant and having water retention come hand in hand. I explain why this is and what causes it, before going on to show you some pregnancy exercises to relieve swelling. By practicing these simple movements and having the products to exercise with, they can help to relieve swelling and help you feel more comfortable in pregnancy.
Pregnancy exercises to relieve swelling. What is fluid retention?
Water retention is a build up of bodily fluid, and is a necessary part of pregnancy.
Ladies you are not alone.
Every pregnant mum will have it.
“Natural pregnancy swelling is caused by your body holding more water than usual when you’re pregnant.
Throughout the day the extra water tends to gather in the lowest parts of the body, especially if the weather is hot or you have been standing a lot.” (NHS)
When is swelling in pregnancy most common?
When, just depends on your amazing body, it’s most common in the third trimester.
This is because water retention allows expansion of the body, so that your baby can grow.
Its use is to support a softening of the pelvic joints in order to enable them to expand, preparing your body for a vaginal birth.
What causes swelling in pregnancy?
There are many causes of swelling in the body and water retention is a necessary part of pregnancy.
Try and keep in mind when looking at, OOOO the kankles, the feet, the legs, the face, the hands, and perhaps having a Mother Nature hormonal cursathon, as I sometimes did. To give yourself a gentle reminder of how much that swelling is helping your baby grow.
When we can change our mindset towards a temporary state, it can feed our body, mind and baby much more positively.
The main causes of water retention in pregnancy are due to:
- Increase of blood
- The mother produces more blood to provide for both.
- That phrase “she’s glowing” is due to the high influx of blood.
- Hormonal imbalance
- Oestrogen help’s fluid accumulation
- Relaxin softens the veins walls, making it harder for the veins to do their purpose
- Compression on the uterus
- As your baby gets bigger, the baby compresses on the uterus, blocking the veins usual journey from legs to heart. This is why water retention is more prevalent in the feet and ankles.
- Standing
- For long periods of time will increase the likelihood of swelling
- Medications
- Some anti inflammatory medicines and anti depressant pills can trigger fluid accumulation
- Lack of vitamin B1 (Thiamin)
- Foods such as salmon, pork, seeds, wholegrains, eggs, nuts
- For a more detailed article of foods high in vitamin B1 check out this article
- High salt intake
- Can increase water retention
- Compression
- In the lymphatic system
Fluid retention symptoms
Most common symptoms in pregnancy are:
- Feeling uncomfortable
- Swelling
- In feet, hands, face, feet and ankles.
- Pain
- In the swelling parts
- Tiredness
- feel fatigued at daily tasks
Pregnancy exercise sequence to relieve swelling
Remember movement helps water flow easier
- Mountain pose (Tadasana)
- Standing
- feet as far apart as you need
- Palms facing outward, fingers seperate
- Crown of head reaching up
- Roll shoulders back
- 5 breathes
- Close your eyes, go in
- Spinal twist (Katichakrasana)
- Interconnect your hands into a kali grip where the palms are connected and the index fingers stick out.
- Have your arms at shoulder height in front
- Feet as far as is comfortable
- Move your kali grip and baby belly to the right
- Twisting the same way as your baby
- Feel the stretch along the left side
- Breathe for 3-5 breathes
- Inhale back to centre
- As you exhale to other side
- Arms and baby belly goes left
- Great exercise for reminding us of our power ladies and moving water retention
- ⚠️ never twist away from your baby
- Half moon (Urdhva hastasana)
- Lifts hands above head, biceps next to ears, interconnect palms. Fingers can be kali or all fingers out.
- Drop shoulder heads
- As you inhale lift up out of your waist
- As you exhale gently reach over to the back right of where you are
- Hold for 3-5 breathes
- Inhale to centre
- Exhale other side
- This is a chest opener, side body lengthening pose, not a compression pose
- Warrior II pose to Extended side angle
Warrior 2 pose
- This is one of the best pregnancy exercises to relieve swelling as it encompasses the hands, legs, belly and side
- Due to it incorporating the entire body circumference it covers the chances of moving fluid in various parts of the body.
- Extended side angle (Parshavkonasana)
- From warrior 2 stance bring your nearest elbow to front knee or hand to the floor
- Lift opposite arm up along your ear
- Opening up the chest and creating length to the side
- If navigating a beautiful big baby belly by now, simply placing hand on thigh is as beneficial.
- Hold for 3-5 breathes
- Switch sides starting from warrior 2 to side angle
- This yoga pose gives stretch to the legs, feet, abdomen and hands moving water in all areas.
- Triangle pose (Trikonasana)
- Come up and stand feet together
- Step right foot out parrarel to left foot
- Then turn right toes out so they are facing to your right
- Foot stance must be shorter than warrior 2 stance
- Straighten both legs
- Arms out as warrior 2
- On your inhale
- Pivot from your hip
- On your exhale reach over to your right
- Find length in your side body as you reach
- Then pivot arms to wherever they are
- Bridge pose (Setu bandha Sarvang)
- On your back heels as close to bum as possible
- Lifts your hips
- Hold 3-5 breathes
- Great asana for strength, flexibility, stretch and fluid movement.
No sweat birthing ball exercises for helping fluid retention
- Sitting on birthing ball
- Point and flex one foot with your breathe.
- Inhale point
- Exhale flex.
- Try 10
- Swap feet
- Stay with your breathe and body
- Sitting on birthing ball
- Rotate one ankle at a time
- As you inhale your toes are at twelve o clock
- As you exhale your foot moves around the visual clock face.
- Try ten
- Switch the circle rotation
- Then switch foot
- Sitting on birthing ball
- Circle your hips and wrists
- Ten times with ten breathes each way
- Breathing long and steady will help create space and balance.
- Please remember to giggle at yourself. This exercise requires lightness and humour. You’ll know what I mean when you try it.
Pregnancy exercises to relieve swelling using a wall
- Hands against a wall
- Raise your heels on the exhale
- On the inhale lower to the floor
- Try ten to start
- Legs-Up-The-Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
- Sit right bum cheek sideways to the wall
- Try to keep your right hip as close to the wall as you can
- Roll onto your left side and then onto your back
- Use cushions where necessary to raise your back, so you’re not lying directly on the floor, but have some raised back height.
- Put feet up the wall
- Lie here for at least 5 minutes, ideally 20 minutes.
- Breathe through nose.
- Close your eyes.
- Butterfly pose
- Keeping body where you are, bring the souls of your feet together.
- Allow your hips to open naturally
- Stay here for at least 5minutes
Benefits of these exercises for water retention
Benefits of these exercises are the ability they can bring, at nourishing the body from the inside out. I still do these exercises now because of these benefits;
- The ability they can bring at keeping a mum calm by nourishing the body.
- By using our breathe to reset the nervous system out of flight or fight mode, it can encourage our body into a calm relaxed state.
- Breathing deeper and moving with the breathe can lower the blood pressure.
- This then helps the heart to function better at pumping blood around the body. Thus enables bodily fluid to move easier.
- These pregnancy exercises to relieve swelling, can also benefit sleep.
Unhelpful pregnancy exercises to relieve swelling
You know that phrase “put your feet up girl”
Any exercise that requires you to be on your feet a-lot, is unhelpful for water retention.
⚠️ Remember this, when you’re wanting to relieve swelling in exercise.
The 20 minute yoga sequence I’ve explained above, although requires being on your feet, it’s not for a long time. The poses support an opening of the body with the breathe through movement and flow.
Really key to facilitating water flow is moving, but there is that balance within it.
Look and listen to your body and baby.
Pregnancy tips to relieve swelling
- Drink plenty of water
- Avoid processed foods
- Exercise regularly
- Yoga, walking and swimming are great forms of gentle exercise
- Swimming especially in the third trimester for its weightless effect
- Limit drinking
- tea, coffee, fizzy juice and alcohol
- Limit salt intake
- Eat more natural diuretic foods
- cucumber, salads, watermelons, cranberries, ginger, cabbages can help with water retention says http://www.google.com/amp/s/food.
- Eat more potassium rich foods
- It will balance the salt content in the body and encourage more excretion of water
- Foods that are rich in potassium like, brown rice, bananas, oranges, grapefruit and apricots help to decrease bodily sodium levels.
- Brown rice also contains pyridoxine which helps excrete fluid.
- I found this super interesting article on potassium rich foods. If you’re keen to learn more.
How to take extra command
Trying to put your shoes and socks on especially in the last trimester can become way more challenging.
I remember it well. Living in Scotland and birthing in winter, meant boots were necessary for outdoors.
What can help ease this is using slip on footwear, when possible.
By wearing Compression Socks and slip on shoes like Crocs when you can, it will support you feel more empowered at carrying out the usual simplest of daily tasks, like putting your shoes and socks on.
Also ask your partner or friend for a foot massage.