abdominal separation after pregnancy

[samzy_82]

Hi all,

I have just joined this community as i am trying to get back into shape following the birth of my son. I am currently 9 weeks post partrum.

My query is, what (if any) excercises should/can i do as my abdominal muscles have separated down the middle? I have been doing crunches (c section recovery is limiting what i do) however i have been informed that i shouldnt do this. Any ideas? I was following the excercises givn in a leaflet at the hospital .

Thankyou
Sam

[ilovethe80s]

No situps! Nothing crossing the body (oblique twists, etc). Stomach vacuums are the recommended exercise for diastasis.

I had a huge diastasis and a hernia which I had to have operated on. My intestines were literally rolling and flipping around in there, leaning over was extremely painful, and the hernia only got bigger as time went on and was very and unsightly.

No situps until that heals. Situps and crunches actually make muscle separation WORSE. Also, try to avoid any twisting movements (tennis, etc.) Even getting out of bed, you need to bring your knees up, roll on your side and get up that way. If you google 'diastasis' there are methods/ exercises to do to try and close the gap, and a way to check for the separation to see how it is progressing. There is a book called 'Lose Your Mummy Tummy' by Julie Tupler, which is specifically about this condition.

Most people are not aware of this condition (I certainly had never heard of it until I had it), but it is actually common.

[terracotta]

No ab exercises other than stomach vacuums for at least 8 weeks. Everyone has some ab separation after delivery. Ab exercises can cause it to be permanent. It took my abs 7 weeks to go back together, and all I did was the stomach vacuums.

Here's info on the exercise - http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ms-fit5.htm

Read this about exercising and how to check for diastasis - http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/print_content.asp?type=article&id=710

[medusa11]

1st question is a stomach vaccume just what it sounds like? and is there any way to prevent this, something I can be doing?

[medusa11]

sorry, just noticed the link

[ilovethe80s]

I just wanted to add that it can take time. It took a year and a half for mine to come to the point where I do not look 6 months pregnant. And they are still not all the way together yet. I have mesh holding the intestines in but to sew the muscles back together is considered cosmetic.

I went to a plastic surgeon for a consult and I still have a 2 finger width gap that they said probably will never close on its own. I will have it surgically repaired eventually via a tummy tuck.

I was told that there was nothing you can do to prevent it from happening. If you exercise the wrong way (pullup and crunch type movements while pregnant), you can actually encourage a diastasis to form. My doctor told me the most likely reason I had diastasis is because I am small and the way that I carried. I have a very narrow frame, carried very high and though I gained less than 30 pounds with each pregnancy, the baby was all in front and huge.

[samzy_82]

Thankyou all for the information!! I am upping the vacuuming now.

My other question is did any of you have aching knees after pregnancy? I know relaxin is to blame and have been told to strengthen my thighs to support the knees, how long did it take for the knee pains to stop?

Do you have any good thigh/leg excercises that i could do that will not put strain on my knees?

Thanks again,
Sam

[DrBermant]

Hi all,

I have just joined this community as i am trying to get back into shape following the birth of my son. I am currently 9 weeks post partrum.

My query is, what (if any) excercises should/can i do as my abdominal muscles have separated down the middle? I have been doing crunches (c section recovery is limiting what i do) however i have been informed that i shouldnt do this. Any ideas? I was following the excercises givn in a leaflet at the hospital .

Thankyou
Sam

A Separation of the Stomach Muscles or a Diastasis Recti (http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty/diastasis_recti_tummy_tuck.html) can happen as tissue is strained / torn from the internal pressure of pregnancy. The stomach muscles are enveloped with fascia connective tissue. The front and back fascia merges between the rectus muscles. When this merged tissues stretches or tears, the two muscles pull apart when strained.

Trying to get torn or stretched tissues to heal can be a difficult task. Exercise can help with the stretched muscles, but not torn tissues. It is like a sprain. In bodybuilding, no pain no gain. In healing, ignore the pain and you can hurt the gain. If the muscles are kept apart by bulging abdominal content, they will never heal together.

Caution Graphic Photos

Repair of the Rectus Fascia (http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty/tumescent_diastasis_recti.html) with sutures is how I deal with this separation during surgery. I normally use at least 2 layers of a very strong suture to deal with the forces of the stomach muscles. It is these strong forces that make healing without such internal support difficult.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Tummy Tuck Abdominoplasty Surgery (http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty/index.html)