Diastasis Recti

Diastasis Recti

After pregnancy, there are many women who have a "baby belly" or a "mummy tummy". No matter what a woman may call the condition, it is still a horrible after effect of child bearing. So what exactly causes the pooch that you have that you cannot get rid of after your bundle of joy is here? There are many different reasons that a woman's belly may be lax or sagging. There is loose skin, excess fat from weight gain, or another condition called diastasis recti.

Diastasis Recti is a separation of the recti muscles, or six-pack abs. The separation runs down the middle of your abdomen disconnecting from the linea alba, a fibrous tissue that holds those muscles together. This separation is painless and is inevitable in some women. During the pregnancy, the growing uterus pushes against the abs and the pressure causes the muscles to separate causing the diastasis.

In order to check to for diastasis recti, the woman should lay on her back with her feet close to her buttocks. With her fingers perpendicular to the floor, she should place them on her belly button. She should then lift her head from the floor and bring her chin to her chest. Then she should feel with her other hand three inches below and above her belly button. If she has a diastasis her fingers will fall into a ridge. If she does not have a ridge, congratulations she does not have a diastasis. If she has one finger width of space she is most likely okay enough to continue regular abdominal exercises. If she has a separation of two fingers or more then she may want to do exercises to strengthen her muscles without compromising her diastasis and making it much larger. There is a common technique called the Tupler Technique that describes how a woman can do specially formulated exercises to close the diastasis. Since a woman's abdominal muscles help strengthen the back and spine, it is important to keep the muscles strong.