Any advice from those with stomach muscle separation?

[Gemma Simone]

Hey. I've got awful separation of my stomach muscles following my pregnancy. At least 5cms . Ive been referred to physio but am yet to have my appointment. Just wondering what advice / exercises you were told to do? And any good news stories from mummy's who have successfully got your muscles back together???!!!

 

[XJessicaX]

I'm not sure what exercises to do to bring them back together, but there are a LOT of exercises you must never do as it can cause permenant seperation. I would research what not to do first!

 

[Gemma Simone]

thanks. i'm scared that i'm doing it wrong. i'm going to look 5 months pregnant for the rest of my life!!

 

[summer rain]

I know up in my mum's area they tell you to do a special, very gentle type of sit up where you hold together the two sides of your tummy while gently lifting your head-but they only advise this in the first six weeks, they told me if this didn't work I'd have to have physio but thankfully it did work and by six weeks it was completely sorted-my seperation was only 2-3cm though (still enough to be able to fit a couple of fingers in the gap; which I just had this horrible urge to keep doing for some weird reason, yuck!) xx

 

[fidget]

I had an 8cm separation, just take it easy for the early months and then gentle exercise. I asked my gp at my six week check for advise, I didn't exercise before then. I've now got maybe a cm? Gap so not bad

 

[Gemma Simone]

Thanks summer rain. Think I've missed the boat on that one as I'm 6 weeks into it already.

Fidget - that's great news!! Gives me a bit of hope and inspiration - thanks!

 

[xBabyGoose]

Glad im not alone here!
I also have a 5cm gap, i was so upset when i found out. When the physio came around to see me she told me to avoid sit ups at all costs, not to sit up straight from a lying down position but to roll to one side and sit up from there. She told me the baby is the heaviest thing i should be lifting right now (hard when theres stuff to do around the house though!)

She also give me some excersices to do -
1. Pelvic floor - do these all day as much as you can to really strengthen the muscles up and pull them together. I do them every time LO needs a feed so getting quite regular now and its only been 5 days but i can really feel them getting stronger. Avoid doing them when on the toilet!
2. Belly button pulls - lie flat on your back and place your feet flat on the floor pulling your knees up to the ceiling. Gently use the muscles to draw your belly button into your back, and hold for 10 seconds and release. Keep breathing steady a you do so. You may not be able to hold for the full 10 seconds at first so build it up and dont strain yourself too much. Do these as much as you can, you cannot over do them, the more you do, the more chance your stomach muscles have of pulling back together.
3. Wear a band! - I got given a belly wrap to wear just to hold my stomach together. (from the top of pubic bone to underneath my boobs) After labour my belly just flopped out and when I stood up I had difficulty in breathing and walking. The band made it so much easier to breathe and i was up and walking by myself within a cuple of days. Dont wear for long periods of time as your muscles can get lazy and rely on the band to hold them in too much. I wear for a couple of hours a day, usually when im most active.

One last thing - she also told me the first couple of weeks are cruicial for practicing these as its alot harder for them to draw back after a few weeks. My next check up is next monday so weill have to see if my efforts have paid off. I hope this helps

 

[Mooshie]

I am 21 weeks pp and I have this. I can fit my whole fist in the hole where my muscle used to be (so probably about 8-10cm gap).

My GP gave me ibuprofen and told me there was nothing I could do other than surgery!

 

[Louppey]

How do you know if you have this?

 

[aliss]

I recommend "Lose Your Mummy Tummy" by Tuppler. It's not a weight/fat loss type book, it's a rehabilitation book of exercises for Diastasis Recti. I do bodybuilding and a lot of women use this book to help rebuild their muscle after. I have it too, after a nearly 10lb whopper destroyed me

Here is her site
https://www.maternalfitness.com/

 

[dpayne]

I recommend "Lose Your Mummy Tummy" by Tuppler. It's not a weight/fat loss type book, it's a rehabilitation book of exercises for Diastasis Recti. I do bodybuilding and a lot of women use this book to help rebuild their muscle after. I have it too, after a nearly 10lb whopper destroyed me

Here is her site
https://www.maternalfitness.com/

I too have about a 3/4 finger gap, Im thinking about getting the book as have also heard its good, how long do you think it would take to close the gap if I followed the book correctly? x

 

[Gemma Simone]

Glad im not alone here!
I also have a 5cm gap, i was so upset when i found out. When the physio came around to see me she told me to avoid sit ups at all costs, not to sit up straight from a lying down position but to roll to one side and sit up from there. She told me the baby is the heaviest thing i should be lifting right now (hard when theres stuff to do around the house though!)

She also give me some excersices to do -
1. Pelvic floor - do these all day as much as you can to really strengthen the muscles up and pull them together. I do them every time LO needs a feed so getting quite regular now and its only been 5 days but i can really feel them getting stronger. Avoid doing them when on the toilet!
2. Belly button pulls - lie flat on your back and place your feet flat on the floor pulling your knees up to the ceiling. Gently use the muscles to draw your belly button into your back, and hold for 10 seconds and release. Keep breathing steady a you do so. You may not be able to hold for the full 10 seconds at first so build it up and dont strain yourself too much. Do these as much as you can, you cannot over do them, the more you do, the more chance your stomach muscles have of pulling back together.
3. Wear a band! - I got given a belly wrap to wear just to hold my stomach together. (from the top of pubic bone to underneath my boobs) After labour my belly just flopped out and when I stood up I had difficulty in breathing and walking. The band made it so much easier to breathe and i was up and walking by myself within a cuple of days. Dont wear for long periods of time as your muscles can get lazy and rely on the band to hold them in too much. I wear for a couple of hours a day, usually when im most active.

One last thing - she also told me the first couple of weeks are cruicial for practicing these as its alot harder for them to draw back after a few weeks. My next check up is next monday so weill have to see if my efforts have paid off. I hope this helps

thanks so much for taking the time to write all that info . very helpful. i spoke to a mum yesterday at a toddler group who is a physiotherapist and asked her opinion about exercises and told her about some of the info i'd read on the net, and she said that i shouldn't do the belly button pulls (which is what nearly every site suggests??!), but to do much more subtle exercises lower down. she explained the exercise as a gentle pull in as if you're trying to get in to a pair of tight hipster jeans (while lying down obviously). all very confusing as don't know whats right to do!
unfortunately i haven't managed to tighten my gap so far but i didn't feel well enough in the first few weeks as id had a csection.

let me know how your appointment goes in a couple of weeks. it'd be interesting to see how much your gap has closed. good luck! xx

 

[Gemma Simone]

I am 21 weeks pp and I have this. I can fit my whole fist in the hole where my muscle used to be (so probably about 8-10cm gap).

My GP gave me ibuprofen and told me there was nothing I could do other than surgery!

what a thoroughly unhelpful dr you have! i would still consult a physiotherapist. you can still lessen the gap even if you can't close it completely

 

[Gemma Simone]

How do you know if you have this?

if you lie on your back then your tummy will dip down in the middle if you have it. if you feel on your stomach you would be able to feel either side of the muscle and a gap in the middle

 

[Gemma Simone]

I recommend "Lose Your Mummy Tummy" by Tuppler. It's not a weight/fat loss type book, it's a rehabilitation book of exercises for Diastasis Recti. I do bodybuilding and a lot of women use this book to help rebuild their muscle after. I have it too, after a nearly 10lb whopper destroyed me

Here is her site
https://www.maternalfitness.com/

thanks aliss - i'll check this out. anything is worth a shot! i've had enough surgery on my tummy to last me a lifetime and don't want to have anymore!!

 

[summer rain]

Glad im not alone here!
I also have a 5cm gap, i was so upset when i found out. When the physio came around to see me she told me to avoid sit ups at all costs, not to sit up straight from a lying down position but to roll to one side and sit up from there. She told me the baby is the heaviest thing i should be lifting right now (hard when theres stuff to do around the house though!)

She also give me some excersices to do -
1. Pelvic floor - do these all day as much as you can to really strengthen the muscles up and pull them together. I do them every time LO needs a feed so getting quite regular now and its only been 5 days but i can really feel them getting stronger. Avoid doing them when on the toilet!
2. Belly button pulls - lie flat on your back and place your feet flat on the floor pulling your knees up to the ceiling. Gently use the muscles to draw your belly button into your back, and hold for 10 seconds and release. Keep breathing steady a you do so. You may not be able to hold for the full 10 seconds at first so build it up and dont strain yourself too much. Do these as much as you can, you cannot over do them, the more you do, the more chance your stomach muscles have of pulling back together.
3. Wear a band! - I got given a belly wrap to wear just to hold my stomach together. (from the top of pubic bone to underneath my boobs) After labour my belly just flopped out and when I stood up I had difficulty in breathing and walking. The band made it so much easier to breathe and i was up and walking by myself within a cuple of days. Dont wear for long periods of time as your muscles can get lazy and rely on the band to hold them in too much. I wear for a couple of hours a day, usually when im most active.

One last thing - she also told me the first couple of weeks are cruicial for practicing these as its alot harder for them to draw back after a few weeks. My next check up is next monday so weill have to see if my efforts have paid off. I hope this helps

yep the 'sit ups' that I was told to do were not true sit ups but lifting your head only 1-2 inches off the floor while holding the muscles together physically with your hands, very gentle and was told to avoid proper sit ups of course. This exercise was recommended by the physio department at the hospital where I had that particular LO xx