Diastasis and Muscle Repair
From Make Me Heal
What is Diastasis?
- Most women have this separation after having a baby.
- It does not automatically go back together after childbirth.
- Doing abdominal exercises incorrectly can cause this separation to get larger.
- If it is not brought back together after the first pregnancy, it becomes increasingly larger with each subsequent pregnancy.
- The Tupler Technique can help, no matter when a woman has had her baby.
http://www.maternalfitness.com/participants.html
How do I know if I have Diastasis?
Your doctor will help you evalutate this, but in the meantime, there are a few ways you might get some indication of whether you have separation.
Sometimes, the need for correction of diastasis can be visibly seen. When looking at the tummy from the front view, as if standing in front of a mirror, which shape most closely resembles the outline of your muscles? In the examples, the * indicates belly button:
\*/
(*)
|*|
Bear in mind that with these examples, the shape around the * is referring to the buldge or shape of the muscle wall, NOT the shape of the waist line or hips.
Explanation:
\*/ This shows a tight musle alignment, unlikely to require any MR.
(*) This shape is typical for those who can greatly benefit by some amount of MR.
|*| This shape also tends to reflect tight muscles, with little or no separation. In some cases, MR might still be beneficial; however, this is usually a good indication that little or no MR might be required.
Muscle Repair
As part of an abdominoplasty procedure, your plastic surgeon may perform muscle repair (sometimes abbreviated as 'MR') to close this separation. MR can be a crucual aspect of the tummy tuck, for patients who require this. It is important to discuss with your surgeon whether or not you need MR, and if so, what techniques your surgeon will use. You will also want to ask him or her how 'tight' they typically pull a patient...in other words, assess whether the surgeon tends to be aggressive with muscle repair, or not.
How aggressive the MR is can have a dramatic effect on both the recovery period, and the results. An aggressive MR can take longer to recover from, but also can give dramatically enhanced results, when there is significant diastasis.
You will find that doctors' opinions on MR, and how aggressive it should ideally be, can greatly vary. It can be frustrating and challenging deciding what is best for yourself. One helpful approach is to ask to see a variety of before and after photographs from each surgeon with whom you have a consultation. Often, doctors will have examples on their web site, so conducting a web search on several doctors' results (even those outside your area) can be a valuable resource in evaluating different types of results. It may help to specifically look for before images that most closely resemble your body and situation.
