Divarication of Rectus Abdominis (separation of stomach muscles)

[MrsJonJon]

I was wondering if anyone out there had this and how you rectified it?

Mine came about from my twin pregnancy. My twins are now 20 months old and my split is still about 3 fingers wide - both above and below belly button.

I have had some physio but little improvement (to be fair, I could have tried harder). I was advised by someone that stomach crunches would only make the bulge more pronounced, so now I feel in a state of limbo. I want my stomach back to how it was (of course the twin skin is another matter...)

I have not ruled out surgery and would be interested to hear your experiences of this, if anyone has gone down this route, although a non-surgical route would be preferable. However, I was advised by the physio that it may not be possible to rectify this otherwise.

I am small build and fairly fit - I run and swim, whether this helps or hinders I don't know.

Thanks for any helpful comments.

Hi,

I have had this since my first ds was born 5 years ago. It seemed to gradually improve after going to yoga classes but the muscles didn't go right back together, probably about one finger gap. Since the birth of my second child it has got worse again. I keep thinking I must do more exercise to try to reduce the gap as I really don't like the appearance of my stomach area!

There is an exercise program I found on the net (if you google 'Mutu system' it comes up). She has a program for reducing a diastasis. Don't know how effective it is, but i'm about to give it a go myself!

Thanks Dirty - I'll look it up and give it a go.

Yes. I have. have not had twins but two 10lbs babies in two years and I was polyhydraminous with my first so lots of stretching going on.

Physio helped first time but I did have to put lots of hard work in (unfortunately). My second is now 8 months old and am about to start exercising properly again to help sort it.

I also recommend looking up Tupler. America lady who has a very helpful book with exercises for this particular problem.

Mine was so bad first time. An 8 finger separation running from the top of the muscle to the bottom.

I also had some torn muscle after a bad EMCS.

But the physio and hard work slowly did it and I got back to just under 1 finger seperation (which is what almost everyone who has had a baby has).

This time not as bad. It's 2 1/2 fingers now so less work.

Swimming and front crawl in particular was recommended by my physio. And avoid crunches at all cost.

You could also carry on with the exercises set by your physio along side your swimming.

Sorry no magic fix but with hard work it can be completely normal again. And trust me, mine was bad the first time around!

Hth

"Sorry no magic fix but with hard work it can be completely normal again."

Really, skandi? :)

Between my cut muscles (2 sections) and muscle separation (10lb DD2) my tummy is a disaster area.

pg again right now, so can't do anything for a bit, but so great to know I can get my core strength back.

Skandi - thank you. That's what I needed to hear!

I wasn't convinced by the physio, but I also know I'm a quick resuts kind of person, so when not much happenend in the first month I became disheartened.

I do swim front crawl and thought that might be helping, so good to have that confirmed too!

I guess just more of the above needed.....a lot more by the sound of things, but you sound like you had it much worse and turned it round.

Onwards and upwards!!

Yes it is hard work well with looking after babies and then having to pull yourself together (or what's left of your stomach muscles anyway).

The exercises given by the physio seem like very small movements and at first you do wonder how it's going to work. But it does if you keep doing them.

The Tupler method works too but most physios don't like it too much as some of her exercises put pressure on the pelvic floor in a downwArds direction. Wasn't an issue for me.

I was devastated by the state of my tummy area after my first pregnancy. The gap was so large my GP failed to spot it at the 6 week check. It looked horrendous. I was so ashamed. It did take several months of physio exercises and swimming to sort it out but I did go swimming in bikini when DD was a year old. And promptly fell pregnant with DS and now have hideous tum again.

So don't dispair. It can be helped enormously by exercise. There is the option of surgery but this is what my physio told me about it. It is held together (the muscles) with metal mesh. You clan risk tearing it/your muscle and the gap to reappear. You must not lift anything for 3 months after the surgery (impossible if you have children!). And unless your gap is centred only around your belly button, you will need to have a vertical incision all the way up.

The knock on effect for me of the very large gap was hip pain and particularly issues with my SI joints. Don't ever let GPs fob you off with the line that it is purely cosmetic. It isn't in more severe cases.

Currently I have a 3 finger ish gap. DS is 8 months and I am just starting major diet and exercise programme to deal with the gap (and fact that I am once again fat)

I did my physio exercises, but I didn't really have much faith in them.

I think I gave up too soon.

Next time I will be more persistent.

I definitely do not want surgery.

The cosmetic thing does bother me, but I want my core strength back - I too have had hip and back pain because of having no strength in my stomach muscles.

All those years of dancing and yoga

Pilates helps me a lot as it's all about gradual strengthening of core muscles
(that and riding, but riding is not an easy hobby to take up!!).

Pilates can be good, but you have to be careful to get a good instructor who knows her post natal stuff. If you can afford one-to-one instruction for a couple of months s/he might be able to help you learn a set of basic exercises.

Also, be realistic with timescales. With babies, infants and small kids it can be hard to find the time and energy to follow an exercise programme regularly (although clearly this depends on the amount of support you're getting at home). It wasn't really until my youngest hit 3-4 years that I was able to factor in regular swims and runs. My gap was not as large as yours but it was about 3 fingers wide and I still looked about 4 months pregnant all the time (people 'congratulated' me if I wore tunics!) Regular exercise (but not sit-ups or crunchies) has helped the general tone of this area to the point that I have happily bought a new tankini. It has taken the best part of 6 months though. Good luck.

Hello,

I had this after having my triplets. I had four months of physio before she was happy to discharge me. All the excercises she gave me involved tiny, tiny little movements but they did seem to do the trick. I was told that pilates and swimming would both help to get my body back into shape but I have to admit that I haven't yet managed either. Good luck with it.

Another vote for Pilates here. I had 6 months of post-birth physio for SPD and diastasis recti, followed by about 6 months of postnatal Pilates and all was fixed, including return to pre-birth weight and shape. You need to persevere though and not expect results too quickly: physio and Pilates instructor were v clear doing too much was as bad as not doing enough...

Would these exercises work if you muscles were ripped/torn rather than separated (off centre)?

" It has taken the best part of 6 months though. Good luck."

6 months to get into a tankini?!

Wow, well done! :)

I was doing Pilates when I got pregnant again. Will try that again when life calms down again.

My muscles were separated until DD was 18mo, even though i'd been doing the appropriate exercises since she was about 3mo. Then somehow, they just came back together from three fingers to under one. I kept up with the exercises and disregarded the don't do crunches advice. DD is 2.5 and there's virtually no separation.
Keep it up!
My skin on the other hand, is another matter with a much less happy ending ;)