If any of you read our post from Thursday, my injury score (from the completely unscientific game we posted) would be 9 points. I’m well over the zero complications mark, which means that I have to be incredibly mindful of all of the issues that I have going on. 7 of those points have come in the past four years (and I am closing in on 30 quick). I honestly could have never predicted how much would happen that would change my body, and how much balance and care I would need to find the right recipe to get my body healthier and stronger.
The first major change to my body was also one of the most beautiful and fulfilling experiences I could have every imagined: becoming a mother. I will admit that I was totally terrified when I found out that I was pregnant, and I tried to treat my body well. However, there was a lot that I didn’t know. Plus, I was more concerned about how to handle breastfeeding, actual childbirth, and life with a newborn than figuring out what was happening to my body and exactly how to best treat it. After childbirth and getting back into the routine, I realized that my body was a bit out of whack and that some things were just not returning to their pre-pregnancy state: mainly, my core.
The number one thing I wish I could have known when I was pregnant would have been how to treat my Transverse Abdominis and my pelvic floor muscles better. You may be thinking, “Amy, how the hell am I supposed to know what those are?” And I don’t expect you to (unless you are a physical therapist or OB/GYN). Your pelvic floor muscles are most famously associated with Kegels. I think a lot of women have heard to do Kegels, but lack the knowledge on the how or the why. If you’re not treating the pelvic floor muscles carefully, you could end up with bladder leakage and other issues.
As for your transverse abdominis (TA for short), this is your inner most core muscle. It’s main job is to keep your abdominal viscera secure. However, pregnancy stretches your body more and your growing uterus puts additional pressure on your abdominal wall. If you do not know or pay attention to pregnancy protocols (or even if you do), you might be in danger of stretching the connective tissue on the TA to the point of opening. When your TA opens, you have a diastatsis recti.*
Unfortunately, with my first pregnancy, I knew hardly anything about pelvic floor health and nothing about a diastatsis recti (DRA for short); plus, I had read some where that planks were a great pregnancy core exercise (news flash: they are not!). I also read somewhere that if you were a seasoned runner and exerciser, you could safely do most exercises throughout pregnancy, but just lower the impact. I thought that meant that I just needed to listen to my body and decrease the intensity. This was more or less true, but I was misguided to what was best. Due to these things and the size of my first baby, I ended up with a diastatsis recti and weak pelvic floor muscles. At its worst for me, my DRA was three and a half fingers wide. Sadly, a DRA is very rarely completely healed naturally (sorry to be the bearer of bad news), and is famously called a “mommy tummy” or “mommy pooch,” a sagging of skin and organs around your belly button. DRA is considered effectively healed once its width reaches less than a finger wide. Thankfully, I am finally to that point, but it was not without some very difficult, persistent work in finding the right recipe for my body to respond. {Plus some other life events that might not be feasible if you have or are planning to keep having young children…but more on that rabbit trail later ;)}
If you discover that you have a DRA or have questions about it, please ask and find good information. I am currently working on my women’s fitness certification for NASM, and with my own experience, I have some exercises that I will be showing on our Instagram. These exercises are not just good for moms or moms to be. They are also good if you want to improve your overall posture as well as if you are trying to increase the amount of weight you can barbell back squat or lunge. You could also benefit if you have had certain surgeries. If you are pregnant and would like to prevent a DRA, these exercises are also beneficial. Your transverse abdominis is often overlooked and is not often evaluated at your six week postpartum check-up; however, you have to have a strong TA in order to have a flatter core.
It is my hope that you can find the right recipe to help heal your body as best as you can for whatever injury plagues you. For me with my DRA, it took a good dose of time, a heaping amount of persistence, a stiff bout of research, and trying and failing multiple times (much like finding the perfect baking recipe). The experimental process can be discouraging, but I am (mostly) happy with where I am today. I learned a lot of methods to ensure my DRA did not get worse as well, and I am looking forward to including these in the next post.
How has your body changed over the years?
Any moms out there with diastasis recti? Weak pelvic floor muscles? How do you cope with it? Have your found your right recipe?
I look forward to hearing from you!
~Amy
*For more on how to tell if you have a diastasis recti, go to your doctor or visit the following resources:
~To check for a diastasic: https://fit2b.us/how-to-check-for-diastasis-hd/?ref=188
~What is a DRA: https://diastasisrehab.com/pages/what-is-diastasis
~Anecdotal experience with DRA: https://wellnessmama.com/60398/diastasis-recti/
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