4 million women give birth each year in the US with no uniform course of physical therapy to mitigate weakness or injury caused by pregnancy and delivery.
More than 50% of women report back pain during or after pregnancy and 60% suffer from diastasis recti (split abdomen)
Your baby. Your body. You got this.
When you’re trying to learn about what happens to your body pre- and postpartum, or what physical activity is considered safe for you and baby, there’s a lot of conflicting information. Not being confident in your choices can cause anxiety.
No matter where you are in your postpartum journey, we invite you to participate in our market research to help us shape a program aimed at helping women recover, rebuild muscle strength, and improve stability. For this digital focus group, we are looking for women who recently had a baby and whose primary form of exercise is running.
“I have witnessed firsthand the adverse effects of returning to exercise and everyday activities without proper recovery from pregnancy and delivery. core2u combines the knowledge of multiple medical experts to educate women about the safest ways to remain active and return to exercise while adapting to the changes that occur during and after pregnancy.”
Miho Tanaka, MD, PhD
Core2U, Co-Founder
Director, Mass General Women’s Sports Medicine Program
How does it work?
Check out our content, including weekly strengthening exercises
Help us shape the future of an evidence-based program
Give us your feedback along the way by responding to some brief surveys
We’ve assembled a team to support you!
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Co-Founder, Chief Executive OfficerA former All-American athlete and active mom of three, Michele’s challenges to find accessible information and therapies to recover from post-partum health issues inspired her creation of core2u.
Michele is a Managing Director of Development at Mass General with a passion for leading cause-based fundraising strategies.
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Co-FounderDr. Tanaka focuses on gender-based differences in health care with a focus on understudied conditions unique to female athletes and promotes educational outreach to prevent injuries in women.
Dr. Tanaka directs the Mass General Women's Sports Medicine Program and was previously the founding director of the program at Johns Hopkins.
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Jamie Preszler PT, DPT, OCS, ATC is a Senior Physical Therapist at Mass General's Sports Physical Therapy in Boston. Jamie's clinical expertise is in pain and pregnancy-related musculoskeletal conditions of the lower extremity in female athletes, including development of rehabilitation guidelines for pregnancy-related knee pain and return to running in the postpartum period.
core2u offers evidence-based support designed to inform and empower. No matter where you are in your postpartum journey, we will provide you with a weekly regimen so you can strengthen weakened muscles and avoid pain
Inspiration for core2u
Joy and Pain: A Mother’s Story
“Hi, I’m Michele and I have three wonderful sons. My motherhood journey has been one of immense joy, yet unexpected pain.”
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An energetic mother of three, Michele has been active all her life: road races, bike-a-thons, hiking, to name just a few of her passions.
She was in great physical shape going into her first pregnancy, but she received little or no direction on what she could do safely during and after pregnancy.
After the birth of each of her children, she followed the recommended six weeks of rest and then resume her fitness routine. But with each pregnancy came months of crippling back pain that left her immobile for days at a time, missing out on time with her children and many days at work.
Michele’s seven years of recurring pain prompted her to search for answers on her own, spending time and money on acupuncture, chiropractic care, physical therapy, massage and pain medication.
Finally, she found a physiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital who put the pieces of the puzzle together. She identified that Michele’s three pregnancies wreaked havoc on her abdomen and that by not repairing those muscles and resuming her normal activities without easing her way back, she left herself open to injury.
Get ready to start a new movement!
We’re looking for runners of any level to join our consumer focus group.
Let us know if you’re interested and we’ll be in touch!