Has anyone tried Sharny & Julius?

[Tryingtogetitright]

I keep seeing their adverts on Facebook. I have diastasis recti and an umbilical hernia. Had physio a few years ago which helped a lot but I've lost a lot of core muscle strength since then. Considering this but wondered if anyone had tried it and what your thoughts are?

Gcox, it’s good to hear your thoughts. Yes, you’re right of course in that after having a diastasis recti your muscles will never be the same again. It took me a while to accept this. That’s not to say you can’t be functional again without surgery. I thought for a long time that the bigger the gap, the bigger the problem. After seeing a few different physios over the past year I recently learnt that it’s not the width of the gap that we need to be concerned about but whether or not we can create tension in the gap. Whether strong fascia tissue has developed to hold the core together nice and strong. I can’t say I stuck with the S&J programme. I’m just not that organised but I was getting good progress, really fast too. I did lots of pilates style exercises and weighted squats and lunges and focussed a lot on breathing. I went from three years ago not being able to run a few meters without suffering back pain, suffering from incontinence and having concerns over prolapse issues, to taking part in long-distance triathlons, feeling both pain-free and strong. My gap is still around two fingers wide but you can feel tension in there from strong tissue that is knitting the sides together. I can only speak about my personal experience but the exercise route has worked for me. My advice would definitely be to see a women’s health physio and go from there. The last thing I’d like to add is that S&J was definitely fantastic for getting a flatter looking tummy again. I was amazed how quickly too. It might be just aesthetics but that’s all some people are aiming for anyway. The only thing I would say is to make sure you breathe and relax after each set of reps. I started to get overactive muscles which was causing stress incontinence. (The pelvic floor muscles were staying switched on and so would tire and not be able to do their job throughout the day). Whatever you decide ladies, definitely see a women’s health physio as well, it’s never too late, because we’re all different so need to be treated on an individual basis. Good luck!

@harista - really interested in your opinions. I’ve got ab separation, 2 years pp with my second child. I’m very fit and active and quite slim, but have a bulge above my naval and constant lower back pain. I’ve seen a couple of physios and also seen an NHS surgeon (who wouldn’t go near it!) so feeling at a loss. I really want the bulge to reduce (I can’t wear any of my old clothes) and my back pain to go. But I also want to carry on exercising! Would you say the S&J is worth it? Do you think it could help flatten my tummy and reduce back pain?

HanGie I’m so sorry to hear this. Were they specialist women’s health physios? What did they say and tell you to do? I definitely think most physios don’t have a specialist knowledge of pelvic floor health and dysfunction so it’s worth hunting for the right one for you. I found my wonderful physio through thepogp.co.uk (POGP stands for Pelvic Obstetric & Gynaecological Physiotherapy). It’s: “A UK based Professional Network affiliated to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy...members are chartered physiotherapists with a clinical interest and/or speciality in pelvic, obstetric and gynaecological physiotherapy.” They have a ‘find a physio’ function on their page. As to whether S&J will work for you, I really don’t know for sure, but it’s something else to try if you haven’t had much luck elsewhere. Just be prepared to work internally as a previous poster explained, you do need to be comfortable with that. That being said I do think if you’re in a lot of pain I’d be trying to work out what’s going on there with a medical professional. My thoughts are you just need to find the right one! I really hope you can get it sorted.

Question for Waddy, and anyone else who can help - did you follow the strong core and pelvic floor program in the end? How did you get on? Did it help with the prolapse and symptoms? I'm in similar situation to you and am considering purchasing this if it'll help with this and also the diastasis recti I still have. Many thanks.