Anybody knowledgable of body mechanics out there? For women that are competitive in road cycling, does having given birth change a women’s body mechanics such that it affects their cycling? Does it affect anything in a way that may require changes to their equipment? Does it change anything that would make them better or worse than they were before giving birth?
Women’s bodies change significantly while pregnant and giving birth, but those changes, so far as I know, mostly go back to pre-pregnancy conditions not too long after birth. What sorts of changes are you thinking of?
The closest thing I can think of is that there are skeletal differences between men and women, for the sake of childbirth, and those differences are probably relevant for cycling… but the female skeletal form is found both in women who have and have not yet given birth, because bones are really tough to reshape once they’ve formed.
I’m thinking hip width in relation to pedaling. I’m not thinking about one cyclist who hasn’t given birth compared to another who has. I’m thinking about changes for the same cyclist pre-birth vs. post-birth. Will that cyclist need to make any equipment or technique changes because of changes to their body?
A woman’s hips do widen during pregnancy, but it appears that for most women they return to pre-pregnancy condition relatively quickly. For a minority of women, it can be a permanent change.
Are Wider Hips Permanent?
Dr. Tran says that the pelvis usually returns to its normal position four to 12 weeks after delivery.
Right at the end of the article is this:
“It’s not a big deal, but it’s a big deal in the cycling community, obviously, because it’s a lot of attention,” Haugland said. “The most critical phase is actually to adapt the flexibility you need to have after the birth is given. Because then you need to think about how can you make this possible in terms of travel, training camps, nannies … this is the most critical part.”
Most of the article is focused on the pressure to compete and stay racing instead of stopping for having a child, and that maternity leave and other support from teams and laws make it more feasible.
One gets the impression that any physical long term changes are minor from giving birth.