The "mommy pouch" or Diastasis Recti (DRA) is a medical condition that needs addressing, rather than a moral failing of a mom postpartum to "bounce back."
It occurs when the abdominal wall is over-distended and loses the ability contract appropriately, creating a widening or gap in the most superficial layer of abdominal wall.
Often times we develop compensation strategies, where we overly rely on the wrong abdominal muscles to fire creating even more distention.
This could have been a problem prior to getting pregnant, and is exacerbated during the pregnancy.
This can occur even without a "gap" in the abdominal muscles, as faulty recruitment patterns in the core system can create a distended look in the abdominal wall postpartum. (This also happens in men).
But believe it or not, doing crunches, sit ups, v-ups and everything else you might be tempted to do in an Ab Lab class might actually be making it all worse!
Medical solutions for DRA include physical therapy and surgery, or abdominoplasty. Physical therapy should be used before and after surgery if surgery is required, in order to improve healing times and decrease risk of reoccurrence post op.
Physical Therapy is the best intervention for Diastasis Recti and should always be implemented before considering an Abdominoplasty.
To understand why this is, let's first get into what Diastasis Recti actually is. The word Diastasis means separation. Recti refers to the Rectus Abdominis, which are the two superficial strap-like muscles that comprise our "six-pack" abs.
We define DRA as a separation of two fingers, or two centimeters, however emerging research suggests that the depth is actually more a concern than the width of the gap.
Who gets Diastasis Recti
When DRA occurs, the two muscles are separated. This is a common occurrence during the later stages of pregnancy, but can also appear in infants, abdominal obesity, and IBS/constipation, abdominal surgeries, and heavy lifting with poor mechanics.
Diastasis Recti in Pregnancy
DRA is very common during pregnancy, normal DRA will occur around the third trimester and often spontaneously heal by 6-8 weeks postpartum.
27% of women in the second trimester have DRA
66% of women in the third trimester have DRA
53% persist immediately postpartum
36% remain at 7 weeks postpartum
(Boissonault and Bleschak)
Spontaneous healing of DRA only occurs up to 8 weeks postpartum. No further improvements will be made without intervention (Coldron Y et al). This is one reason why early postpartum physical therapy is so critical for moms. Moms can and should begin healing their DRA immediately postpartum.
Also, as mentioned above you do not have to have an actual separation to have misfiring in the abdominal muscles that physical therapy can help.
Can pelvic floor PT fix it?
Pelvic floor physical therapy will help retrain the core system to support the body and in doing so heal the DRA. Some clients find that their separation decreases, others regain strength and support but have no decrease in separation.
Pelvic floor physical therapy will always help restore the system to healthy function and strength, but only surgery is a guaranteed fix for the gap.
As abdominoplasty surgery is extremely invasive with a difficult recovery time and 40% failure rate, it is a great solution for moms that really need it but physical therapy should be implemented before and after to help improve recovery times and restore muscle function.
Conclusion
Pelvic floor physical therapy is an extremely important part of prenatal care and can help moms decrease severity and risk of developing DRA, as well as act to initiate early postpartum rehabilitation of the abdominal wall.
Physical therapy will improve function, strength, and decrease other risk factors associated with DRA. You can be strong even with a gap. You can even have a flat stomach with a gap!
You don't have to have a separation of abdominal muscles to have a "mommy tummy," because dysfunctional recruitment patterns will cause this as well.
If an Abdominoplasty is chosen for addressing DRA, physical therapy should be integrated before and after surgery to improve surgical outcomes and decrease reoccurrence of DRA post op.
If you are dealing with Diastasis Recti, or mommy tummy, make sure you book your session today!
Click here to schedule with us today!
Not local to Albuquerque? You can still get help. Click here for my online Pelvic Health Coaching Program!
Want to learn more about your pelvic floor or find out if pelvic floor physical therapy is for you? Make sure you check out our blog The Ultimate Guide to Know If Pelvic Floor PT is For You.
Boissonnault JS, Blaschak MJ. Incidence of diastasis recti abdominis during the childbearing year. Phys Ther. 1988 Jul;68(7):1082-6. doi: 10.1093/ptj/68.7.1082. PMID: 2968609.
Coldron Y, Stokes MJ, Newham DJ, Cook K. Postpartum characteristics of rectus abdominis on ultrasound imaging. Man Ther. 2008 May;13(2):112-21. doi: 10.1016/j.math.2006.10.001. Epub 2007 Jan 5. PMID: 17208034.
Comments