How Physical Therapy Supported One Runner Through Injury, Pregnancy, and Postpartum Recovery

When Ashley first came to Breathe in Motion three years ago, she had one goal: get rid of the nagging Achilles pain that was affecting both her running and her work as an OrangeTheory fitness coach.

She was also a little skeptical.

After going through traditional physical therapy for a previous ACL and meniscus injury, she had always viewed PT as something you did to rehab an injury and then moved on from. But within her first few visits at Breathe in Motion, that perspective started to change.

It Started With an Achilles Injury

Working with Elise, Ashley received dry needling, cupping, manual therapy, and a full body assessment that looked beyond her Achilles. Together, they identified other weaknesses and imbalances that could be contributing to her pain and addressed those areas alongside the injury itself.

Her symptoms improved, but instead of stopping care once the pain was gone, Ashley continued monthly appointments to maintain her progress, build strength, and address small issues before they became bigger problems.

That preventative approach became even more important when her life changed in a big way.

From Runner to Twin Pregnancy

When Ashley found out she was pregnant with twins, her goals shifted immediately.

Physical therapy became less about her Achilles and more about helping her maintain strength throughout pregnancy, prepare her pelvic floor and body for delivery, and create a strong foundation for postpartum recovery.

Ashley hoped to maintain her strength and deliver her twins vaginally, and she accomplished both.

More importantly, the work she did during pregnancy gave her a foundation to build from once she was ready to return to activity postpartum.

Returning to Running After Twins

After delivery, the goal wasn’t to simply wait until six weeks postpartum and jump back into her old workouts.

Being medically cleared doesn’t necessarily mean your body is ready for running, jumping, lifting, or high intensity exercise. Returning to those activities requires gradually rebuilding strength, impact tolerance, core and pelvic floor coordination, and confidence.

Ashley took that gradual approach and was able to build back to running without pelvic pain or pelvic pressure.

Today, she’s seven months postpartum with twins and training for her first postpartum half marathon.

She feels strong, supported, and confident in what her body can do.

Physical Therapy That Evolves With You

What makes Ashley’s story such a meaningful client win isn’t just that her Achilles pain improved.

It’s that her care evolved with her.

What started as treatment for a running injury became preventative care, then pregnancy and birth preparation, followed by postpartum recovery and eventually a return to running.

That’s exactly how we believe physical therapy should work.

At Breathe in Motion, we take a whole body approach that considers where you are today while also thinking about where you want to go next.

Physical Therapy for Active Women in Brookfield & Mequon

At Breathe in Motion, we help runners, athletes, pregnant women, and postpartum moms throughout Brookfield, Mequon, Milwaukee, and the surrounding communities stay active through every season of life.

Ashley first came to us wanting to run without Achilles pain.

Three years later, she’s seven months postpartum with twins and training for a half marathon.

That’s the long game.