Pregnant, bulging, protruding abdomen – as only diastasis of the abdominal muscles is not called. This phenomenon is common, unpleasant and spoils the figure, but with the right approach can be corrected. Let’s understand what diastasis of the abdomen in women, how to determine diastasis, why it occurs, and also turn to the coach for advice on how to eliminate and prevent it.

Diastasis of the abdominal muscles: the concept, stages and types

Diastasis is the divergence of the rectus abdominis muscles for more than 2 cm.

Imagine your abs. It is built of four muscle groups: external and internal. The first are the rectus abdominis and the external oblique muscles, those very attractive cubes. To the second are the transverse and internal oblique muscles. They create a muscular corset that firmly holds the internal organs, making the body athletic and toned. If the corset is weak and the intra-abdominal pressure is strong and prolonged, the muscles can not withstand the load and diverge.

There are three stages of diastasis depending on the size of the muscle divergence.

Why Diastasis of the Abdominal Muscles Occurs and Who Is at Risk

The main cause of diastasis is weakness of the transverse abdominal muscles. But the following factors contribute to its occurrence:

Diastasis has no favorites. It occurs in men, women and children. Especially common in athletes: weightlifters and weightlifters. All women have some degree of dilation of the rectus abdominis muscle in the third trimester of pregnancy. For newborn children, diastasis is a variant of the norm. Just the connective tissue in babies is not yet strong enough and can not perform the function of a reliable frame.

How to determine diastasis of the abdominal muscles (3 stages)

Diastasis of the abdominal muscles in a couple of centimeters is the norm for everyone. But to determine whether there is a deviation in your particular case, perform a simple test:

Prognosis: in stages I and II, you can get rid of diastasis in 6-12 months. But if you train thoughtlessly, the problem will only get worse. At stage III, without surgical intervention abdominoplasty can not do.

How to get rid of diastasis at home

Standard exercises with diastasis muscles on the press will not help and even harm: the abdomen will not only not decrease in size, but on the contrary, will increase. Here we need a different approach. We asked a professional trainer and nutritionist, a competitive athlete Anna Rustamova tell us what to do to eliminate or minimize diastasis abdominal muscles in women:

Before you start eliminating the problem, you should consider that with diastasis it is undesirable to overeat. It is better to divide meals into small portions, eat often and little by little. Secondly, it is important to monitor your posture, learn to keep your back straight, not to sag in the lower back, and to retract the abdomen. Thirdly, women should not hurry to train immediately after childbirth. It is better to start exercising after 2 months with a doctor’s permission.

With the choice of training should also be careful. Attention! It is categorically forbidden to lift weights and perform the following exercises for diastasis muscles:

Answering the questions from the girls: “How to get rid of diastasis at home” – I recommend working with the deep abdominal muscles. Here are two ideal exercises and the technique of their performance.

Exercises for diastasis

Vacuum. As you exhale, strongly draw your stomach in and hold that position for 10-15 seconds. Then take a shallow breath in with the chest and exhale again with retracting the abdomen. This exercise can be performed lying down, sitting and standing. It is useful to do it during the day at every opportunity.

Gluteal bridge. Lie on the floor, bend your legs at the knees, feet standing on the floor at shoulder width. Lift your pelvis up, but do not bend at the lower back, squeeze your buttocks and tense your abs. Breathe with your chest during the exercise. Do 20-30 repetitions in 3-4 approaches.

The problem of diastasis should not be ignored. The divergence of the rectus abdominis muscles can cause all kinds of hernias, bowel impingement, curvature and spine diseases. Therefore, if you suspect yourself of this problem, try to solve it as soon as possible. We hope these tips will help you.