Mothers With Rectal Diastasis Need Physical Therapy, Not a Mummy Tummy Exercise
Abdominal swelling after childbirth is common – diastasis of the rectus abdominis (DR), the medical term for abdominal separation, occurs in 37% of women who have one pregnancy and 67% of women who have multiple pregnancies . However, this does not make women less painful physically or psychologically. I didn’t like looking pregnant when my baby was out of my body and was already eating solid foods.
NPR’s recent history welcomes quick fixes. The tabloid-style headline screams, ” Flatten Mummy Belly With One Exercise, 10 Minutes a Day .” A fitness trainer and doctor have come up with a technique that can shrink the dreaded “doggy mom” —it involves keeping your back straight, pulling your abdominal muscles towards your spine, and then taking tiny breaths, pushing your belly back further and further. with every exhalation. The women claim that after just three weeks, they saw “amazing” results.
While this exercise can be very helpful in shaving off centimeters of your abdominal circumference, some physiotherapists are concerned about the NPR article, which looks a bit like a promotional video that is too good to be true.
“First, just not,” writes Jessica Dufault , owner of Mindful Motion Physical Therapy in Madison, Wisconsin. “It’s a big disservice to tell women that one exercise for just FEW minutes a day will fix DR. What about how we use our bodies the other 23 hours and 50 minutes? I think it’s much more important to think about how we sit, stand, carry babies, lift weights, bend over, squat and carry car seats! This is not about “training” the core, but about “retraining” the core. I have worked with many DR clients and I am sure this is not an easy or quick solution. “
Dufault believes that the idea that we just need to “suck in” more should disappear.
Pulling in your abdominal muscles can do more harm than help. Consider squeezing the center of the balloon. If we create excess stress in the center, where will the pressure in the cylinder go? Up and down. Any direction is problematic, but it is especially dangerous downward because of the pressure and stress on the pelvic organs and the pelvic floor.
She believes we need to change a culture based on a flat-fit mentality and focus instead on being functionally strong.
Fitness writer Nicole Radziszewski had similar concerns .
Diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscles is not just an abdominal problem. This is the problem of centering the whole body and pressure systems. This is why, unfortunately, one exercise of 10 minutes a day is not enough. Suppose you do multiple sets of exercise that brings your rectus muscles closer together, but then you spend the rest of the day standing with extended ribs and pulling in your abdomen – both of these factors increase pressure on the white line of the abdomen and promote diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscles. Your alignment and breathing patterns just wiped out everything you achieved with basic training.
Both women urge moms who suspect they have DR to talk to a physical therapist who should be covered by most insurance plans, including Medicare, workers’ compensation, and private insurance companies. A physical therapist can help with posture, stretching, fixation, and teach you how to perform daily activities such as lifting and carrying a baby while maintaining correct posture. Dufault is also a proponent of home systems like Restore Your Core and One Strong Mama .
Regarding the Belly Mummy exercise, Dufault tells me, “I wish it were that simple. Right! “