"Why do I still have belly bulge after giving birth one year ago? I am doing so many crunches every day and yet I still have belly bulge!"
You could have a diastasis. Say goodbye to those crunches. Any forward forceful move like a crunch will actually make a diastasis worse or even create one by performing them incorrectly!
What is a diastasis?
A diastasis is a separation of the outer most abdominal muscles, the rectus abdominus or "six pack" muscles. With a diastasis, the connective tissue (linea alba) that connects the two halves of the recti abdominis becomes thin and fails to protect the organs. If the separation is severe, the organs will actually protrude, creating that unsightly bulge in the belly. If there is trauma to the abdominal area and the connective tissue is torn away from the muscle, a ventral hernia can develop and surgery will be required. You don't have to have had a child to have one. You can create one by doing abdominal exercises incorrectly.
What is the cause of a diastasis?
The cause of a diastasis is a forceful forward pressure on the weak spot (belly button) of the connective tissue from:
Doing crunches or abdominal work incorrectly
Pilates 100's incorrectly
Pregnancy
Beer belly
How can I check if I have one?
A diastasis is measured in fingers because that's the easiest way for you to tell exactly how far your muscles have separated. Given that everyone's fingers are different sizes, this is not a perfect form of measurement; but the important factor is that you can easily check and measure a diastasis on your own.
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your head on the floor.
- Place your hand on your stomach with the palm of your hand facing your face. Be sure your hand is vertically pressing into your abdomen.
- Press your middle three fingers into your belly button.
- Relax your abdominal muscles and gently lift your head, drawing your chin towards your chest. If you are holding your abdominal muscles in as you check, it will give you a false reading as this will make the diastasis appear smaller. The muscles will also get closer together the higher you lift your head. Be sure to start with a relaxed abdomen.
- If you have a diastasis, you will be able to feel the rectus abdominis tightening up on either side of your fingers. If you cannot feel this muscular contraction, you may need to place more fingers in the gap between the muscles so you can measure it correctly. You might also see a football-shaped ridge coming up between the muscles. In some cases, this gap may be 10+ fingers wide. You may need to lift and lower your head a few times in order to feel the muscles engage and get a reading.
- You also want to determine the condition of the connective tissue. The deeper your fingers will go towards your spine, the weaker the connective tissue. If you feel a pulsing while you are checking, this is a sign of very weak connective tissue.
- If, when you raise your head, you simply feel your stomach muscles tighten underneath your fingertips without a gap underneath, then you do not have a diastasis.
If you find you have a diastasis, stop performing the following activities:
- Any type of crunches
- Back bends (which flare the ribs and arch the back), or lying backward onto an exercise ball
- Any cross over forward forceful movement such as bicycle crunches
- Twisting movements with an arm reaching back, tennis or racquet ball, or squash or golf
- Yoga postures such as advanced cobra and upward facing dog
These types of movements will make a diastasis worse. You need to heal your connective tissue and the separated muscles.
How can I heal my diastasis?
You could have a tummy tuck. But this involves costly surgery and stitching. This will not cure your diastasis if you continue to do any forward forceful movement, which could ultimately tear the stitching. You would still need to strengthen your abdominal muscles before any surgery.
A more cost-effective and less invasive course of action would be to learn a research-based effective core strengthening exercise program that will help bring the separated muscles closer together and help heal the connective tissue. The Tupler Technique™, developed by RN and childbirth educator, Julie Tupler. This exercise program will strengthen your core from the inside out and help support your back and organs while creating a flatter stomach -- and often, a smaller waist size.
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