Please help - diastasis recti

[Diastasisrecti]

Hi there,
I am 8 weeks postpartum with my second little boy. I had him via my second (but this time planned) C-section. Unfortunately I have quite bad diastasis recti (about 5/6 cms in width) and in turn get quite bad back and tummy pain. I am trying to get back in to my fitness (albeit very slowly). During this unprecedented time we are all currently facing I can’t see any physio regarding this issue for the foreseeable future (typical really) and am after some advice. Anyone else who’s had this got any tips/advice etc and also would it be worth me getting an abdo wrap to hold my tummy in more? Will this help at all? Any advice gratefully received.
Many thanks,

Gabi xx

Are you on Instagram? I follow some people on there who have tips.

Have a look at themummycoach, sportexercisedramal and physiomumuk

Physios around me are doing FaceTime appts so that might be an option?

I found a wrap really helpful, just to give myself a break from achy back etc.

I did pilates with physios with three sane degree of d.r. and it helped hugely.

Id look online for physio led pilates, the must be a class somewhere either paid or YouTube. Just take it very very slowly..5 minutes a day.

That should say "I did pilates with physio for SAME DEGREE OF DR and it helped hugely" .

Pilates. Please speak to someone before you start as some exercises can make it worse. See if you can contact a Pilates teacher online and they’ll help you. I had this after 2 big babies in two years then again after a c section, I’ve been doing Pilates every week for a year now and it’s much better. Good luck.

Thank you - i am so will follow them now 😊

Thank you all so much for your replies.
Much appreciated.
I will try and contact my local hospital physio department but also contact a local Pilates teacher for help.
Did many of your use a belly band type support? Some advice says they are great and others say not so much?
Would rather mums advice with their personal experience to be fair.
Thanks again.
Gabi

I tried a belly band after baby number 2, but found it uncomfortable and it didn’t do anything for me that I could see.

Yes I did Pilates for similar gap and it made a huge difference, all closed now for a second time. But 8wks pp still very early, take exercise slow and in general don’t expect your body to be like it was for the best part of a year imo.

Pelvic floor exercises 3x daily as well, it’s all linked.

pregnancy belt. They work up to three months after pregnancy so go fo it.

Start doing MUTU. It will make you much stronger. Remember that it's not the size of the gap that matters, it's how functional your muscles are. I still have a gap, always will probably, but I am stronger and have learnt how to move/lift etc properly through MUTU and postnatal pilates.

Yes, get a belly bandit. After my twins I had awful back pain. It made a HUGE difference. I've been doing pilates, and the diastisis has actually healed really well. I'm now 3.5 months pp and it's no longer noticible.

I'm 5'4 and a size 10-12 and still have mine. If you'd like, PM me and I can post it to you to try.

Mine was about 16cm - I literally felt them tear apart twice during my second pregnancy (the tear going a little further up each time, like a zip 🤢).

This was nearly 10 yrs ago. Still slightly apart but I have good core strength and no problems. I had no choice but to wear a band to begin with - could see all my intestines moving about !!

So point was - don’t worry , don’t rush , will be fine 😀