If there is one thing every mom should know before starting any ab workout is whether or not she has a diastasis recti… a what? If you haven’t heard of this condition you’re not alone. Diastasis recti is a condition that affects about 1 in 3 moms. That is a huge percentage and what’s more is most of us aren’t really even aware of what it is or how to fix it.
To make matters worse, is certain exercises like crunches can actually worsen this condition.
What is Diastasis Recti?
Diastasis recti (also known as abdominal separation) is a disorder defined as a separation of the rectus abdomonis muscle into right and left halves. Essentially your abdominal muscles become separated. This happens most often in infants and pregnant women. It can also happen in people who are extremely overweight. In pregnant women diastasis recti is caused by the growing uterus pushing against these muscles and separating them. Hormones during pregnancy can also cause the connective tissue that holds these muscles together to weaken aggravating the problem even more.
Though this is mainly a cosmetic problem causing that all to well known mommy tummy pooch, it can also have negative effects in regards to our muscle balance. When our muscles are separated it results in a severe pelvic tilt, lower back pain, and the dreaded “mommy tummy”.
How to check yourself for diastasis recti
Luckily it is pretty easy to check for diastasis recti. The purpose is basically to see how wide the gap between your muscles is and how deep. The deeper your fingers will go the weaker the connective tissue.
Step 1:
Lay down on your back with knees bent.
Step 2:
Relax abdominal muscles and tilt your head forward. You may want to go up and down to get feel of how the muscles work. You are looking for the ridge between the muscles. Start with 2 fingers pointed toward your toes. If you don’t feel a gap with 3 fingers you may need to put 4 or 5 in.
Great exercises to heal diastasis recti
If you have a 2-3 finger gap (mild) or a severe gap (4-5 fingers) the worst thing you could do is a normal ab workout. These types of exercises will only pull your abs further apart. Don’t worry though, you can correct it with the right exercises.
One of the main researchers on exercises to fix diastasis recti is Julie Tupler, an RN who wrote Lose Your Mummy Tummy. She introduced the Tupler technique to get rid of diastasis recti. She outlines a 4 step process to heal and get back to normal ab workouts.
Here is a brief outline of some of her exercises. Sure these look easy but if you have diastasis recti they are quite difficult.
Summary
If this condition affects you don’t stress. Before you start your regular exercises check out this book or do some of these exercises until your “Mummy Tummy” is gone. Remember to start slow with postpartum workouts. These simple exercises are a good way to start. Remember to consult with your health care provider before starting any exercise program.
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Thanks for covering such an important topic. I’m definitely sharing this with my mommy friends.
You are so very welcome! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
This is such an important issue that not many mommies know about, I’ve found! So glad to see it being talked about more and more to spread awareness and hopefully women can be able to avoid it in the future with this knowledge. I have been using Fit2b.us videos to help heal my separation and improve my pelvic floor after 4 kids. They are gentle and quick like the exercises you mention, love them! They have kids and pregnancy videos as well. Just wanted to mention it for those who may have this issue and want more resources for healing and support (the online forum is FANTASTIC!).
Thank you for your comment. Fit2be.us does have a lot of great info. 🙂
Will this be helpful for older women, or do these exercises need to be started within a certain number of years after childbirth?
No, It is ideal to start them once you can exercise again after giving birth, just so that the problem can be fixed sooner. However it it has been years since giving birth they will still help strengthen and heal the diastasis rect. It’s never to late to repair.
I have never heard of this before, but my husband did some research and now I am obsessed about seeing it this is part of my problem, I also have hoshimoto disease. I have given birth to three kids, I have always gained lots of weight with each. It has been 12 years since my last child birth. Is it possible to still have this? I am planning a visit to my OBGYN to see if they can make sure what I am predicting. When I do test I can put 3 fingers in, If I am not sucking it in I would look 6-8 months pregnant. It is not excess skin like some pictures I have seen, it is a solid jelly belly. It reminds me of Santa Clause movie when Tim Allen grabs his belly and says does this look like a little weight to you? I just could not imagine if this is what I have that it has taken me so long to find out, I have had digestive issues for years and visited doctors regarding this. Hopefully I can figure it out and get it healed if that is what it is.
You most certainly could still have diastasis. I wish you the best of luck on figuring it all out.
Hi I’m 25 and was pregnant at 15 it’s totally ruined my stomach I have bad stretch marks and sagging belly I way 130 pounds will these exercises work on me? My tummy is very messed up and I have tried many things how long will it take for me to get back to normal excerciseing and get flat tummy. I have trip next year I want to look good…. For years I’ve hated my self now I want to do something about it beyond surgery
IF the issue is diastasis recti these exercises should help. Lay down and check as it describes. If you belly is poochy because of sagging skin from stretch marks the exercises won’t help but if it is a gap in your muscle they will.
Is there anyway I can send you photos of my tummy so I can get better idea or u can see what I’m dealing with I’m desperate for help.
I wouldn’t be able to diagnose anything of course but you can follow the steps in the post to see if you have diastasis recti. It is more something you need to feel anyway.
Hi Vicki, I hear ya. My belly is pretty wrecked. I joke it looks like an old lady’s neck. I also have a DR and have been to physical therapy, tried all the programs, etc.. And it has improved, but not disappeared. Frankly, even if you did close your DR, you might not get a flat belly and your stretch marks aren’t going anywhere. If you are concerned about your core’s function, I really highly recommend you see a doctor (I know insurance can be a pain though). Also, I’ve found that in combination with some smart exercise, questioning some of my thinking patterns has helped me the most. In other words, sometimes we just have to accept that parts of our postnatal bodies won’t look like the magazines and come to terms with that. That’s the hard part. The exercises are the easy part. Sorry, that sounded preachy. If you want to talk more, you could email me at meredith at motherfigure dot com. I’m not a professional (other than a certified trainer, but not a mental health professional), so if your body image is causing a lot of distress, you might want to talk to a professional.
I’m pregnant with my third child, and found out after my second baby I had diastasis recti. Can I do these exercises while being pregnant or is it best to wait after I have the baby.
I may need to write another post on healing it during pregnancy. Diastasis recti has a lot to do with internal pressure and posture. thus it occurs very commonly during pregnancy because of the altered posture and pressure. Chiropractic treatments during pregnancy can help align your body and prevent the pressure and weakening of those muscles. It would also be good to do postural exercises.
I’m a man of 59 years of age and I have 2 problems with my stomach, on the 13th October I had an appointment in the colorectal department at the hospital.
After my examination by the consultant he said I have an umbilical hernia and the lump on my stomach is called diaspasis-recti he told me he could operate on the hernia but he need to speak to anthesist first this because I have a few medical problems which could out weigh the risks,
My diaspasis-recti 7″ long x 4″ wide x 3 ” high my question is what is it on my stomach that is bulging ?
The consultant explained the my stomach muscle have parted but did not tell me what is behind the lump, I’m somewhat confused at the moment, if anybody could tell me I would be most grateful
I’m sorry to hear that you are struggling. With hernias it means there is a complete seperation of your abdominal muscles. Your muscles are what holds your guts in place. When they separate causing a hernia it allows the guts to fall through the hole. Generally speaking it will be intestine, but can also be other organs like the appendix.
Thank you Tiffany for your reply, I also believe the hernia is looped around my bowl which leaves me suffering with constipation, I am now taking up to 4 packets of sugar free laxatives per day. One of the other things the consultant said is that the hernia could stranulate which means if it did I would need emergency surgery. The consultant said my hernia was incarcerated but again he did not explain this to me. I am now waiting for a letter from the hospital to tell me if they are going to operate on the hernia.
So I did this test on me and I felt a 1 and a half gap in some parts and 2 near my belly button.
I am almost 5 weeks postpartum and have a mummy tummy but it’s hard. My excess skin and fat is squishy but under it my whole belly is hard but it’s not flat. Do you think I have diastasis recti?
It is normal and necessary for the abdominals to split during pregnancy. At five weeks postpartum I wouldn’t be concerned yet. Your body is still healing. However, doing the exercises won’t hurt at all.
I dont suppose Ive learn something like this before.
Hello, im 26 yrs old and going to be 6 months post partum come the 30th and haven’t really worked out much at all besides lost of walks and daily housework. My question is, the only part im feeling a 2 finger gap is right where my belly button is but everywhere else is hard like a normal stomach would be. Is that normal to have only one area of separation and do you recommend doing the exercises listed above to correct that gap? Also, because its a 2 finger gap and only in that one area, will be it a shorter time correcting the gap verses if it were all along the stomach? Thanks.
It is normal for the widest spot to be at the belly button. Theoretically the smaller the gap the faster it will heal. Howeer, there are a lot of factors that effect it, and it has to do with your everyday moements. These exercises will help, but I’e found a better program since and shrunk my diastasis after my fourth baby from a 4 finger gap to a 1 in 2 months. That last bit is being stubborn. The program I use is Restore YOur Core from http://www.laurenohayon.com SHe also has a FB group called Restore YOur Core Community that has tons of free info. And last but not least any books or podcasts by Katy Bowman and Nutritious Moement are fantastic helps.
The last part of my DR closed under my belly button as well. I think the most important part of it all is the consistency and change in lifestyle (posture, sitting/standing, how you move around, etc.) If you want to check out an in depth program try Core Exercise Solutions http://www.coreexercisesolutions.com/momfit/ I closed my DR in about 6 months, but her program takes you past that and my core is actually stronger than before I had my baby 🙂
Could you still get a flat stomach showing abs with this condition?
My understanding is that you may have abs that show but it will be pooched out.