Hey Mommas! My name is Courtney Cassidy; I am a mom of four amazing kids and the owner of Harmony Health and Fitness. I started this small business in my first maternity leave when I became aware that there were no fitness classes offered for moms and babies at the time. I was also fairly new to Chestermere and was seeking a support system given the complete change of life I experienced with my first.
I had already been a Fitness Instructor for six years at the time but wanted to pursue a pre and post natal specialty to explore the option of running classes that moms could go to with their babes. On my journey of learning more this special time and the affects that it has on our bodies, I learned a lot about Diastasis Recti (DR) or abdominal separation. It was alarming for me to hear that DR occurs in up to 50% of pregnancies in the 3rd trimester, I had no idea that this could happen to women even though I was pregnant at the time. Surprisingly, there was no mention of it throughout my pregnancy and nothing was said at my 6 week post-partum check-up. Had I not known, I would have carried on with my regular exercise routine post-pregnancy and that would have included movements that would compromise my rectus abdominis and the fascia surrounding the muscle. Because I had learned the impact that DR can have on women, I was able to modify for myself and for the ladies that were in my classes. But what about all of the others who haven’t heard about DR? There are many exercises out there that prevent the separation from healing and can possibly lead to back pain, pelvis pain, and pelvic floor dysfunction.
My last two babies were twins and, let me tell you, I am experiencing DR like never before. I find myself paying even closer attention to what is going on in my body. Abdominal Separation describes the partial or complete separation of rectus abdominis (the two parallel muscles that run up and down the front of the body) during pregnancy. The two muscles are not attached and can literally start to separate to accommodate the growing belly.
DR is most common during the 3rd trimester and immediately following pregnancy. Its cause is attributed to maternal hormones, mechanical stress, and weak abdominal muscles. Throughout my training, we were taught how to check for DR by laying our client on the floor with her knees bent. She is then asked to come up into the crunch position as the trainer walks her fingers from the belly button up towards the sternum pushing gently to see if we can get o-4 fingers in between the two muscles of rectus abdominis. We will then go back down to the belly button and walk the fingers down about two inches below the belly button. If you do have separation, it is really important to be cautious of your body movements, for instance, never crossing the sagittal plane (the twisting motion in which the arms come across the mid line of the body). Sit ups also torque the muscles so you are safer doing abdominal work through planks, side planks, leg lifts etc.
The goal is to work the ‘framework” of rectus abdominis through tightening the obliques and the transverse abdominis to bring everything back toward the mid-line. When doing abdominal work, you can also use a towel to assist in bringing the muscles back together- just fold up a towel and place it under your back, then bring the towel up around the sides of your body, cross it once and hold the ends as you do your work the core. Crunches are not recommended for any separation as they take the spine out of the neutral position. Please check with a professional before doing any ab work if you are at all concerned, especially if can fit 3-4 fingers in between your RA. I can also support you on this, if you wish to contact me for any of your fitness needs, including a check for DR, please head to my website at www.harmonyhealthandfitness.ca
Thanks for reading, I hope this was helpful!
For more information on Harmony Health and Fitness:
Courtney Cassidy
403-710-0394
www.harmonyhealthandfitness.ca
info@harmonyhealthandfitness.ca
