Titled or tipped -- just names for the same thing -- a retroverted uterus. Your uterus is a fist-sized organ resembling an upside-down pear. It sits behind your pubic bone, and supports a developing fetus until birth. A retroverted uterus may sound ominous, but it's a frequently found gynecological condition. Twenty percent of patients have this often symptomatic condition. A tipped uterus may be a genetic condition, that is, your mother has one too; or it results from a medical condition that causes a type of internal scarring called adhesions. Running shouldn't be a problem. But if it is, there are exercises that can help.
Knee-to-Chest Stretch
Step 1
Strengthen your pelvic and lower abdominal muscles with knee-to-chest stretches. Lie face up and legs extended. Leave your arms at your sides.
Step 2
Extend both arms and lift your left knee slightly. Grab onto your left knee and bring it toward your chest. Keep your torso and head on the floor.
Step 3
Make sure the right leg stays extended on the floor. Pull the left knee close, feeling the stretch in your low back, and stop while it still feels comfortable.
Step 4
Stay in this position for 15 to 30 seconds, breathing comfortably. Release and repeat on the right leg. Alternate legs until you've done five reps on each.
Pelvic Rocking
Step 1
Tighten your pelvic floor with another abdominal exercise -- pelvic rocking. Stay lying on the floor and stretch your arms out to the sides.
Step 2
Tighten your abs and pelvic muscles and bend your left knee up. Repeat with the right knee, keeping your abs and pelvic floor muscles tight. Exhale and relax your abs and pelvic floor.
Step 3
Inhale and tighten your pelvic muscles and abs. Tilt your pelvis up and toward your chest, letting your back flatten against the floor.
Step 4
Exhale and lower your pelvis, feeling your back rise off the floor. Relax your pelvic muscles. Do five reps, or until your pelvic floor feels tighter.
Kegels
Always run exercises by your doctor before trying them, especially if you're pregnant.
See a gynecologist to evaluate your uterus and general health, and discuss how your specific situation affects exercise. Treatments may be available to you, such as devices or surgeries to hold the uterus in place.
Step 1
Stand, sit or lie down for pelvic-floor-toning Kegels. Clench your pelvic muscles -- the muscles you tighten when holding in urine. Keep clenching for five seconds.
Step 2
Stop clenching and relax for another five seconds. Switch between clenching and relaxing, doing each for five seconds. Finish one set of five reps, three times a day.
Step 3
Add Kegels to each set, aiming for a final rep number of 10, as the exercise becomes less effective. Avoid doing your Kegels while urinating and reduce your chances of getting urinary tract infections.
Tips
Warnings
References
Tips
- Always run exercises by your doctor before trying them, especially if you're pregnant.
Warnings
- See a gynecologist to evaluate your uterus and general health, and discuss how your specific situation affects exercise. Treatments may be available to you, such as devices or surgeries to hold the uterus in place.
Writer Bio
Having studied at two top Midwestern universities, Catherine Field holds degrees in professional writing and patient safety. Writing since 2000, Field has worked with regional newspapers while publishing fiction online. She conducts medical communication research at a Midwestern medical institution and is slated to write a book based on her research findings.