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It’s important that every woman who has had a baby learn about a diastasis recti and gets checked to see if they have one. There’s much that can be done to help minimize a DR, but we need to keep this conversation going so women can learn about it and help to take care of themselves.
https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/wellbeing/diasasis-recti-after-pregnancy
We’ve all had injuries, either from some sports mishap or when you get tangled in the dog’s leash and fall over. What’s the first thing you do? Reach for the ice. We’ve always known (or thought, anyway) that icing that sprained ankle or swollen hand would be helpful to decrease pain and swelling after the injury. After all, putting ice on restricts blood flow to the area, which helps to numb the pain and keep any swelling under control. Were we wrong all along?
Research on how effective ice is following injury is spotty at best. A 2012 study in The British Journal of Sports Medicine determined that there were no studies that showed the effectiveness of icing after acute injuries. In fact, a 2013 study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research showed that icing actually delayed recovery of muscle damage.
Wait, what? Continue reading
We’re not talking halitosis here!
Breathing is something that happens naturally all day and night, right? Not necessarily. We often think of the “core” as just the abs and back muscles, but really it is the pelvic floor group at the bottom and the diaphragm at the top too. As we take in breath, the diaphragm descends (to allow space for the lungs to expand), the rib cage expands, and both the abdominal wall and pelvic floor relax. When we exhale it’s the opposite: the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles increase tension, the rib cage contracts, and some of the back muscles contracts to help with support.
When pregnant, the body has put on a good amount of weight in a short amount of time, fascia has lengthened, and sometimes after giving birth the body can almost “forget” this natural breathing pattern. Before any return to exercise, your physiotherapist needs to ensure that the sequence of core function with breathing is normal and proper.
Faulty breathing patterns will slow down the return of your pelvic floor and the rest of your core to normal function! If there is a Diastasis Recti (i.e separation of abdominal muscles after childbirth), performing pelvic floor and abdominal exercises to help close this will not be effective. Bad breathing strategies can lead to increased abdominal pressure that can impact both your abdominal muscles and your pelvic floor. Not cool.
What to do? Your Physiotherapist needs to ensure proper function with breath of the diaphragm, pelvic floor, abdominals, deep back muscles, hips, and lower back. If they’re not behaving properly, then cuing, visualization, and different exercises are prescribed to restore the proper movement. Once the “normal”, functional breathing pattern is back, other exercises can be prescribed and progressed to help with strengthening the pelvic floor, helping any diastasis recti, and returning to regular activities.
But it all starts with the breath!
