Diastasis recti

[spotty_dog]

So, I had a separation of my abdominal muscles with my first pregnancy. It was about 3 fingers wide until I got pregnant the second time. After that pregnancy it was a little wider. Four years after my last birth, it's down to about two fingers.

A two-finger gap isn't THAT bad, but it does make my stomach bulge when I sit up, and contributes to the weird morphology of my tummy. And because I don't want to widen it, I am nervous to do intense abdominal exercises or anything with twisting.

I've looked into some of the "remedies", and there's an exercise in Essential Exercises for the Childbearing Year that amounts to straight sit-ups with the edges of the gap pressed together; there's the "Lose Your Mummy Tummy" sales pitch for their complete program; and there's Pilates, which is supposed to fix any kind of wacked-out core musculature, right? I don't expect a bikini body -- even if I fix the gap, I'll still have the loose skin, starburst of stretch marks, and tendency to collect some of my overall body fat in that area. But being able to strengthen my core without fear I'll tear myself in half would be most excellent!

Have you had a gap and repaired it? Tell me how!

[OrionGrad]

I had minimal separation, but this is a topic that comes up frequently in my momma/baby Pilates class. I think Pilates is a great option, and if you let the instructor know about your separation she can recommend specific exercises to do at home.

[spotty_dog]

Thanks! There's pretty much zero way I'm getting to an actual Pilates studio (the nearest would be 45 minutes away and it's already near miraculous that I've started getting to the gym 5 minutes away regularly, sans kids), but maybe I can get my Pilates instructor SIL to give me some tips.

[moonlight]

How can I tell how much tearing I had with pregnancy?

[spotty_dog]

You can lie on your back with your knees somewhat bent, feet on the floor. Put your hand on your lower abdomen along the midline, fingers down and wrist up. Raise your head while keeping your shoulders down. At that point if you poke around a bit you may feel a gap between the halves of your abdominal muscles, with the edges of the muscle forming the borders of the gap. Measuring how many fingers you can fit into the gap gives you an idea of how bad the diastasis is. One to two is 'good enough', over a hand width is 'do something about this'.

It can keep your core from being as stable as it should; the transverse and oblique (?) abdominals anchor at the edges of that gap so any activity that emphasizes them could make things worse before you've strengthened the bottommost layers of musculature to support those movements. I might be hypersensitive because I've been aware of mine for so long, but I hate doing any twisting/stretching things and even straight sit-ups and seated leg presses feel wrong if I don't hold my tummy together. :\ (I was working out regularly into the second trimester with my first pregnancy, and pretty much felt myself "unzip" while I was hitting an abdominal exercise hard. Ack.)

[Urowife]

Following... I had this happen during my second pregnancy. I think my gap is fairly minimal (I can barely fit two fingers), but I'd like to work on it. And I, too, am paranoid about making it worse with the wrong exercises!

[OrionGrad]

Have you tried using a belly binder? A few women in my class have mentioned using them. One woman even got hers covered by insurance when it was recommended by her physical therapist.

[SoonerTexan]

My mom had this. I don't know if she ever did anything about it though. I'll have to ask. I do seem to remember there being something potentially dangerous about it, but before anyone freaks out I could totally be making that up.

[Urowife]

Spotty Dog -- have you had any luck working on your diastasis? I am finally at the point where I want to do something about mine. I think I was hoping it might go away on its own.... Anyway, I'm about a 2 at the widest point, so I think I can get it better. I've been doing some online research, and I've found a website that provides exercises, but you have to pay to join. I think it's about $10 a month. I think I may try it out for a little while and see how it goes. Let me know if you have any exercises to recommend!

ETA: Here's the website: http://fit2b.us

[spotty_dog]

I figured out the gist of the Lose Your Mummy Tummy exercises and did those for a while, and an online Pilates video. But I've started slacking again, and there's been no noticeable change, so no words of wisdom here! That site looks super interesting.

[Pollyanna]

It was my understanding exercises can help a bit but the only 100% fix is via a plastic surgeon. But if I put money on the best exercise it would be Pilates (for pretty much everything)