Abdominal diastasis (AD) is an alteration of the abdominal wall that occurs when the rectus abdominis muscles separate at the linea alba, a tissue located vertically in the midline of the body, leaving the central area of the abdominal wall weaker,” explains Portal Clínic.
It is estimated that up to two-thirds of women develop AD after childbirth, according to the same source.
Although we often refer to the “rectus” in the plural, the rectus abdominis is considered a single muscle, with two parts, left and right, explains a physiotherapist.
The rectus muscles occupy most of the abdominal wall and run from the ribs to the top of the pubis. They are joined from top to bottom in the center of the abdomen by the linea alba, with a gap between them, which grows as the mother-to-be’s belly grows.
The separation and stretching of the rectus abdominis muscles causes AD, which can lead to bulging of the abdominal wall, wrinkling of the skin, abdominal hernias, and lower back pain, according to Pelvicus Medical Center.
“Although it is not a problem exclusive to women, the most common cause of AD is usually pregnancy,” explains Gabriela Grande, a personal trainer specializing in abdominal diastasis.
Grande has created a training program and a series of effective and proven tools to solve AD and improve physically and emotionally, which she describes in her book Diastasis Rectilinear Challenge.
Postpartum rehabilitation
“If your abdomen becomes swollen throughout the day; you feel weak; you have permanent lower back pain; pelvic floor problems (such as urinary incontinence or prolapse); heavy digestion or an umbilical hernia, you may suffer from abdominal diastasis,” she says.
Grande explains that his AD rehabilitation program does not focus on the rectus abdominis (the injured muscle) but on the so-called core or group of muscles that make up our natural corset, especially on the transverse abdominis muscle.
“The transverse abdominis acts as a real natural girdle. Its main function is to contain the viscera (hold the internal organs) and give stability to the spine,” he adds.
“A strong and functional transverse muscle can compensate for the poor functioning of the rectus abdominis and reverse its aesthetic and health consequences,” he notes.
He points out that “it was difficult for him to accept that to rehabilitate one muscle he had to strengthen another. He thought: if the problem is in the rectus abdominis, the solution will be there. But the transverse abdominis became the undisputed protagonist of the Diastasis Challenge.”
He explains that his program is not a conventional training of “healing” exercises, but rather encompasses a broader therapeutic concept, based on three pillars with great transformative power (activation, breathing, and posture), which “act, each in its way,” on the transverse abdominis.
Orientation exercises
In an article published in the specialist magazine Sport Life, Grande describes a series of introductory exercises to strengthen the transverse abdominal muscle, “highly recommended for combating abdominal diastasis.”
But she warns that reversing AD is not as simple as performing a series of “specific” exercises, but rather requires applying the three pillars of the Diastasis Challenge, explained in her book.
These are some of the exercises he recommends:
Exercise 1
Lie on your back with your legs bent, raise your arms, and keep your spine in a neutral position (respecting the natural curves of the spine). Breathe in through your nose and as you breathe out through your mouth, move your arms back until they touch the floor. Breathe in again through your nose and return your arms to the starting position.
The trainer recommends doing 15 repetitions of this exercise, the goal of which is to “maintain the neutral position of your spine at all times, without the gap between your lower back and the floor getting bigger or smaller.”
Exercise 2
Stretch one leg out and make sure your pelvis (the triangle formed by your hip bones and pubic bone) is parallel to the ceiling.
Take a breath in through your nose and as you release it through your mouth, raise your stretched leg a few centimeters. Take a breath in through your nose while resting your leg back on the floor.
Grande recommends doing 15 repetitions of this exercise with each leg, without making the typical mistake of “tilting the hip toward the side of the leg that is stretched.”
The goal is to keep the spine in a neutral position and to achieve proper pelvic alignment. This means that “if you were to place a tennis ball on top of your pelvis, it would have to remain still,” he explains.