Diastasis Recti Rehab: Week 1 Conclusion

I’ve squeezed my transverse muscle 4,480 times this week! And that my friends is without doing any crunches… because apparently they are THE DEVIL. According to Julie Tupler, they will make your diastasis larger and possibly create one if you don’t already have one. I’ve never been a crunch fan (a crunchy mama, maybe), but not a crunchy exerciser. I’m not too upset that I’ll never have to do a crunch again.

It has definitely taken some discipline to do the elevator and contracting exercises 3 times a day. I’ll admit, I’ve procrastinated and doubled up a couple of times. The splint is still not my best friend, but I’m figuring out how to wear it and adjust it so that it stays in place better. I’ve taken it off a couple of times this week when I wasn’t supposed to for a short time…

Well actually, I ripped it off, threw it across the room, and did a happy dance. I’m a rebel I know.

However, I’m going to make a commitment to be an even better diastasis student this week. Do you want to know why? Of course you do. Well first of all, since I’m blogging about it I can’t give up now and look like a complete failure. But honestly, I can tell a big improvement already! This is really working! My waistline is smaller, despite the fact that my silly husband has brought home ice cream and reeses peanut butter eggs all week. I know that my core is much stronger because it’s easier for me to sit with good posture and I can feel the muscles working more each day. Also, my umbilical hernia which came back after my fallopian tube surgery is getting smaller. This tells me the connective tissue must be healing.

There are a couple of things I need to work through yet. I get this cramp in my left side quite often when doing the exercises that hurts. I’m also holding in my tummy muscles so much that I find my breathing is rather shallow at times. I have to remember to belly breathe more often and squeeze to the 5th floor when I exhale. I spent so many months practicing to relax every muscle in my body for childbirth through breathing, that I stopped using my abs altogether. Now it’s time to find a balance.

Here’s hoping for a week of patience with the splint and continued healing!