Seperated Abs?

cng1117
cng1117 Posts: 225 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
Someone near and dear to my heart has recently informed me that I'll probably need to have surgery after losing all this weight because my abs will be separated and no amount of exercise will fix that. Now, I'm peeved about the statement for more than one reason, but, my main concern is, is this true? I've searched online and the only thing I've found is that separated abs is related to pregnancy, but I've never had children. Has anyone else had this?? I'm going to be real ticked if I lose all this weight and still end up with f'd up abs lol....

Replies

  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    It's my understanding that its generally from a c section...? I've never heard of it just from losing weight.
  • Nadyasmom
    Nadyasmom Posts: 281
    I'm no expert, so don't take this as the final answer...but...

    I had two little girls back to back, love them to pieces, definitely don't love what happened to my body as a result. My abs definitely separated during the pregnancies.

    However, I'm now here, after losing all the baby weight plus 10 extra, and my abs are certainly not as bad as they were. The fat is still there, but I had that before kids. As for the muscles though, when I flex, I do feel a little bit of the separation leftover, but nothing like it was.

    It requires not only strengthening the ab muscles, but you have to really focus on the whole core. Over time, it will tighten up.
  • believetoachieve
    believetoachieve Posts: 675 Member
    I read an article on this. In it, it basically said that it happens mostly to pregnant women, but even many of those don't always experience it. Often, its just inactivity of the muscles themselves. To find out for sure, you'd get an ultrasound done. But the odds are low, don't worry! :flowerforyou:
  • slapshotgolf
    slapshotgolf Posts: 163 Member
    Unless this person near and dear to you has a license to practice medicine, I wouldn't worry too much. Keep up the great work, and don't let others discourage you...
  • CurriedGrasshopper
    CurriedGrasshopper Posts: 86 Member
    Often seperation of the abdominal muscles (diastasis recti) is caused by pregnancy, but it can also be caused by other sorts of trauma or injury, or sometimes damage caused by very weak muscles.

    A way to test if you have seperation is to lay on the floor on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Then lift your head off the ground as if you are going to do a crunch, you don't need to actually do a crunch, but tense your abdomen like you're going to. While your core muscles are tight reach with your hand and press down the centre. If you feel a gap you have some separation. If it's only 1 or 2 fingers it can be repaired by doing proper strengthening moves, if it's greater then 3 fingers it usually requires surgery to correct.

    Many healthy people have a half to 1 finger width separation and is not a cause for concern.
  • kdao
    kdao Posts: 265
    Yes, it is the most common with pregnancies. After having 5 kids, mine are definitely separated and no amount of working out will correct it. I am getting a tummy tuck with muscle repair in June :smile:
  • hroush
    hroush Posts: 2,073 Member
    I've read many 100+ losses on here (I'm close to that) and I have never heard anything like that. I think you should tell your friend to check their sources.
  • vunn01
    vunn01 Posts: 2
    I'm pretty familiar with it. I have it as well. It's called diastasis recti. I had my second child at 41 and the muscles didn't separate until about 3 years later. It has nothing to do with the separation but I also have a hernia. I talked to the hernia surgeon about it. He says the muscles separate due to weakness and due to pressure on them. You can have the pressure due to pregnancy, but also due to being overweight. I need to lose 100 pounds so the big baby (9.5 pounds) and all the weight lead to this predicament. The bad news is that for me it causes a bulge that makes me look about 5 months pregnant. The bulge is firm, but painless. The surgeon strongly recommends against surgery. He says if it works, it will only be temporary and the muscles will split again. He says he has seen it happen with many patients who went to plastic surgeons. It is also a pretty major surgery - those large muscles have to be sewn together. I have seen a number of sites for new moms that say certain exercises help (never do sit ups though!) www.befitmom.com I plan to try that once the weight starts coming off. Until then, the answer is jackets and spanx. If anyone has any better news, I'd be glad to hear it. By the way, are you sure you have it. A good doctor knows how to feel for it.
  • cng1117
    cng1117 Posts: 225 Member
    Thank ya'll very much!!! I appreciate all the feedback and will keep doing the crunches. :happy:
  • vunn01
    vunn01 Posts: 2
    Me again.....you may be joking, but seriously, do not do crunches. At least until you're sure you don't have a separation. All the docs, therapists, etc. say that crunches make it worse.
  • danielsmommy10
    danielsmommy10 Posts: 18
    my midwife told me that i should do crunches to push mine back together after i had my son. she said that the seperation can cause problems later in life. i had a c-section, but i don't know if that's why, i think it was the pregnancy, not sure.
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