Diastasis Recti

[gottabefit]

Hi Sheila! I posted this on the "Ask Cathe" forum and she gave me some info that you had answered for someone else a while back, but she also said to post here, that you might have more direct info to my particular quetions. This was the post --
My question is regarding separated abdominal muscles -- I have a two fingers width separation since having my second baby 4 months ago. I have read what I can find on this subject, as well as searching the forums here. What I want to know is how long do you have to modify exercise, will the muscles really come back together, can you do plank exercises, or pretty much everything except oblique work? A loaded quetion, I know. I just want to get things pulled in as quick as possible without doing more damage or prolonging the problem. I've read that you can hold the sides of your abdominals together while doing the exercises, however, when I do crunches, etc. the muscles pull together by themselves anyway. Thank you in advance for whatever info you can give me. Anyone else that has advice -- I'll take it. Thanks!

 

[Sheila]

Hello gottabefit,

Congratulations on your little one. I'm sure that these 4 months have passed very quickly. As for your diastasis.... Did you have one with your first child? The time necessary to repair the separation varies from individual to individual. Are you nursing? Although I have never found research to support this, after working with over 1800 moms I have come to the conclusion that for some reason, moms who nurse take a little longer to repair the separation.

With restorative exercises, you can get the muscles pretty close together. Relaxin, the hormone responsible for "loosening" connective tissue and therefore the seam between the recti, actually changes the physical structure of the connective tissue between the two recti muscles. Both recti, which have been stretched to oblivion during pregnancy, must be shortened before they can be strengthened. Do you have the book "Essential Exericses for the Childbearing Year" by Elizabeth Noble. She has some great illustrations in that book regarding diastasis recti as well as the rehab exercises necessary to improve the separation. I believe that Cathe quoted me in another post to you explaining the "splinting" exercise where you take your hand and actually push the muscles together. You need to use your hands. They will help push together the underlying muscles as well as the ones on top, which is necessary to improve the separation. How many times a day are you doing the "corrective exercise?" I suggest 3 sets of 8 at least 3 times a day. You can also do the "corrective exercise" while standing. Just inhale and then exhale while pushing the muscles together with your hands. Make sure that you are pushing down and together, not just together. That is also a common mistake.

Avoiding rotational oblique work is a given with a diastasis. Do you turn around in your car to admire your baby or make sure that he or she is okay in the carseat? Guess what? That move to check on the baby is definitely a rotational oblique move. How about reaching up in the kitchen cabinet? Do you ever twist your uppper body when reaching across your body and into the cabinet to pull something out? All of these could exacerbate the separation because they involve rotational oblique work.

I would like for you to do a little experiment for me. I want you to do your "corrective exercise" for one week by lifting only your head, and not your shoulders, off the floor. Make sure that you are pushing the underlying muscles together as well. I would check your separation every other day to see if this very basic exercise will bring the recti closer together. You should see some progress. I only want you to do this exercise - No crunches during the experiment! Once you have gone a week with this exercise, then do the same one and this time lift your shoulders slightly off the ground. This will look somethat like a modified crunch. If you see that the separation is smaller, slowly progress your moves back to a regular crunch. Remember, it took 9 months to stretch those abs!

As for your planks.... While we are doing our "little experiment" I don't want you to do them. My advice would be to add the planks back once you get to the point where you can lift your shoulders without the recti separating. Does that make sense?

Hopefully, I have answered your question. Feel free to post again if you have any other questions. Keep in touch. I would like to hear about your progress.

Sheila Watkins

 

[gottabefit]

Thankyou so much for answering my question! I did have the separation with the first one and to tell you the truth, I don't know if it came all the way together the first time. I was just doing all the "Cathe" stuff. I will do this experiment and get back to you. Thanks!