What is the purpose of a splint? Diastasis recti splints sold online describe the purpose of the brace as follows: to “reposition” both the connective tissue and the separated muscles in a better position to reduce the rectus abdominis.
The connective tissue needs to be in a tight position to heal and the muscles need to be close together to move in the right direction.
Are you suffering from right dimension and looking for a solution? In this video, we delve into his subject diastasis recti splints and everything you need to know about them. From how they work to their benefits and potential risks, we cover it all.
Struggling with Diastasis Recti, a common condition where the abdominal muscles separate during pregnancy?
Splints can help provide support and help heal this separation.
These braces are designed to gently pull the muscles back together, promoting proper healing and reducing discomfort.
It is important to wear the splint correctly for the best results.
Consult your healthcare provider to determine appropriate application and use for your specific needs.
Remember, braces are only one part of the healing process.
Combining the brace with targeted exercises recommended by your doctor can help strengthen the muscles and improve your condition over time.
Be patient with yourself and give your body the time it needs to heal.
By using Diastasis Recti braces and following your healthcare provider’s instructions, you can work to improve your abdominal separation and regain core strength.
So let’s look at this a little more.
Do Diastasis Recti Splints Work?
The use of a brace, or banding of the abdomen, is believed to help close the gap in the rectus abdominis. And what we all know is that “sucking” or pulling your stomach to make it look flatter isn’t a viable long-term solution.
Abdominal binding may “hold” you in and provide support for your lower back, but wearing a brace will not strengthen the muscles. It also misses out on some very important points when it comes to treating abdominal separation.
Contraindications for the use of a splint
You should not wear a brace after a caesarean birth as you have to wait until your scar has healed. Also, if you have a medical condition and are under a doctor’s care, be sure to talk to them about using a brace.
The problem with splints
If you wear your brace every day, even with periodic breaks for exercises, you will not retrain or restore your abdominal wall to function.
You see, wearing a brace will make your body rely on that brace. Your abs and brain will depend on this support. Once the brace is gone, your tummy won’t know what to do.
You get support while wearing a brace – BUT
Wearing a rectal brace or dissociative binder can keep you in and together and support your lower back while wearing it. BUT what it can never do is actually tone or tone muscles just by being worn. This will help you include the right DR exercises in your workouts.
Improvement of Diastasis Recti
Abdominal separation can be improved with alignment and exercise, reconnecting and restoring your core muscles. And by improving the integrity of the connective collagen in the front of your abdomen to reduce the size of your waist and increase firmness and strength.
Can Diastasis Recti Cause Digestive Problems?
Diastasis recti can lead to side effects such as lower back pain, constipation and urinary leakage. It can also cause difficulty in both breathing and movement.
When does dimension become a problem?
Diastasis recti becomes a problem when it causes a dog belly. And when it contributes to a weak, unstable core, that leads to lower back pain.
And did you know that almost 70% of women with the right dimension have some level pelvic floor dysfunction (Spitznagle et al 2007). Diastasis recti and pelvic floor problems tend to go together.
Reduction of Diastasis Recti
To reduce dimension, you must learn to engage and work your entire core which includes: transverse, pelvic and oblique abdominal muscles in an optimal, functional way. The alignment of your entire body should be treated as a foundation in order to reduce intra-abdominal pressure.
Connection required for Diastasis Recti repair
There must be a normal connection for the repair and restoration of the core. If you are using a brace to “suck your stomach” then that is not “activating your core muscles”.
Instead, all you do is shift the mass up and down, thus pushing it away in any direction from the tightly bound center.
This causes unwanted pressure on the diaphragm and down into the pelvic floor. This further creates excessive intra-abdominal pressure and aggravation of a weakened pelvic floor. This can lead to pelvic organ prolapse and achieve little in terms of true transverse abdominal involvement.
Key Takeaway
There is more to repairing the core or rectus abdominis than splinting, suctioning, and closing the gap.
If you want to restore your core after giving birth, then it takes a comprehensive process that requires a comprehensive “whole body” approach.
You need to realign and reconnect. And here is where The PregActive Method shows you how.
How to self-examine for Diastasis Recti
Study on the Correct Abdominal Dimension
This research included studying the distance between the two sides of the abdominals, or “inside the rectal distance”, both at rest and during exercise. He also studied the quality of activation of the deep transverse abdominis muscle during this exercise.
What did they find?
Some women could close the gap by engaging their abs, but they did so with an unconscious, suboptimal recruitment of the abs.
What does this mean?
This means they could make the gap come together by contracting their obliques. But the deep core transversus muscle, which is essential for true core stability, was not recruited at all.
The result was a temporarily smaller gap, but still no midline tension (stability) was restored.
What else happened?
Some women have been able to effectively recruit their transversus muscle for full stability and tension in the linea alba. But in doing so, the abdominal separation gap itself either remained the same or in some cases widened.
What does this indicate?
This suggests that without core stability from the recruitment of the deep core muscles, transverse abdominis and co-activation of the pelvic floor – the woman is no more able to control joint movement or loading than before, regardless of the gap .
Key findings
These findings cast even more doubt on the protocol of those dissociation programs in which manual or forced traction of both sides of the muscle with binding or splinting is proposed as the solution to restore core function.
So what does it take?
You need to connect, restore and properly use your deep core muscles. This is all that is required to gain functionality and power.
What is not needed?
Simply closing the gap is not. My whole body approach and incorporating the correct exercises into your postpartum workouts to restore core function is the anatomically correct approach.
Here’s what you need to know
1. You can reduce the gap (abdominal separation) and strengthen (and flatten) your abdominal muscles with the right exercises.
2. You can adjust your whole body alignment and work your muscles to get a strong functional core and pelvic floor.
3. Yes, you can lose fat.
What about Diastasis Recti Surgery
Surgery is a last resort and is a decision you should discuss with your doctor. There is a significant recovery period after surgery which will affect your daily functioning.
No exercise routine can fix every situation. And I’ve seen some workouts used that can cause serious injury. In some cases of severely exposed, stretched and weakened linea alba, surgery may be required for proper function.
My Core Rehab for Mamas Program supported by specialist physiotherapists and women’s health physiotherapists. My innovative method takes a “whole body” approach to aligning and connecting the core foundation for physical activation.
We do not advocate the use of a rectus splint to “pull” a degraded core or rectus back into place.
Why PregActive works
I developed the Core Rehab program because I believe you need to strengthen your core. The use of a splint or binder is only temporary and is not the answer to the treatment of scoliosis.
I want a flatter belly after giving birth
If you want a flatter stomach after having a baby, you need to be patient and join my 12-week program designed specifically to help women heal after pregnancy.
My program is based on the principle of dynamic movement and optimal function of your entire midsection. This includes getting your pelvic floor in proper alignment to achieve a flat stomach and toned pelvic floor. As well as the stability and pain relief you want.
Diastasis Recti Repair
My Core Rehab program takes a holistic approach to your postpartum recoverycorrects diastasis recti and helps you regain body confidence. What makes my program unique is that it includes functional exercises designed for new moms to help you get strong, lean, and fit for motherhood.
