Rectus diastasis after pregnancy? Here's what you can do about it!

Most people don't even know what a Rectus diastasis is. Many mothers do not realize that they have one. It is an abnormality of the straight abdominal muscles that are too far apart. You can see the gap most clearly near the navel. Pregnant women are particularly affected. Even months after giving birth, women are stunned to see how their abdomen still looks as if they were 4 months pregnant.

How do pregnant women get rectus diastasis?

Not every pregnant woman gets diastases, while there are other people who can suffer from the problem. There are several causes. Here are just a few of them:

• Consequence of the strong pressing activities during the birth phase
• Insufficient support of the uterus by the transverse abdominal muscles
• Poor posture and incorrect movements during strength exercises
• Excessive weight gain
• Multiple pregnancies
• Certain exercises
• Certain sporting or physical activities

It is usually only diagnosed after the birth, as small dilations are normal during pregnancy. If your lower and transverse abdominal muscles are too weak to support the growing uterus, there is excess pressure on the straight abdominal muscles. As a result, your connective tissue is stretched sideways and your organs push against it. This gives the impression of pregnancy after birth.
A severe diastasis of 2 to 2.5 fingers can lead to serious problems such as chronic lower back pain, instability in the lumbar region, digestive problems and - worst of all - hernias.

How can you test whether you have it?

You can use the following five steps of the Tupler technique to determine whether you have a rectus diastasis:

1. Lie on your back and bend your legs.
2. Place your middle three fingers on your belly button and point to your feet.
3. Relax your abdominal muscles and lift your head. If you were to tense your stomach, you could falsify the result.
4. Make a note of the first time your abdominal muscles come together. Lower and raise your head up and down several times to get a feel for how your muscles are working.
5. If the three fingers are not enough to feel the two straight abdominal muscles, use four or five.

If you feel your abdominal muscles tighten under your fingers during the movement, you don't have diastasis.

Movements and exercises that you should avoid if you have rectus diastasis

1. Any exercise that over-extends and strains your abdominal wall.
2. Certain yoga poses that stretch your abdominal muscles (e.g. cat-cow, upward facing dog, backbends, abdominal breathing, other quadruped exercises without sufficient abdominal support)
3. Pilates: mat and reformer exercises with "head swimming positions", upper body bends or double leg stretches)
4. Movements in which you turn your upper body and stretch the arm on that side away from your body (e.g. the triangle position)
5. Exercises with an exercise ball where you lean your upper body backwards
6. Basically all abdominal exercises in which the upper spine is bent against the floor or against gravity (crunches, oblique curls, "cycling", rolling up and down, etc.).

How to get rid of rectus diastasis and strengthen your abdominal muscles safely and correctly

Some women think that the only way to get rid of rectus diastasis is through surgery. This is a misconception. Without toning the muscles through strengthening exercises, you will get very similar symptoms again after surgery. Instead, you should do the right workouts to repair the damage. Not only will you strengthen your abdominal muscles, but you will also close the gap. This even works in more severe cases.

The key is to strengthen the inner and deepest abdominal muscles and the transverse abdominis (TVA) from the inside out. No crunches in the world will be able to help you directly with your problem. If you were to train only the straight and oblique abdominal muscles and inflate your upper abdominis, your weaker TVAs could cause an unsightly bulge in your abdomen. It also exacerbates your actual problem and leads to postural damage, back problems and instability in the lumbar region. Another problem would be caused by your lower back slumping if you work the abdomen without dedicated training of your main core muscles - the TVAs. This will result in pain and a further bulging of the abdomen.

However, it's never too late. You can start working out and get rid of diastasis even years after giving birth. It is recommended that you first address the cause of the diastasis before returning to your original program. However, if you want to continue with your other exercises, it may take a little longer. As long as you keep at it, you will succeed either way.
It's certainly a lot of work and quite exhausting. Nothing comes from nothing, but in a month's time you'll wish you'd started today. You can already feel the first differences in such a short time. It takes time, but it's worth it in the long run.

The following four approaches to the Tulper technique can help you with this:

1. Workouts (pelvic floor training, tension exercises, head lifting exercises. The exercises are the most important part. You should do several sets of all three per training session.
2. Splint or back belt (carrying and holding)
   You should wear the splint or belt as often as possible. This also applies at night. It may be tiring and annoying, but it helps you to keep your transverse abdominal muscles under tension. Wearing it also ensures that you always maintain the correct sitting posture, the correct stance and the best possible bending method. If possible, also wear this aid during training.
3. Use your transverse abdominal muscles in everything you do
   By "everything" we really mean everything. For example, use it when you laugh, cough, sneeze, walk up and down, exercise, go to the toilet or get up from bed. You live in a society that is constantly in a hurry. So this will be quite unusual, but you need to keep an eye on it all the time.
4. Perform all movements correctly (especially when lifting and lowering from a supine position)
   Unfortunately, getting up from a lying position is too often done incorrectly. It is very important that you perform the movements correctly when getting up and lying down. Especially in everyday situations, when you want to get up from a lying position or lie down to go to sleep, you need to pay attention to the correct techniques.