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Stomach muscles have separated - help!

6 replies

DropsofJupiter1980 · 05/07/2017 11:16

I am 5 months pregnant with my second child and have been diagnosed with divarication of the rectus abdominis muscles (basically, my stomach muscles have separated ):

www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/resources/patient-information/therapies/physiotherapy/DRAM.pdf

I did not have this in my first pregnancy. It is extremely painful! It doesn't hurt all the time, but when it does it is absolute agony and feels a bit like my womb is about to explode through my stomach!! I wondered if anyone else has experienced this and has any tips on how to manage it? I've been told by the obstetrician that it is rare and there is nothing they can do - other than recommend paracetamol and a warm bath . A warm bath is not ideal in a heatwave when you are commuting home on a packed train from London! I can't describe how painful it is - think sweating, taking my breath away, passing out kind of pain - so if anyone has experienced this too I'd appreciate any tips/support you may have!

Thanks in advance! xx

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Lemondrop99 · 05/07/2017 11:55

I know nothing about this, but would a maternity support belly band help? I don't know, it's just a thought.

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chelle85 · 05/07/2017 12:02

Have a look a kinesiology taping for diastasis recti. You may need to visit a physiotherapist for them to show yyou how to apply it properly (it can be uncomfortable and cause skin irritation if too tight) but it should help to support the muscles.

Has your linea alba actually ripped?

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Dede124 · 05/07/2017 12:06

I can imagine that's really painful! Is there some kind of support you can get? Did she say how soon it would repair after birth??x

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annlee3817 · 05/07/2017 13:20

I had this, but it didn't cause me pain, they split and now two years later I still have a 1cm gap that I am working on closing, it was 2-3cm. Would definitely see if a Physio could help, it may be that you have a bigger gap, which is why it hurts so much?

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DropsofJupiter1980 · 05/07/2017 14:05

Thanks for your comments!

I am looking into some support methods/belts. I will also ask about physio. They didn't say anything about the linea alba but will ask about this.

annlee he said it is rare but didn't seem surprised at the pain...you may be right, maybe the gap is bigger. Lucky me! Although I did have lots of weird and wonderful things first time round so maybe this is one for this pregnancy! I will ask xx

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chelle85 · 05/07/2017 17:30

Abdominal seperation isn't rare which is why I asked whether the linea alba is torn. What normally happens is that this softens and thins which causes the seperation but this happens to a certain degree is all pregnancies. Up to 30% of pregnant women will have seperation up to 4 fingers wide.

You definitely shouldn't be being left to suffer with the pain eapecially as you are only 5mths gone. Physio can definitely help during pregnancy but most of the recovery would be afterwards