Diastasis Recti & Postpartum
Have you recently had a baby? Did you just learn about Diastasis Recti and want answers?
You are in the right place. The Tummy Team specializes in the treatment of Diastasis Recti especially in postpartum women.
We have effective comprehensive online rehab courses for you. You can fix this in the privacy of your own home on your own schedule.
First, let’s define Diastasis Recti
Diastasis Recti (DR): a separation of the abdominal muscles caused by excessive stretching of the connective tissue that runs down the midline of the abdominal wall.
Most people believe diastasis recti is inevitable after pregnancy. It is very common but it is also treatable.
What does it look/feel like?
Here’s how clients describe what it feels like to live with Diastasis Recti:
- you have a gaping hole in your tummy
- a bulging, tenting, or pouchy tummy
- a trench down the midline of your belly that sometimes bulges out when doing a sit up or even coughing
- a football like bulge with any bending or bracing of your tummy
- looking pregnant when you are no longer pregnant
Second, understand that Diastasis Recti is actually a symptom of a bigger issue, Functional Core Weakness.
Functional Core Weakness (FCW): The inability of the muscles of the core to effectively function and support the body for everyday physical demands without pain or dysfunction.
Functional Core Weakness is epidemic especially in postpartum women when your core muscle have recently been stretched excessively and newborn care requires so much bending over. The stretched, thin abdominal muscles tend to lead to collapsed and inactive postures that put a lot of stress on the connective tissue of the abdominal wall. Diastasis recti occurs when that tissue is stretched from pregnancy, hormones and collapsed newborn postures but the lack of functional core strength is the ultimate cause.
Consider if you are also experiencing some of these symptoms of Functional Core Weakness?
Here’s how clients describe what it feels like to live with Functional Core Weakness and/or Diastasis Recti postpartum:
- weak and disconnected feeling from your core and your body
- you keep injuring yourself without knowing why
- chronic back pain (low, mid, and even upper back)
- you have a hard time sitting or standing tall
- lifting/carrying your kids feels really hard
- collapsed posture – even if you want to stand or sit tall, you cannot maintain it
- thin, weak, and deflated abdominal muscles
- feeling like your back or hip could “go out” at any moment (instability)
- sluggish intestinal function- constipation or difficulty fully emptying during bowel movement.
- weak pelvic floor function- stress incontinence, prolapse, prostate issues, pelvic pain
- chronic pelvic instability in the pubic bone or SI joint
- sciatica, rib pain or diaphragm pain
Although some of this may seem like a typical postpartum recovery, it does not have to be this way. All of these symptoms indicate functional core weakness and risk for diastasis recti.
If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms, take some time to take our short quiz to determine how severe your core issues are.
So how did this happen?
During pregnancy, the internal core muscles are intended to support the uterus and promote optimal fetal alignment for the baby as well as stability for the pelvis of the mother. Hormonal changes in pregnancy increase the laxity of the connective tissue that holds the right and left side of the abdominal wall together. When the core muscles are weak and there is excessive pressure placed on this vulnerable linea albea (the connective tissue that runs down the center of the tummy), then this area stretches and causing diastasis recti. The weaker the core and the more the diastasis stretches, the more the belly bulges, posture collapses and the baby is at risk of positioning forward. After delivery, the body does not immediately “bounce back”. The residual functional core weakness presents in collapsed newborn parenting postures and symptoms persist until muscle balance is restored.
Take a moment to check yourself for a diastasis.
Keep in mind, you do not have to have a severe Diastasis to have significant Functional Core Weakness.
Motherhood is physically demanding and requires functional core strength.
Newborn care requires constant challenging postures including holding the baby, nursing, changing diapers, carrying baby carriers and so much more. A functionally weak core leads to collapsed postures and forces your body to compensate for lack of strength with consistent forward and forceful pressure against the abdominal wall. Forward forceful pressure looks like bulging the tummy while sitting in poor postures, bracing, breath holding, bearing down for bowel movements, or tensing when lifting. Systematically rebuilding the internal core muscle while preventing further damage is how we help you have the strength for motherhood.
How do we fix this?
No, surgery is not the only answer or even the best answer!
Diastasis Recti and Functional core weakness are both very treatable conditions. The Tummy Team specializes in a unique approach to Functional Core Rehabilitation. We help you systematically rebuild the internal core muscles while retraining your postural alignment and creating opportunities to use your core muscles effectively in all of your daily life movements. We offer effective online treatment options at a reasonable price that you can do from the privacy of your own home on your own schedule.
