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Heather Jeffcoat at Verywell Family
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If you’re looking for specific diastasis recti exercises, we can help you get back into a fitness groove after pregnancy and childbirth and help heal and strengthen the deep core muscles.

What is Diastasis Recti?

Diastasis recti happens when the two muscle bellies of the rectus abdominis separate. The separation between the right and left sides of this muscle can happen during pregnancy when the linea alba, or the tissue between the rectus abdominis muscles, stretches to allow the body room for your baby.

Your OB/GYN or physical therapist can determine if the separation you have is considered wide enough to be diastasis recti. In general, separation of more than two centimeters at one or more points of the linea alba meets the criteria for diastasis recti.1

Visually, diastasis recti can look like a bulge of the abdominal contents or a pooch in your belly area. Physically, you may notice back pain, abdominal weakness, and poor posture.

Diastasis recti is quite common during pregnancy and in the postpartum period. In fact, research shows that about 45% of women have diastasis recti at six months postpartum and 33% at 12 months postpartum.

Experts often recommend a specific protocol of core exercises that can help close this gap and strengthen the deep abdominal muscles.

Exercises for Diastasis Recti

Getting back into an exercise routine depends on various factors, including the type of pregnancy and delivery you had and if you had a cesarean or other complications like diastasis recti.

If there were any complications or you’re having issues with postpartum healing, you should always get your doctor’s approval before resuming any type of workout.

That said, research does point to the importance of performing abdominal exercises designed specifically for diastasis recti during the early postpartum period.

These therapeutic exercises can help reduce the gap and lead to better core strength, including strengthening of the transverse abdominis, which is the deepest abdominal muscle.

According to Heather Jeffcoat, DPT, owner of Femina Physical Therapy, newer research supports creating proper tension across your midline and is less focused on “closing the gap.”

However, cosmetically, many postpartum moms still have this concern, and therefore the five exercises below, provided by Jeffcoat, address both issues.

Make sure to avoid certain activities and exercises that may make diastasis recti worse. These include crunches, ab twists, planks, backward bends that stretch the abdominal area, certain yoga poses, or any type of heavy lifting activities that bulge out the stomach.

Cointinue reading the full article here.

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Testimonial by M.M.

A personal journey and testimonial from one of my patients:

My husband and I were married for 5 years before we were able to have intercourse due to my vaginismus. There was nothing traumatic in my past but for some reason, even though I wanted sex, I mentally avoided "that area" of my body and didn't even admit to myself that there was a problem for a long time, even though I was never able to put tampons in. Once I finally opened my eyes up to the fact that I had a problem, I had a surgery that was supposed to fix the issue.

Read more: Testimonial by M.M.

Testimonial by Amanda W.

Heather's unique physical therapy program literally changed my life! After years of struggling with vaginismus, a condition that made it impossible for me to have intercourse and very difficult to use tampons without pain, a gynecologist referred me to Heather. I was nervous for my first appointment, but Heather's professional and friendly demeanor put me at ease. She did a great job explaining each technique she was using to help my muscles relax. Heather uses a combination of internal and external stretches and exercises to relax the pelvic floor and build muscle strength. Her specially developed home program helped me quickly recover from an issue that seemed insurmountable before meeting Heather. She was optimistic about my progress and incredibly encouraging. Less than 6 months after my first session, I was able to have pain-free sex for the first time in my life! If you are suffering from vaginismus or any other pelvic floor issues, I highly recommend making an appointment with Heather and reading her book!

-- Amanda W., 2/15/16 via Yelp!

Testimonial by Lauren B.

Femina PT (née Fusion Wellness & Physical Therapy) has been such an answer to prayer, i'm so glad I found them! I've been struggling with vaginismus my whole life, but didn't have a name for it until about 6 or 7 months ago. Even once I did have a name for it though, I didn't know where to begin in getting help. My OB/GYN had me get a set of dilators, but I couldn't even insert the smallest one by myself. Most times I tried I just ended up frustrated and in tears. I felt really alone, like I was broken and didn't have the energy to keep trying. When I got engaged a few months ago though, I realized I needed to get answers so i wasn't dreading my honeymoon.

Read more: Testimonial by Lauren B.

Testimonial by Lauren B.

Femina PT (née Fusion Wellness & Physical Therapy) has been such an answer to prayer, i'm so glad I found them! I've been struggling with vaginismus my whole life, but didn't have a name for it until about 6 or 7 months ago. Even once I did have a name for it though, I didn't know where to begin in getting help. My OB/GYN had me get a set of dilators, but I couldn't even insert the smallest one by myself. Most times I tried I just ended up frustrated and in tears. I felt really alone, like I was broken and didn't have the energy to keep trying. When I got engaged a few months ago though, I realized I needed to get answers so i wasn't dreading my honeymoon.

Read more: Testimonial by Lauren B.

Testimonial by A.W., age 32

I wanted to let you know that my pelvic floor held strong and gave me no trouble whatsoever in my trail race this morning (12 miles)! In a way, I felt like I ran better than ever because my core feels so rock solid from all the exercises you have me doing. That was especially valuable on the technical downhill - I just flew down the trail because I had confidence in my balance and form. Thank you for helping me get back to doing what I love.

-- A.W., age 32
(completed Post-partum Renewal Program using the InTone biofeedback/stim unit)

Testimonial by Lauren B.

Femina PT (née Fusion Wellness & Physical Therapy) has been such an answer to prayer, i'm so glad I found them! I've been struggling with vaginismus my whole life, but didn't have a name for it until about 6 or 7 months ago. Even once I did have a name for it though, I didn't know where to begin in getting help. My OB/GYN had me get a set of dilators, but I couldn't even insert the smallest one by myself. Most times I tried I just ended up frustrated and in tears. I felt really alone, like I was broken and didn't have the energy to keep trying. When I got engaged a few months ago though, I realized I needed to get answers so i wasn't dreading my honeymoon.

Read more: Testimonial by Lauren B.

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