So....I posted a few days ago about my preggo looking tummy. Went to the dr. today and he confirmed it; I have diastasis recti, which means my muscles have seperated. He basically told me for cosmetic reasons I need to see a plastic surgeon after I'm done having kids, if I would like to.
I asked him if there were any excercises I could do that would help without surgery. He said no one has ever asked him that, but he did something with sports medicine years ago and this is what he came up with; he said planks and oblique-like things would probably be good. Didn't know if it would make the tummy go away and he said I already have a ton of hard muscle on my stomach so he doesn't know how much it will really help. He did say crunches and sit-ups will most likely make it worse.
So....anyone have any other suggestions or sucess stories w/o having a major surgery?
Or....anyone have surgery? What did your surgeon recommend? About how much was it? We are wanting to have one more kiddo and I will probably not be able to afford a tummy tuck for at least five years, and I don't know if I would do it or not. I feel guilty about doing anything for myself. Is it vain to want a flat tummy? Maybe....but I am young (22) and thin. It looks ridiculous. I am a mom; I will probably never wear an itty bitty bikini again but I would like to have that option. I'm also tired of having to wear lose fitting clothes all of the time. I love to workout and am in pretty good shape and I hate having to wear shirts that make me look bigger. I am very thankful to have lost all the baby weight and to be back in a size 0-3 jeans but it is so embarassing to tell people that I am not expecting when they ask.
TIA!
I went to a physical therapist after having kids for pelvic floor issues, and she noticed my diastasis. She gave me PT exercises to do to help reduce the separation. I can't remember all of them, but I know that some involved holding the muscles together while doing leg raises. Sorry that I can't be more helpful, but you might want to consult a PT to help with this. I do know that it helped reduce the separation for me. (It was YEARS ago.)
It depends entirely on how bad your separation is.
2-3 fingers (how they measure it) can usually be corrected with exercise. The way to start is with deep breathing and pulling your belly button back towards your spine. I would also recommend a splint for a few weeks to train your abs to go back together (I simply tied a scarf around my waist).
Planks will retrain your transverse, which is the key mucle to train post-pregnancy. Again, remember to pull your belly button in towards your spine as you do them. That motion will begin the repair.
DO NOT DO CRUNCHES, and go very easy on obliques until your split is healed. You can test this by laying flat on the floor and lifting up your head. Feel along your belly button and up towards your ribs. How many fingers you can get in there will answer that for you.
A good video to get, if you prefer that guidance, is "Lose your Mummy Tummy" by Julie Tupler. It deals with diastasis recti specifically.
All this said, if your split is severe, exercise may do nothing for you. My SIL had a 5 finger split after 2 kids, and required a full tummy tuck and ab reconstruction to get back to normal. No amount of exercise she could do would help. If you're looking in to surgery, don't bother to do it until you're done having kids.
I just wanted to say--thanks, R., for posting this follow-up! There are lots of us moms here who have the belly pooch and wonder how bad it is and if it could ever get better with time & exercise. Thanks very much for sharing your story and don't feel guilty about wanting to look as good as you feel! I think it was brave to give all this information and good for you for taking such good care of yourself.
Best of luck to you.
I am sorry to hear about your problem. I have the same issue; however I am nearing 40 so I am not feeling so badly about it. I am eager to hear whether anything is successful for you because maybe it would work for me!
Best wishes!
Don't feel guilty. Yes, you are young. You'll have a LOT of years of feeling crappy and insecure about this if you don't take care of it. Sure, try the exercises, but don't feel guilty if surgery is the only solution.
I know a mom of six kids with amazing body, I think she has an success story you may want to see.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://n.b5z.net/i/u/...
There is nothing wrong with wanting to look your best and if it can't be accomplisehd w/ exercise and you can/want to do cosmetic surgery then you should do it. I am 40 and never thought that I would do any kind of plastic surgery but I am contemplating it now - strange how things change. I had 2 C-sections (one horizontal, one lateral) and the last one, they sewed me up crazy and left weird pooches on either side of the scar. So I know what you are feeling. If you think you will have some more children then you can't worry yourself about it until you are done. GOod luck.
You should call my chiropractor-kinesiologist in Wichita. Dr. Arnold's number is ###-###-####. I don't know if he can correct that or not, but he works on making the body's muscles function correctly. I'm sure he will tell you over the phone whether or not he can help with that, and if he can, it's way cheaper than surgery without the down time.
