Diastasis recti repair exercises: do's and dont's
Looking for the finest Diastasis Recti exercises? Read our guide to the most and least effective moves before you execute a single crunch.
In this article:
Do I Suffer From Diastasis Recti?
The best exercises to fix diastasis recti
Diastasis Recti Exercises that you should avoid
It comes to reason that if you want to flatten out a rounder postpartum tummy (often called mommy pooch), you should hit the gym for a tough crunching regimen, right? Wrong! Months or years after giving birth, an abdominal disorder called diastasis recti could be the origin of that rounded—even still pregnant-looking—abdomen. Crunches, on the other hand, will not only fail to improve it but may even worsen it.
Keep reading if you have diastasis recti to learn which workouts you should avoid and which ones will help you repair your abdominal separation.
RELATED CONTENT - How to prevent diastasis recti?
Do I Suffer From Diastasis Recti?
Perform a simple self-test to detect whether you have diastasis recti, a gap between your right and left abdominal wall muscles that can cause a bulging pooch-like shape.
Begin by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Gently press down with your fingertips with one hand on your tummy (ensuring your fingers are on your midline at your navel). Bring your head up to perform a small crunch. You should keep your shoulders on the ground. Diastasis recti can be detected by feeling for separation along the sides of your rectus abdominis muscles.
The Recti Diastasis
The abdominal muscles that give you a "six pack" expand apart (left) during pregnancy to make room for a growing fetus. Muscles don't usually bounce back after birth, leaving a gap known as the mother pooch.
A very common medical issue
A diastasis recti is pretty common. According to a Norwegian research published last year, nearly a third of new mothers have diastasis recti a year after giving birth.
Dr. Geeta Sharma, an OB-GYN at Weill Cornell Medical Center-New York Presbyterian Hospital, adds, "This is such a widespread issue."
It's not simply a cosmetic issue, either. Diastasis recti can also cause lower back pain in new mothers.
"Because the core is weaker, people may experience back pain," Sharma explains.
The best exercises to fix diastasis recti
Do you want to work on your diastasis recti? Abdominal compressions, pelvic tilts, toe taps, heel slides, single-leg stretches, and bridges with belly scooping are among the exercises recommended by our professionals at BUFF BODY.
Rather of doing any action that pushes the belly button out, keep it pulled in at all times (and causes the telltale bulge on the midline).
Starting with the oblique muscles is a good way to bring the separated muscles together. Only strengthening the oblique muscles will put the two abdominal walls back together.
Dieter, the personal trainer from the BUFF BODY app, explains:
"Imagine your abs as a corset that runs from your hip bones to your ribs, and imagine the movement you'd use to tighten it: both hands pulling towards the center from the sides, similar to how the obliques do."
It's also important to know the correct breathing techniques. "To avoid creating a compression in the abdominal cavity, it is fundamental to exhale during moments of effort,"
Diastasis Recti Repair Exercises that you should avoid
Sit-ups and planks are examples of movements or exercises that strain the midline or cause the tummy to protrude outward. According to Kevin Brenner, M.D., F.A.C.S., a board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Beverly Hills, "when this technique is repeated aggressively and frequently, the degree of separation might actually deteriorate."
Heavy lifting and workouts that involve bending the spine or pushing the abdominal wall against gravity should also be avoided.
Crunches, oblique curls, reverse curls, and roll-ups are among the ab workouts that should be avoided. Moreover, backbends and other spinal extension motions are also out because they put too much stress on the stomach tissues. "Traditional activities for getting a six-pack will not provide you with the results you seek," explains Dieter, co-found of Buff Body.
More Exercises to stay away from
Some treatments for diastasis recti, such as employing an abdominal binder or a splint to flatten the stomach, might also be controversial. "Basic ab exercises performed with the midline splinted closed are ineffective. For long periods of time, neither of them is wearing any form of external support device.
Dieter explains: "Both of these popular, but ineffective, strategies do not effectively train the transverse abdominis to do its task of stabilization. Long-term use of an external support device can even impair the healthy functioning of the muscles."
Diastasis Recti Fix - The Free App
You can’t get rid of your mummy tummy, suffer from a bloated stomach or regularly experience back-pain?
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You can’t get rid of your mummy tummy?
You suffer from bloating?
You regularly experience back-pain?
You want to reduce the gap in your abdominals?
Chances are big you have a diastasis recti. Get everything you need to know plus a tested and proven exercise routine with Diastasis Recti Fix.
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