Diastasis recti – what it is, why you should care and your questions answered {a couple anyways}. I get LOTs of questions related around diastasis recti, both from pregnant mama’s, postpartum mama’s and that’s right even moms that had their babies over 20 years ago! Most women I’m finding don’t even know, let alone understand what diastasis recti is – IF they’ve even heard of it!
With your help I know we can help spread the word because you can do something about it – no matter how long it’s been. Watch my live video below where I address the mentioned above:
Diastasis recti is the separation of your abdominals, specifically when there is separation between your rectus abdominals down your midline. There are varying degrees of separation.
Click here for how to test if you have diastasis recti {be sure you are 10 weeks postpartum or beyond}.
Why you should care? Like I mention in the live broadcast above, I’ve talked with different doctors about this and they flat out tell me it’s all for vanity sake – I beg to differ!!! If you have abdominal separation, then most likely you have poor pelvic floor and transverse abdominal connection and probably suffer from back pain! That’s right! I find a big correlation between back pain {among other body aches and pains} that for many greatly improve as their diastasis recti improves.
Because when your diastasis recti improves, that means your pelvic floor and transverse abdominal connection and the fascial connection through your abdominals had become much stronger! And when that happens your back now has more support and that means your back feels better!
Mamas, when you are pregnant back pain does NOT have to be a part of pregnancy. For many, it can be greatly minimized. That’s why I stress the importance of understanding and learning how to properly strengthen your deep core. A big reason why I’ve created everything I have. If you are pregnant I highly recommend my Prenatal + Postnatal Membership which also includes a nutrition section because nutrition plays a big role in how your body feels!
Then there’s the topic of hernia’s in the abdominal area. When you have weakened connective tissue and have diastasis recti that could greatly increase the risk for hernias in your abdominal area. In order to truly repair a hernia you do need surgery and I’m finding a lot of mamas being led to do surgery to repair their abdominal separation {regardless of hernia{s} or not} but don’t understand that there is a lot of repairing they could be doing instead. More to come on the hernia topic…
It is never too late to heal!! And I’m extremely serious when I say 20-30+ years beyond babies! The sooner you begin to rehab your core after baby the easier it can be to heal, but that doesn’t mean it’s ever too late to start! That is why I have created my Prenatal + Postnatal Membership. It’s designed to be a one-stop shop for women who are thinking about getting pregnant, are currently pregnant or are postpartum and beyond.
And when you are able to start creating a good foundation of strengthening your deep core during pregnancy that could help you tremendously after baby when it comes to diastasis recti and core rehab! My eBook “The Knocked Up Fitness Guide to Pregnancy” is a must read as I break down how to properly strengthen your deep core along with tons more info!
Things you can do to help to minimize diastasis recti and helping to repair:
- Avoid crunches
- Watch for and avoid “coning of your belly”
- Do appropriate exercises that don’t stress your core but actually help in strengthening
- If you experience “leaking down there” I suggest avoiding those exercise for now and refocus your attention on your deep core connection.
- Be mindful of your exercise, focus on the connections you are making through your body and what you are actually feeling working.
- Give your body time to heal, very very important after baby and I know it’s hard but it really can make a huge and positive effect in the long run.
- Focus on good fascial connection through your body {more to come on this because I do realize most don’t even know what fascia is…}
- Posture! Stand tall, sit tall, walk tall, carry babies and children with good posture.
Use your core to hold your body upright – a crazy idea I know! It’s amazing what just improving your posture can do.
Click here for 3 exercises that I LOVE for helping to strengthen your deep core and help in repairing postpartum and beyond.
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