Do I need collagen powder to heal my DR?

[PersisFord]

I've just seen a physio about my diastasis recti - she says it is 3 fingers wide at its widest point but is very deep which means my connective tissues are very poor and I need to take collagen powder to restore them.

I was a bit blindsided by the whole thing - I knew I had a gap but it is so much better than it was and I have started running a bit again and doing some circuits (no sit-ups, but some planks) and was really starting to feel better about myself after 2 fairly traumatic pregnancies and CSs in less than 2 years. So her pronouncements of gloom ("leaky old lady" is sticking in my mind) really took me by surprise and to be honest, i just wanted to leave so I could go and have a nice cry in the car. I've done that now, and I will seek some more help for my poor tummy (not from her though!!)....but do I need this collagen powder? She also suggested rosehip oil for my "dreadful stretch marks" which sounds expensive and unnecessary....is the collagen powder in the same camp or should I invest?

Pretty sure the powder won't help
It'll just be broken down into the constituent amino acids a d absorbed rather than being absorbed whole as collagen which can be used.
IMO just a good diet with sufficient protein should be fine.

I'm that she called you a leaky old lady

AFAIK you're best with specialist help for this but she sounds like a bitch
Can you go to someone else?
What about a Pilate's instructor with experience of diastis recti?

No and no.

I'd see a different physio. BTW I've seen a specialist sports physio who still has a diastasis recti and if she couldn't put hers back together no-one can, her core was rock solid.

You can't really eat collagen - it's a protein so it gets digested into it's constituent parts of amino acids and your body then puts it back together into whatever it thinks is a priority - which might not be collagen where you want it. So it's a waste of money. You just need a healthy diet.

Nothing is proven to work for stretch marks. Happily stretch marks from pregancy do seem to go quicker than other stretch marks but they go or don't go according to their own free will. Of course if you've invested a lot of time and energy rubbing oil into them you will think the oil helped - especially if the oil was expensive.

I'd be suspicious this physio is more interested in selling you products and making you feel bad about yourself (dreadful stretch marks - you made a baby, you are amazing!) than giving you realistic goals for treatment.

Thank you!! I left in the pits of despair but am glad I didn't get suckered into buying anything from her. And I am 35 and I have had 2 children - I'm ok with not looking like I did at 18! But I hadn't thought of myself as an old lady.

People are so mean, aren't they? The first time I ventured out with my PFB in a sling someone handed me a flyer for slimming world. Don't think I left the house again for a fortnight!

She said 45g of protein a day, of which 15 should be her special powders. Is that a sensible amount to aim for?! I just normally eat normal things I think - a few too many biscuits maybe. But I think you can get an app to track it so I will if it will help.

The stretch marks are neither here nor there, I am not (or wasn't!) bothered by them, they aren't why I went to see her, and I'm pretty upset that she decided to comment on them!!

Would Pilates help? I'm not after a flat stomach but it is depressing to still look quite so pregnant.

Thanks again, and for being so nice. It's made me cry again, but in a good way!

Thing is if she's mean but in a 'but I can really help you way' it makes you dependent on her and it's a great sales technique.

I would ignore all of her advice as I think she's talking out of her arse. 45g protein is the recommended daily amount for a women - but it is piss easy to eat this, the average UK woman does it without trying. Most UK people eat 45-55% more protein than they need each day anyway.

www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z8899j6

Strengthening your core won't do up the gap but might make everything flatter. Have you seen your GP? Also lots of physios are also trained in Pilates, see if you can find one.

of which 15 should be her special powders
she's a bloomin' snake oil sales person...or snake powder

Pilates is generally regarded as good for helping you to 'get in touch with your core' perhaps see if you can get a recommendation from someone who has had similar problems?
You deserve someone professional, well trained and kind:)

That is exactly what she was like!! And all the collagen stuff sounded plausible, it was the rosehip oil that set off my bullshit alarm! I just assumed that a physio would be more professional than that but I guess she has her bills to pay like everyone else.

Thanks fir the links. I'll look into it. And thanks again for being nice!!

I've had another little cry at the thought of someone well trained, professional and kind!! That would be lovely, and worth looking hard for. I was pretty ready to give up and become a recluse but maybe it's not necessary! and Pilates classes would be a nice way to get out of the house and meet people so 2 birds with one stone.

Have you heard of Mutu? It's an exercise system you buy once then get lifetime access to, with updates and a facebook support group, specifically for dr and weak pelvic floor.
A lot of people swear by it, and you'll prob find recommendations on mn as well. The exercises are designed to avoid theintra-abdominal pressure that causes/aggravate dr (planks are implicated in that), and also covers alignment and diet (although I don't bother with the diet side of it - too low-carby for me).

I've just had a look at it - is it easy to follow the exercises and things? Much cheaper than physio!!!

I'm not really doing it at the moment -, having to do exercises (from the physio, ironically), for qn arthritic shoulder so am concentratjng on that for a while.
Depends on how far you want to take really. There's the Core lrogramme which is about 15-20 mins of stretching and gentle abs stuff, plus some basic squats/lunges. You follow that for about12 wks, but you stay on each level until you're strong enough to move on. If you add the Focus elenent, you'll do the core stuff every day but add in three or four more intensivecsessions a week, lasting about 25 mins each. Plus, no matter what, you aim to walk for half an hour a day.
I never got beyond week three of core (spent about a month on each level), and the gap was closing but I opened it again running for a train .
It is quite time-consuming but you can fit it in by doing small biys throughout the day rather than in one go, and I got quite good at doing it in front of the telly at night!
On the website there's a list of recomnended women's physios/physical therapists. Might ne a good starting point seeing one of those. Out of interest, how did you know had a dr? I didn't think many people got diagnosed as medics don't generally know much about it.

Oh, the other thing uou could look at is the new Katy Bowman book on dr. She's an American 'bio-machanist' I think (made up term I reckon), who has a blog about all things alignment and post natal. Also barefoot shoes are a Big Thing but I find them ugly and expensive.
I think the Mutu founder has also done some training with Bowman (they seem to recommend each other and be on similar wavelengths).

Mechanist not machanist - sorry for all the typos!

bio-mechanics is a recognized discipline

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomechanics

I like Katy Bowman, very anti high heels!

I stand corrected - if it's on Wiki it must be true!
I quite like KB also, although I do think her blog is made to be impenetrable so you'll give up searching for the information and just buy one of her 'alignment snacks.'

She does come across as a bit wacky
Perhaps KB is a maverick biomechanic

Wow, I am lost . I think I'll go to my GP and discuss it. The problem I have is that I am quite unlikely to do any exercises due to having no real interest in my body anymore - does that sound weird? So I know academically that it would be a good thing for me to be in better shape, and I know that my core is weak, and I know i would look better if it wasn't....but I feel like all my motivation was just slapped out of me because I will never have a flat tummy again and will always have stretch marks and a caesarean scar, and what's the point, really? And if incontinence is really inevitable then I will just have to be incontinent.

Sorry, you've all been really helpful. I just think I'm not ready to tackle such an enormous obstacle!

PS glad I didn't buy her stupid powder though!!

Sorry I accidentally c&p'd a private message - mn were really quick on the ball thankfully!
Anyway, I didn't mean to confuddle you! A bit of info here on finding a women's physio. It's not all about flat abs though; you can aim to stop the leaking and you may well achieve that, but there's no harm in leaving it ubtil you feel more up to it. Best of luck at the gp's.

Peris, few of us will be cosmetically perfect but life is a lot better if you keep your muscles strong and all your organs functioning properly.
It is worth getting this problem sorted.
Lots of people find exercise helps them to feel mentally more able to engage with other area's of life, the benefits spill over.
If your body feels better your mind feels better, it can become a positive spiral

You are right, and very nice.
I think once I got started it would prob be ok. I'm just a bit tired and miserable, and it took a lot of energy and organisation to arrange the physio appointment in the first place!
I think I will talk to the GP about physio, and maybe try and get to a Pilates class - I like getting out the house and seeing people, and hopefully at some stage the baby will start sleeping and I will have the energy! You're right, i should think less about what I look like and more about being strong and healing myself. And if it makes me feel a bit more positive in general then it is a good thing!!

Thanks again