Core strength help

[EditEcho]

I have lost a good bit of weight over past 18months, regained some and am on track to losing again.

I do a few gym classes a week and some running. I love to run, it's my favourite exercise and ran a lot before having DD (now 3). However I'm constantly getting injured- minor things- muscle strains, tendonitis etc. Enough to put me out of action for a few weeks at a time. I think part of the problem is that I have an incredibly weak core since DD was born. Despite daily planking since last November I'm still unable to do a single exercise in a gym class which involves the use of my lower abs- sit ups, bicycle crunches, Russian twists. It's embarrassing and really upsetting me. I had a very complicated c-section, pph and bad post op infection so couldn't exercise for months. I still have no sensation about 5can above the scar and still have to roll to my side to sit up in bed. I have a diastesis but only about 2.5cm so not severe.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is it worth going to a specialist post-natal physio at this late stage?

Accordjng to the Mutu programme, we shouldn't be doing crunches anyway as they're not that effective and they can be damaging to the back, as well as exacerbating and diastasis recti problems.
The woman who runs Mutu trained with Katy Bowman, from the Nutritious Movement blog mentioned upthread, and devised her own programmme for healing diastasis recti. I find KB rather circuitous and confusing but there's dome useful information there.

Neck muscle exercises that cure ankle problems?

Pfffffttttt.

Walking miles in Loose fitting shoes is what gave me Achilles tendonitis.

I'm logging off now to listen to something credible tales of the Trump Administration soap opera.

Tbh, I think your exercise classes are too advanced - or at least, the abs sections of them are. Russian twists and crunches shouldn't be attempted by someone with an unhealed dr and will probably make it worse.
Have a read of the Mutu info, might shed some light.

Thanks everyone, I've been in touch with a specialist physio who will see me in a few weeks. She suggested some basic pelvic floor work in the meantime which I've been doing. I'm not sure the diastesis is bad enough on its own, but I had a pretty miserable delivery so there may well be more damage.

Sounds good - you'll be sorted! DR and pelvic floor are all connected so if one is weak the other probably will be. Any chance you could report back?

I will indeed!

Hi all, reporting back!
Have had some highly intimate sessions with a specialist physio and a pelvic MRI! There's quite a lot of scar tissue which is probably impacting on my sensation- so I'm using a pelvic educator device to work the muscles and things are improving already. I've dialled back running to a few slow miles a week and doing some adjusted Pilates classes (keeping aerobically fit with spinning and elliptical). She thinks it should keep improving quickly.

Wish I'd gone soon after delivery- after a long labour, failed instrumental and complicated c-section pelvic physio should be automatic really! Funny I'd forgotten about needing bladder retraining in the weeks after the delivery until the amazing physio brought it up.

That's brilliant. Good example of how these problems aren't 'just part of having had DC' and women don't just need to put with it. Glad you're getting better now and I agree that there should automatically be some pelvic physio after birth, especially difficult and/or complicated births.