Diastasis Recti : Separation of the Abdominal Muscles

I'm back!

My apologies for being gone for so long. With the holidays, moving into a new home, and business booming more than ever, I have finally found some time to sit and write.

Today I wanted to talk a bit about what many pregnant women and new mommies are experiencing with their abdominal wall. During pregnancy, the abdominals begin to separate to allow for expansion of the ribcage and for fetal growth. This creates a small gap in the middle of the abdomen, creating a "line". This is called diastasis recti. There are many things that cause this to occur, such as a weak abdominal wall, pregnancy, hormonal surges, and studies have shown higher numbers of women having it who also had c-sections (another great reason to go natural ladies! :). Studies have also shown that 1 in 3 women get it from one or all of those causes!

Women develop this during pregnancy, and unfortunately it tends to stick around after the baby is born. So how can it be fixed? What things can be done to help strengthen the abdominal wall and lessen the diastasis recti? First, you need to see how big the separation is. Lying on your back with feet flat on the floor, lift up your head, not shoulders, bringing chin to chest. Now with your fingers pointing towards your feet, feel above your belly button for a dip. Try to see how many fingers you can fit in that separation. 

If you can fit 2 or more fingers, then do not do any crunches or sit ups of any kind, as those exercises make the separation worse. Instead, I found some crunch-free abdominal exercises that are low impact, very effective, and safe on your diastasis recti tummy. Try them out:

Doing these exercises 2-3 times per week will definitely help lessen the gap between the abdominal muscles, and also help strengthen the abdominal wall in general. This in turn will help lessen most back pain, increase posture, and decrease any risk for herniation in the abdominals. Once the separation becomes less than two fingers wides (as you should be checking your diastasis recti on a weekly basis), feel free to begin more core exercises such as these:

Plank 

Bridge 

(being sure to pull the abdominals in as you lift and lower)

Alternating Arm and Leg Lift

(keeping back straight with abs tight)

Sidelying Clam

(pulling abs in as you lift and lower leg)

Wall Squat with Ball

As the separation gets even less after doing these exercises, feel free to go back to your regular abdominal workout (crunches, bicycle crunches, full plank, push ups, etc).

Questions? Comments? Concerns?

Feel free to contact me at any time!

If you are in the Nashville area, I would love to work with you on your prenatal, postpartum, or general fitness needs and goals.

Thanks for checking in!