Separated abdominal muscles

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happytire
happytire Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello! I've been working out regularly and tracking my calories for about a year now. I've lost about 25 lbs. total which is great though I still have a way to go. I was recently diagnosed with diastasis recti (separated abdominal muscles) that never healed after the birth of my second child. I've been told that traditional ab exercises like crunches, sit ups and planks can make my condition worse. My abs have always been a problem area and despite losing 25 lbs. my abs are the same size. Is anyone familiar with this condition or have an advice about exercise to target the abs that would be safe for me to do? I have spoken to my doctor and she gave me a sheet of three really mild exercise to try but they are not having an impact. Getting discouraged. Appreciate any input. Thanks!
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Replies

  • ChrisLindsay9
    ChrisLindsay9 Posts: 837 Member
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    Unless there's a physical therapist here, I'm not sure if anyone would be qualified to give you any feedback. Can your doctor give you a referral to meet with a specialist about this? Or at least ask for a name or two, that you might be able to email?

    Otherwise, I'd search on youtube and various fitness websites for "diastasis recti" and "ab exercises" and see if that can give you any help?

    Hope you find something that can be of benefit.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    I have never been diagnosed formally, but I'm pretty sure I have it too after 2 kids.

    I have found that doing planks and ab vacuums, and just lifting heavy in general, have helped tremendously. It is true, situps and crunches will make it look worse - it makes the ab muscles look more separated.

    Youtube ab vacuums and do a few minutes of those a day along with a couple of minutes of planks. And lift heavy, compound lifts like squats, lunges, deadlifts.

    Edited to say - can't tell when you had your last baby, but it does take time. My youngest is 10 now and my abs look 10000000x better than then did when he was little.
  • happytire
    happytire Posts: 3 Member
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    Thank you both so much for the advice. My daughter will be five at the end of the summer so it has been awhile but my abs have never gone back to normal and the doctor finally said that it was in fact diastasis recti. I will do some research on youtube and google. I really appreciate it.
  • terri_journey
    terri_journey Posts: 287 Member
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    Unless there's a physical therapist here, I'm not sure if anyone would be qualified to give you any feedback.
    I totally agree with this advice!!
  • LBNOakland
    LBNOakland Posts: 379 Member
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    http://www.redbookmag.com/kids-family/blogs/mom-blog/baby-belly-abs-pregnancy-diastasis-recti

    quick google search found this article. I also put in diastasis recti in MFP search and found some threads. Haven't read them but you may want to look for them. Going to do that test when I get home! 4 kids and 2 c-sections make me think I may need to try these exercises! Can't hurt and look fairly easy!!

    Good luck!! :flowerforyou:
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    Abdominal exercises won't help reduce, target, or change the size of your abdomen.

    Only reduced body fat will "fix" this condition. Haven't done an "abdominal" exercise in years.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    Hello! I've been working out regularly and tracking my calories for about a year now. I've lost about 25 lbs. total which is great though I still have a way to go. I was recently diagnosed with diastasis recti (separated abdominal muscles) that never healed after the birth of my second child. I've been told that traditional ab exercises like crunches, sit ups and planks can make my condition worse. My abs have always been a problem area and despite losing 25 lbs. my abs are the same size. Is anyone familiar with this condition or have an advice about exercise to target the abs that would be safe for me to do? I have spoken to my doctor and she gave me a sheet of three really mild exercise to try but they are not having an impact. Getting discouraged. Appreciate any input. Thanks!

    Yeah, here is some advice... LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR.

    Geez you have a separated abdomen, accept what you can't change and keep moving. If you want to see your abs loose more fat weight, they won't show anyhow unless your BF% is low enough.
  • LBNOakland
    LBNOakland Posts: 379 Member
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    Hello! I've been working out regularly and tracking my calories for about a year now. I've lost about 25 lbs. total which is great though I still have a way to go. I was recently diagnosed with diastasis recti (separated abdominal muscles) that never healed after the birth of my second child. I've been told that traditional ab exercises like crunches, sit ups and planks can make my condition worse. My abs have always been a problem area and despite losing 25 lbs. my abs are the same size. Is anyone familiar with this condition or have an advice about exercise to target the abs that would be safe for me to do? I have spoken to my doctor and she gave me a sheet of three really mild exercise to try but they are not having an impact. Getting discouraged. Appreciate any input. Thanks!

    Yeah, here is some advice... LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR.

    Geez you have a separated abdomen, accept what you can't change and keep moving. If you want to see your abs loose more fat weight, they won't show anyhow unless your BF% is low enough.

    Geez! It can be changed! It's a condition experienced by newborns and postpartum women. Don't comment on what you know nothing about! Losing weight won't help until the abdominal walls are strengthened and pull back together. It is considered cosmetic so doctors ignore it instead of helping their patients with physical therapy and exercises which can help it! The exercises are not invasive or damaging so why not try them? If they don't work, no harm done.
  • LBNOakland
    LBNOakland Posts: 379 Member
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    Abdominal exercises won't help reduce, target, or change the size of your abdomen.

    Only reduced body fat will "fix" this condition. Haven't done an "abdominal" exercise in years.

    You will never experience this condition. new Borns and postpartum women get this. Reduced body fat is NOT the fix! She isn't trying to change the size of her abdomen, she is trying to fix a separated muscle. There are targeted exercises that can strengthen that muscle and pull it back together.
  • ksuh999
    ksuh999 Posts: 543 Member
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    Abdominal exercises won't help reduce, target, or change the size of your abdomen.

    Only reduced body fat will "fix" this condition. Haven't done an "abdominal" exercise in years.
    Uhhh.. . Her ab muscles literally came apart. This is a somewhat common condition from pregnancy. Your doctor is actually supposed to check for this a few months after childbirth.

    In this case, some form of ab exercise is beneficial, because she's literally trying to put them back together.
  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
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    Hello! I've been working out regularly and tracking my calories for about a year now. I've lost about 25 lbs. total which is great though I still have a way to go. I was recently diagnosed with diastasis recti (separated abdominal muscles) that never healed after the birth of my second child. I've been told that traditional ab exercises like crunches, sit ups and planks can make my condition worse. My abs have always been a problem area and despite losing 25 lbs. my abs are the same size. Is anyone familiar with this condition or have an advice about exercise to target the abs that would be safe for me to do? I have spoken to my doctor and she gave me a sheet of three really mild exercise to try but they are not having an impact. Getting discouraged. Appreciate any input. Thanks!

    Yeah, here is some advice... LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR.

    Geez you have a separated abdomen, accept what you can't change and keep moving. If you want to see your abs loose more fat weight, they won't show anyhow unless your BF% is low enough.





    You obviously don't know what you are talking about. Probably should have kept your comment to yourself. Goes for the guy who posted above you as well. Google the condition if you would like to be educated about it.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    Hello! I've been working out regularly and tracking my calories for about a year now. I've lost about 25 lbs. total which is great though I still have a way to go. I was recently diagnosed with diastasis recti (separated abdominal muscles) that never healed after the birth of my second child. I've been told that traditional ab exercises like crunches, sit ups and planks can make my condition worse. My abs have always been a problem area and despite losing 25 lbs. my abs are the same size. Is anyone familiar with this condition or have an advice about exercise to target the abs that would be safe for me to do? I have spoken to my doctor and she gave me a sheet of three really mild exercise to try but they are not having an impact. Getting discouraged. Appreciate any input. Thanks!


    Yeah, here is some advice... LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR.

    Geez you have a separated abdomen, accept what you can't change and keep moving. If you want to see your abs loose more fat weight, they won't show anyhow unless your BF% is low enough.





    You obviously don't know what you are talking about. Probably should have kept your comment to yourself. Goes for the guy who posted above you as well. Google the condition if you would like to be educated about it.

    Agreed, I don't lol I do stability ball crunches and they work like a charm... 0% strain on any other body part except my abs (which I prefer because of my lousy back).
  • tammymusic1
    tammymusic1 Posts: 243 Member
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    I have this too glad I found this. I have lost 60lbs but still have this stupid split had 3 kids just fine then my fourth killed my stomach
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    Unless there's a physical therapist here, I'm not sure if anyone would be qualified to give you any feedback.
    I totally agree with this advice!!

    Agree!

    Get the to a PT. Is surgery an option.
  • JoRumbles
    JoRumbles Posts: 262 Member
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    Hi,

    I had a 4 finger widths gap after the birth of my second baby nearly 12 weeks ago.

    The physio gave me some excercises. They felt like they were doing nothing becuase they were so easy, but I only have a tiny gap now, about half a cm.

    The main ones were pelvic tilts and just tightening the lower abs. Google and I'm sure you will find them.
  • JoRumbles
    JoRumbles Posts: 262 Member
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    PErsevere with the excercises and do them once or twice a day.

    You can have surgery if they don't mend
  • RyanneRose
    RyanneRose Posts: 128 Member
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    http://www.diastasisrehab.com/
    I got the dvd "Lose your mummy tummy" from there a while ago because at a year post-baby, I have the same thing. I was aggressively working my abs in a workout that i was hoping would help me lose weight before i found out. It made it worse. I'd say look into the site. I'm not a doctor or an expert, just a woman with messed up ab muscles trying to help another one. This is the most helpful thing I've found so far.
  • greenihlonde
    greenihlonde Posts: 337
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    I had about 3 fingers width between mine and a cscection cutting them apart the other direction, so mine were pretty screwed up! No expert but planks and Insanity have worked for me.

    After my 3rd baby.

    0131091124.jpg

    Now.

    035.jpg
  • mamasmaltz3
    mamasmaltz3 Posts: 1,111 Member
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    WHAT IS A DIASTASIS RECTI?
    The word diastasis means separation. So a diastasis recti is a separation of the rectus abdominis or the outermost abdominal muscles. When the muscles separate, the connective tissue that joins them stretches sideways. The more it stretches sideways the thinner and weaker it becomes.
    WHAT CAUSES A DIASTASIS?
    Everyone is born with their muscles separated. Whether it closes depends on the amount of force or pressure on the connective tissue that joins the outermost muscles. If the muscles close, they are always at risk for separating again when there is this continuous force on the connective tissue. Force can be caused by:
    Weight gain in the abdominal area
    Growing uterus during pregnancy
    Doing abdominal exercises incorrectly

    WHAT PROBLEMS ARE CAUSED BY A DIASTASIS?
    The function of the outermost muscles are to support your back and your organs. When the muscles separate this support system is weakened causing low back pain and the "mummy tummy " or “guy gut.” The mummy tummy or guy gut is actually your protruding organs. They are protruding because they are now being supported by a thin (saran wrap-like) piece of connective tissue instead of your muscles if they were together. If there is trauma to the abdominal area and the connective tissue is torn away from the muscle, your organs will come through and a ventral hernia can develop. Surgery will be required. A large diastasis on a pregnant woman will cause the uterus to tilt forward putting the cervix out of alignment. This will make pushing the baby out vaginally much more difficult.
    WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF CLOSING A DIASTASIS?
    Closing the diastasis will give you a flat belly, a smaller waist and relieve any back problems you are having. It will also make pushing in labor much more effective.


    Copied and pasted from here:

    http://www.yestheyareallours.com/2012/03/pictures-i-dont-want-to-show-you-and.html
  • fatolelatdy
    fatolelatdy Posts: 23 Member
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    i can only tell you from my experience. weight loss has helped mine. my doctor was opposed to the Tupler Technique belt (they want you to wear 24/7) since it would restrict blood supply to the area, so check with your doctor before trying that. when i drive or sit at my desk i am constantly sucking in my stomach and also doing a small pelvis tilt at the same time and holding for a few seconds.

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