18 years post partum, after 2 c sections, and in the gym everyday, still looking pregnant, is so frustrating! The rest of my natural body is perfect! Thank you! I'm literally crying! 😢💖🙏🏽my gap is a fist!!!
OMG Sarah! This is gold! Thank you so so much for sharing so much valuable information! I am a medical doctor and I really wish more medical professionals educated themselves on this topic, especially gynecologists!
I'm glad RU-vid suggested this video. This explains what is happening to me. I did core exercises for months and my diastasis wasn't healing and started having Prolapse symptoms. I stopped because I was not progressing and I started to do stretching exercises for splits. I had really tight hip flexors and hamstrings. This helped a lot with my posture and I noticed my diastasis started to magically heal. Thanks for sharing all this valuable information.
Great video. My OBGYN (who is normally pretty great) told me while I was pregnant that I didn’t have DR when I clearly did (wth?). After I gave birth it was much more obvious and I even had my husband check to make sure I wasn’t crazy. He could fit a couple finger tips across (3 at the belly button) four fingers down in length, and the depth was at least a couple knuckles down (I was afraid to press further). My take from this: you are the one living in your body. Do not give up if you think your healthcare provider is not giving you the time/attention needed/not taking you seriously/not listening/etc. You can ask for a second opinion or ask that they check again and repeat your concerns because . . . You may be right like me! Trust your instincts, listen to your body, and look out for yourselves. Thanks to videos like this I have been slowly but surely healing. Thank you for the information :)
Thank you so much. I recently became an RMT and continually asked questions on this. I have wanted to heal mine for years as it makes me look bigger then I am and I miss my previous much smaller waist. I still have a bit of an hourglass the difference is shocking. I am so glad I found this and will be looking for more and sharing this with all my classmates
Thank you for this very thorough explanation, it's something that very woman that has been through pregnancy and given birth knows about. I love the fact you re-iterate that it is normal (rather than something to worry about) and the degrees of width and where the diastasis appears.
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your work and this video. It is absolutely about so much more than looks. And it is a tough sell because it is a process that requires so much patience. I feel like the missing pieces are finally starting to fall into place. Thank you for mentioning kipping because kipping actually led to a funny situation with a trainer at the gym.
You hit the nail on the head at the very end when you mentioned the pulling UP of your pubic bone. Almost like forward rolling your your hips and leaving it there.
This is awesome! My client recommended you. :) while I'm watching you, Im like it rings the bell lol some of my clients have the same issues. I can use what you're teaching here to help them have a better posture. Thank you 🙏
So glad you found it helpful! You might like the free minicourse I have for professionals. You can check it out here: www.coreexercisesolutions.com/pces-minicourse-signup/
I have my 1st baby in 2004, and continue in each 2 years, 3 girls, so i didnt gain weight too much & i have no problem with the core coz i always done my exercise everyday. Then in 2016 i fell off from motorcycle, having scoliosis, have my 4th baby in 2017, and when he's 5mo he gotta get ready for another sister (5th). Blame no one. Few minutes after giving birth, i realized something's different with the belly i'd being proud of.. Confusing of what scoliosis with DR can/cant do, i found this vid. Funny, coz i was really feeling depress after knowing i can press my fist into the core, but after understand the condition by this video & following the exercise minus movement that can worst my spine, the gap is now not more than two fingers, in a week!! I thank u soooo much for giving away your knowledge & help me a lot. Now i have to search out the work out of the skin that seems gonna be more difficult..
Dr. Sarah this is so awesome that you made this information available for us. I am weeks away from delivering my 5 th child and I was beginning to loose hope. You are absolutely right about the hanging into the hips issue. That’s how I stand most of the time. I looked at a few of my old postpartum post workout photos and my posture in those photos are exactly like your clients before you showed them the corrected posture. I’m serious both my arms hanging 🚶🏽♀️and the knees 🤦🏽♀️lol. I feel so motivated and I am glad I found this channel. I’m sooo looking forward to postpartum healing now. Okay off to your website now💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽
Thank you, so much, for this incredible information, Sarah! Women everywhere really need this. If we could only get more medical and fitness professionals as well as "regular people" to understand this better, it would be so very helpful.....I'm thinking particularly of the "holding your belly button in" and some of the exercises to "get your body back," etc. It's such a shame; these things that they mean to help you can end up hurting you instead. A better understanding of how our bodies work could prevent some of the problems we develop, and I really appreciate your efforts to get the information out. Thank you! :)
she actually helped a lot on healing my diastasis when she talked about the weight of body might go to your toes instead of the whole feet (see last slide) because of the weak core your posture have to shift even little.- one tip always IMAGINE that you are walking/ standing on your heals and relax your shoulders. that way it will help heal on it's own. try this one day you will see big difference on the next day. Edit (you have to do the during the whole day) literately it feels like you are using your core as you supposed to be.
Its given me hope - Yay - I've never been pregnant but 'some how' ended up with this problem anyways.. and for years i was doing more and more sit-ups in all variations along with other training, frustrated because my belly was getting bigger for no reason.. no one thought it was anything special, my mother kinda teased me with it, because now i wasn't so lean anymore, now i looked started to look like my family (i think she felt bad about herself and let it out on me) So im happy to hear someone talk about it like this, even tho you were just throwing muscles at us we had never heard of (wasn't that what you were saying).. Im sorry for the long rambling, English is my second language and its far past midnight, so i might not make a lot of sense - haha.. Anyways, thank you!
Glad I could help you figure out what is going on. DR is a pressure issue, so anyone can get it, even men. Now that you know what it is you can start working on fixing it, yay!
I'm 19 yo man, I have diastasis recti and pectus excavatum, so things are double hard for me cause I gas out pretty quickly, but i won't give up. Cheers from Chile, and thanks for your videos, they really help me.
Omg 4 babies later and I just realized this was a thing. I did the self check and it was almost scary! I have a completely open diastasis and especially near my belly button it's sooo huge!
Finding a good in person physical therapist or joining an online program such as our All-Access Membership would be a good idea. Never too late to heal! www.coreexercisesolutions.com/programs/
I have two children and my youngest is 9 years old, I'm now learning about DR and what it is. It's been frustrating having a high tummy and not being able to reduce it, it messes with your self esteem.
Have you thought about starting a small PT boot camp, I think you’re bio-mechanic concept is more than solid. And I agree that a lot of this probably varies with individual anatomy. -On a side note, I’ve found that mewing bring a natural contraction to the abs and pulls your head up as if from a string.
I do have a Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist Course for PTs, trainers, etc. It covers DR in-depth as well as pelvic floor issues and more. Interesting mewing cue!
Core Exercise Solutions yeah, let me know if you find it useful. To be precise it has to be the root of your tongue against the back roof of your mouth to feel the flexion, not the front of the tongue to the front of the roof. You might already know this but encase it’s important to get right for the results and the flexion. I’d appreciate a reply if you do find it useful, you feel it in the area below the navel. Also uniquely, your one of the few ahead of ball game looking at dorsal flexion in relation to hips and back loading. It puts you ahead of the curve.
This is very informative, thank you. I have lots of posture issues and it seems like every day another muscle or joint is causing pain, my PT just looks at me like I'm crazy or something. Time to look for another PT.
I really appreciate your passion and the information you shared. I don't think I got a good idea of the exercises you suggested for people suffering from Diastasis Recti
Thank You! Learned so much from this video. Never really got a real answer to what I had. I do believe this can be heriditary. My father also had this and he was ideal weight and a very active and fit person. I am 5' tall and my first baby was almost 10 lbs. , Then I had Irish twins, 8 lbs and 9 lbs. The last birth was a c- section. I have had this for years not realizing it and have lost and gained weight and that cycle happened several times. So I am certain now this made it worse and not knowing I probably did exercises that caused more damage. I wish I had a clue. I am going to invest in someone like yourself to help me repair my body. I I was an active kid & teen who played alot of sports. Now middle aged. So it's getting harder but I am determined to find the person who can help me, who knows what they are doing. Thank you so much for your knowledge and helping others!
So glad you found the video helpful! You can check out the graduate map of people who have taken my course to see if someone is in your area if you want: www.coreexercisesolutions.com/pces-graduate-map/
You mentioned that the motion of pulling the belly button in was really bad for posture. What's your opinion on stomach vacuuming or uddiyana bandha (stomach locks)?
Above my belly button I've a three finger gap after 7 years of my first pregnancy. One doctor told me it was stored fat but I weighed only 97 lbs after giving birth. My new doctor allowed me to know this is the actual problem of what was going on. Made me better to know what was going on. I'm now pregnant with my second child at 6 months. My gap has pushed forward and looks like an extra tiny belly lol
There are things you can do during pregnancy to help reduce the pressure on your DR. It would be worth seeing a women's health PT to get help with posture and breathing during pregnancy to reduce the pressure or I do have a perfect preggers workout program that goes over posture, breathing and troubleshooting aches and pains during pregnancy as well as working out safely during pregnancy. www.coreexercisesolutions.com is my website if you want to check it out more.
Here is an article about checking for a DR. You may find some helpful tips for checking www.coreexercisesolutions.com/how-to-check-for-diastasis-recti/
Does this cause a “B Belly” also? I’ve had one since I was a child, so before being overweight or having kids... I feel like the B Belly made it hard to check, as I could only feel where the dip is...
@@CoreExerciseSolutions Oh my goodness!! I’m so glad that you found this and responded! 👀 My mom’s “cute” little nickname for me since I was a little girl, like literally as early as kindergarten and maybe younger, was “belly child.” She was constantly on me about “sucking it in.” I’m 30 now, and I’ve done this almost my whole life 🤯 This’ll be an interesting habit to break 😅
I know this video is 4 yrs old but I think this may be my issue. I am 15 years post partum. I remember actually feeling the separation around my belly button then a hernia right after, appeared in my belly button. I also had a c section. I still have the hernia. I gained weight and am getting back into exercising and this is my biggest obstacle.
Help. Incontinence weakness. Urine leakage is embarrassing. Some people said it is Very common for women. Wearing pads & "Depends" is not fixable????? Exercise can help? Please?
Leaking is common but not something you have to live with. How you fix it depends on if your pelvic floor is truly just weak or if you have tightness and weakness together (common to see them together as you can't strengthen a tight muscle). My Pelvic Floor Perfect Program goes over all of this and how to address both. www.coreexercisesolutions.com if you want to find out more.
My DR is almost 15 years old. I was told after birth of my oldest son I needed surgery. So 10 years later I get pregnant again. He's now 4 years old. Is it too late to repair DR I've never really done any exercise to fix it? If I did they were all the wrong ones you listed.
25 years after 2 c-sections I got DR! I’m so frustrated! I cry every single day because I look fat. My clothes won’t fit anymore. People tell me I’m so fat. I have a bulge. I’m so depressed.
Okay definitely going to give it a try! My DR has gotten better since I had my daughter in March. But it’s still there. I wear a waist trainer and do the workout videos for healing it. But I never thought about posture. I was told you could only fix it with surgery but I felt that wasn’t entirely true. I also have a umbilical hernia. It’s not big but I would like my regular belly button back… Any tips on that?
There is no way to spot reduce body fat. Following a healthy diet and incorporating safe exercises will help reduce overall body fat but there is no guarantee where the fat will be reduced.
Yes! Great question. If lifting is done with poor pressure management and alignment then it can lead to diastasis as the constant stress on the linea alba will cause thinning. I have worked on many men with DR and actually have a program tailored for men with DR.
Hello Dr. Duvall, Thank you so much for this Video. It helped me notice my posture problems post preganacy and a c section. I can fit my whole fist inbetween there.. You give me hope. Thank you.:) how should the weight distribution feel on the feet? When I correct my posture ( hip tilt and ribs over pelvis) my heels feel more pressure than the front flat part of the feet. Also how should one's posture be while sitting down to have the rib cage over the pelvis? What excercies could help additionally to close the gap?
Check out this video. It is older but I talk about feet and how weight should be distributed in more depth along with more posture tips. Hope it helps! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jAu79AkOXek.html
This information is mind blowing for me. For 15 years after the birtrh of my 2nd daughter, I thought my body was ruined and looking like I was about to give birth to an alien every time I used my abdominals to get up and when I excercised. This is something I intend to continue to work on to correct. And now I am wondering if all of this is also why I ended up with a inquinal hernia, back pain on occasion. I saw a general surgeon whom said that the hernia will heal and correct itself with the loss of weight. Did that but still had that bulge above my navel but not near where the hernia was and the pain was gone so I figured I was just set with that abnormality. But I come across an actress over the weekend and she discussed this issue and I'm sitting her dumb founded seriously. I really heard this years before from a fitness expert she also had this after twins also with an hernia but I didn't put it together until recently that Diastasis Recti was my alien!!! I definitely have work to do.. Thank you so much for such detail in explaining and also about the posture as well as exercises. I am still going through alot of information and while sitting here at work during this pandemic madness. I've gone back to the being mindful of my posture from how I sit to how I stand etc. And will follow up with my doctor/gyn this month definitely going to see if I can get some p/t ordered.
Hi, I’m 6 months pp and at first I could fit 2 fingers in and now after about a month of doing DR healing exercises I’m down to 1 finger width and less than one knuckle deep. The tension also doesn’t feel squishy anymore. Does this mean I’m healed and can carry on doing normal ab workouts again? Thanks
That unfortunately does not necessarily mean you are healed. Is that tension while engaged or when unengaged? How are your everyday habits (breathing, posture etc)? If you go back to normal ab workout too soon or without progressing into them you could make your DR worse again. If you need help with progressing safely the All Access Membership would be great. The Core Exercise Solutions experts and I could help you make sure you are progressing safely and we can get your abs super strong! Here is a link if you wanted more information about it www.coreexercisesolutions.com/programs/
How about hula hoop exercises? Are they Diastasis Recti friendly? I am using hula hoop to reduce belly fat and I am doing fine... I also have two fingers gap.
I had my son 7 year ago and it is now that I see videos about this, I been doing all wrong thinking I just needed exercise. It is to late? Do I have to stop all does exercise ?
how can you tell if you have an umbilical hernia when you have diastasis recti? Is it possible to have both and does a hernia require surgery or could it possibly heal with proper physical training also?
You would have to have a doctor assess for a hernia but yes you can have both. Some hernias require surgery depending on their severity and risk of strangulation but your doctor could inform you more on that.
Dr. Duvall - it feels like it makes sense that to help DR to heal, that wearing something like an abdomen splint/band to help the sides of the open area to have less work bringing them together to enable the heal. And what if we don't know how long we've had the DR condition? Does greater time with condition decrease ability to heal or increase time to do so? Thank you.
There is not limit on healing. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lLuCZmjIqnM.html Here is an article I have about belly bands/splints www.coreexercisesolutions.com/belly-binding/
My son is 8 years and I am knowing about DR. I checked the way taught and found 1 finger deep at my belly button and nowhere else. Plz suggest me what exercise I do as I do have hanging belly.
@@CoreExerciseSolutions I used to do planks , reverse crunches, Russian twist, push ups but stopped them all after knowing about DR. I also do aerobic dances as a part of my routine which I have started just a month ago.
Any suggestions as where we can find someone that can help with diastasis? My OBGYN saw my big bulge in my stomach and she freaked out and didn't know what it was. This was 2 years ago and I only recently found out about Diastasis. But I have no idea where I can find help in my area.
Check out this page: www.coreexercisesolutions.com/pces-graduate-map/. Hopefully, there is someone in your area. Everyone on that page has taken my Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist course. If there is no one on the page in your area you can search for pelvic floor physical therapists or women health physical therapists online in your area. Be aware not all are knowledgable about Diastasis though. Or you could join my All-Access Membership (www.coreexercisesolutions.com/momfit/) and I could work with you online. I hope that helps!
Hi, Please if you can also upload some post pregnancy exercises as well? I have seen women who do planks after pregnancy but after watching this video I am scared to do planks. Thanks
Check out this video I have. It is great for progressing to planks postpartum (even if you do not have DR). ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-X1hH44qMx0U.html
Its going to depend on the person - a belly wrap can be great for support right after birth but I wouldn't use it too long as it can put pressure down on your pelvic floor.
Core Exercise Solutions / Dr. Duvall: QUESTION: I see here that you are saying body posture seems to play a major role in this condition, and of particular note the leaning forward over the hips and walking with locked knees. How much would a person with knee problems using a walker with minimal weight bearing be vulnerable to this condition due to the walker posture?
Check out this article. It is written for women but the same principles will apply about when I talk about binders. It should give you some ideas both ways. www.coreexercisesolutions.com/belly-binding/
Doctor Duvall, Thanks for this info but you need to target in the men's section as well. With obesity on the rise in the US there's a lot of men with this separation issue that don't have any idea how to fix it or they are using plank style exercises making the issue worse.
Great video :) what is your opinion on the Mutusystem? I started it 1.5 weeks ago to heal my 3 finger gap post 3 babies...I am 10 weeks PP. After baby #1 I didn’t know about diastasis until I did all the wrong things for months and then got pregnant with #2, so I was a lot more careful with the second and with this one, but I hope I can heal it without surgery...too bad I can’t fix the lose skin haha
I have never done the Mutu program myself so I do not have any knowledge to base an opinion off of. I do know I have many people who are in my program who tried Mutu first. That is the only knowledge I have about it.
I can't make a recommendation through youtube comments - but! I would find someone to work with you in person! Follow this link to find someone near you! www.coreexercisesolutions.com/pces-directory/
There are no specific exercises that will work for each person. DR is a very individualized issue and what may help one person will not help the next. Here is an article to give you some more information! www.coreexercisesolutions.com/diastasis-recti-definition-causes-and-treatment/
This one might help explain it ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Wx_k5T6Gie0.html. I have more specific videos in my membership but this one should help!
I have birth my children Twice n both by SC 🤦 now i have this problem ( Diastasis Recti) i want to fix it but i have not more time to do exercise, 🤦🤦 can i do this problem just by drinking sleam tea, doctor ?? 🥺
I am so sorry - Hard to say without seeing you move - sometimes diastasis recti will resolved on its own and sometimes it will need some focused work to get it to improve.
I'm having trouble feeling if there is a gap due to my belly lopping over where they cut me for my C section 19 yrs ago, when I was 45. Do you have any tips for me? A massage therapist suggested I may have diastasis, and one side droops lower than the other. Or is that a different issue?
Its so hard to know without seeing you - I would find someone in person to work with you ❤ Follow this link to find a PCES grad! www.coreexercisesolutions.com/pces-directory/
Great video!! I have a 10 finger gap which is huge😭 do you think exercise can help or need surgery. And what types of exercise can I do? I was told by my physiotherapist that the gap is to big and the only option I have is surgery.
First I think you need a new physiotherapist. How are your posture and breathing? They play a huge role in reducing stress on your linea alba and allowing it to heal. Some people do need surgery but not before trying to heal with a good PT. Exercise is harder to give out over the internet without seeing a person move. If you cannot find another PT in your area who specializes in DR I do have online programs to help with DR recovery.
Fascia can take a long time to remodel. But if you are seeing no progress at all you may want to reassess what you are doing and there may be a piece you have no worked on yet. DR is a whole body issue.