DIASTASIS RECTI: Do you still look pregnant months and years after delivery?
You remember those muscles referred to as '6 packs'? They are the abdominal muscles that become very noticeable mostly after intense exercise and training.
It consist of 3 muscles on each sides of the abdomen called the abdominis muscles. a pair of long, flat muscles that run vertically down each side of your abdomen. These muscles hold in your internal organs and stabilize your core.
Diastasis recti occur when the rectus abdominis muscles in your abdomen separate during pregnancy, leaving a gap that allows your belly to pooch out.
HOW DOES DIASTASIS RECTI OCCUR?
*your belly expands during pregnancy, the connective tissue gets stretched out, allowing the rectus abdominis to pull apart and separate vertically down the middle.
*Pregnancy hormones also play a role by relaxing the connective tissue to accommodate your growing baby.
*Being pregnant with a heavy baby can be contributory.
Sometimes the tissue heals, and the muscles come back together after delivery when your hormone levels return to pre-pregnancy levels. But if this doesn't happen in three to six months, you can end up with a gap that won't close without treatment.
After pregnancy, a diastasis recti looks like a ridge protruding from your midline. The ridge becomes more prominent when you're straining – from coughing or sitting up, for example. It may disappear or cave in when you lie down or relax your abdominal muscles.
HOW TO CHECK DIASTASIS RECTI AT HOME
To check for a diastasis recti:
*lie on your back, with your knees bent and your feet on the floor.
*Place your palm down over your belly, with your fingers pointing toward your toes.
*Press your fingers gently into your navel area then slowly lift your head, drawing your chin to your chest. This causes your rectus abdominis to contract.
*If you feel a gap of at least two finger widths between the muscles as they contract, you have a diastasis.
*A gap as wide as four or five fingers is considered severe.
*Repeat the procedure below and above your belly button because the separation may be wider in some places.
HOW TO CORRECT A DIASTASiS RECTI
1)EXERCISES
You can often correct a diastasis recti with specific exercises, but you'll need guidance from a physiotherapist.
Doing traditional sit-up (crunches) can make your condition worse. They tend to make those muscles tighter, pushing them further apart and stretching the connective tissue even more so that it grows thinner and weaker.
1)EXERCISES
You can often correct a diastasis recti with specific exercises, but you'll need guidance from a physiotherapist.
Doing traditional sit-up (crunches) can make your condition worse. They tend to make those muscles tighter, pushing them further apart and stretching the connective tissue even more so that it grows thinner and weaker.
It can also help women who still look pregnant and have trouble strengthening their core, even if they don't have a diastasis recti.
Note that some doctors don't understand the way a diastasis can affect your physical and emotional health or believe that it requires treatment. So you may have to search for a Health provider with specific interest and knowledge in the condition to help you repair it.
2) ABDOMINAL GIRDLE.
This is also very effective. Reason why it's often called body magic.
This is also very effective. Reason why it's often called body magic.
3)SURGERY
If your diastasis is severe, and you don't plan to get pregnant again, surgery may be an option, especially if you've done all you can with physical therapy but are still struggling with a weak core.
If your diastasis is severe, and you don't plan to get pregnant again, surgery may be an option, especially if you've done all you can with physical therapy but are still struggling with a weak core.
By the way, if you do plan to have more children, it's worth the effort to repair a diastasis with physical therapy (not surgery) to strengthen your core before your next pregnancy. It may recur, but it's likely to be less severe.
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