In an ideal world, we would all have perfectly balanced strength and crush workouts left and right. But here in the real world, however, many people struggle with muscular imbalances that make certain movements extra challenging.

Shoulder imbalances are particularly prevalent, says Kasia Gondek, physical therapist and certified strength and conditioning specialist at Fusion Wellness and Physical Therapy. It's common — but not normal — for one shoulder to have less strength, activation or coordination than the other, Dr. Gondek says:

A healthy lifestyle includes getting back to exercise postpartum

Exercise has shown to be beneficial in all stages of life, and the postpartum period is no exception.

Some of the benefits of postpartum exercise are:

• Strengthen and tone abdominal muscles
• Boosts energy
• May help prevent postpartum depression
• Promotes better sleep
• Relieves stress
• Can help you lose the extra weight that you may have gained during pregnancy
  (ACOG, July 2019).

Even with all these benefits, research shows that most mothers stop participating in exercise programs which leads to increased weight gain and obesity (Minig et al., and O’Toole et al., 2003). There are many adjustments that have to be made when becoming a new mother and the information on the internet regarding postpartum exercise can be misguided and overwhelming. Let's break down what the literature says about guidelines for returning to exercise postpartum.

How do Histamines Affect Interstitial Cystitis (Painful Bladder Syndrome)?

Newly published research by Grundy et al. (2019) shows a more direct connection.

In this study published in the February 2021 issue of The American Journal of Physiology: Renal Physiology, Grundy et al. show correlation that histamines in the body lead to changes in the sensory nerves of the bladder, particularly hypersensitivity during bladder distension, or when the bladder is filling or full.

The study determined that certain sensory nerves in the bladder can become more sensitive when histamines are present. This activation occurs in the bladder membrane, the detrusor muscles, as well as the afferent nerves of the bladder.