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.

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Preventing Injuries When Entering Regular Training

It is advisable to see a doctor immediately after getting injured. He will prescribe effective treatment and tell you what loads are indicated after recovery. Also a sports traumatologist deals with this.

Injury prevention includes:

• The physiological aspect. Preparing the body for the usual loads and their increase. After a long break, you need to start with the minimum, but try to ensure the maximum possible duration (without compromising your health).
• The psychological aspect. Relevant for professionals and amateurs. During the recovery time the results achieved could be lost. The need to start all over again affects the mood and motivation.

To start going to the gym only after a full recovery from the injury. Moderate exertion is indicated during the rehabilitation period, but it is determined only by the attending physician. It is categorically impossible:

• Exercise through pain or buy it with painkillers. They interfere with the adequate perception of the load.
• Go right back to the old regime even if you have a successful recovery. Allow a few sessions to get used to it.
• Load the injured area and make the same mistakes that led to the injury.

It is clear that if you have knee injuries, you should not run, and if you have back pain, you should not load it. If you violate TB and exercise technique you can get re-injured. So it turns into a chronic one and becomes incurable. In this case it is better to under-work than to overwork.

The load program should be adjusted: intensive exercises on the injured area should be removed, and all muscles and zones should be stimulated. The first times it is recommended to work only under the control of a coach. He will also help you choose a program that facilitates recovery.

The least traumatic sports

After serious injuries, doctors advise choosing the simplest loads. The top 3 include:

• Walking. Activates many muscle groups and trains endurance. You can walk with support or uphill. A slight slope creates a treadmill effect. In this case, the legs are protected from shock loads. Important: the correct technique of performance, comfortable shoes.
• Riding a bicycle. Strengthens the cardiovascular system and gives a good load on the muscles. It is not necessary to ride long distances right away, it is better to start with walking distances. After riding, it is recommended to give more time to stretching.
• Swimming. A gentle training regimen even for serious injuries. Water protects muscles from stress, makes movements smooth. During classes, endurance and breathing are trained, and almost all muscles work.

Reasonable exercise during rehabilitation is also a kind of injury prevention. They must not contradict the doctor’s instructions. You should also do therapeutic exercises. If any exercise is contraindicated for an injury, exercise is strictly forbidden!

A chronic injury can serve as a contraindication to sports in general. Even in the pursuit of achievement and victory do not forget about health.

How to train after the injury: useful tips

When rehabilitating, pay attention to nutrition and daily regimen. Take medications and vitamins prescribed by the doctor, attend all procedures. Massage can be extremely useful – it helps warm up the muscles, joints, stimulates blood circulation.

Do therapeutic exercise. Yes, these exercises seem childish after your results in the gym. But the exercises are designed to support your muscles during recovery. It is an excellent step to get back in shape without harming your health.

Already in the gym, extend the warm-up time, gradually increasing the main load. After an injury you should warm up more thoroughly. Do not forget about stretching after strength exercises. Ask for insurance if you are not sure you can handle the weight or load yourself. Your coach should be there to support you. Talk to him or her about injury prevention.

If you don’t know how to recover on your own, go to special centers, a sports traumatologist. Be prepared to work for a long time and don’t expect high results for a while after a break.

The support of your loved ones is also important. Remember that successful rehabilitation depends on the athlete and his environment. It is better to consult specialists than to try to choose the right regimen on your own by trial and error.

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The connection between the spine and the feet

Human foot is a unique supporting apparatus that carries all the load of the body. Its basis consists of 26 bones connected by tissue in the joints. The feet take most of the load when walking. Deformities that occur over time lead to pain in the spine and weakened muscles. It is especially difficult for people who are overweight or older.

Muscles and tendons are connected from the head to the feet. Any soreness in the lower back, thoracic and cervical spine, as well as headaches, can be the result of improper foot positioning.

Stiff feet: why does it happen?

The feet are responsible for the movement of the entire body. Therefore, the basis of suffering and problems should be looked for in the feet. Problems that began in childhood can lead to deformities:

• improper shoes;
• early learning to walk;
• lack of sports;
• Clawing of the legs by a child;
• congenital defects.

As an adult, other “dangers” await:

• Static (standing or sitting) work;
• physical exertion;
• nervous stress, which provokes muscle spasms;
• High-heeled or improperly chosen shoes.

If you exhaust yourself daily with stress, work and unreasonable exertion, it will soon make you meet the couch at the doctor. But people think about the health of their feet too late.

To check if there is foot tightness, you can perform a few uncomplicated movements:

• Position yourself in a chair, stretch out your legs, relax and listen to the sensations in the foot area.
• Wiggle all your toes from side to side and up and down.
• Try to spread your fingers apart.
• If there is a pulling sensation in the arch of the foot, the toes do not spread out, and there are any uncomfortable signs, you should pay attention to the health of your feet and spine.

Foot Exercises

• Walk on the spot and rub your feet and shins: this warms up the muscle tissue.
• After the warm-up, scatter small objects on the floor: buttons, pencils, balls. With the toes of each foot collect the objects in turn.
• Sit on a chair, and tuck your toes under your foot. Hold for 5 seconds on each foot. Over time, you can complicate the exercise and do it standing.
• Stand on the edge of the step so that the toes and pads of the foot rest on the plane, and the heel and the arch hang down. Start doing the lifts by doing 3 sets of 20 times.
• Sitting on a chair, put a small ball or rubber ball under the arch of the foot, roll it back and forth.
• After exercise, do a self-massage, working on the inside of the foot. Doctors have proved that it is the projection of the spine.
• Gently massage from the big toe to the heel with circular movements, engaging the fingertips.
• Exercise properly finish with cryotherapy: a cold shower or rubbing with pieces of ice.
• Working while sitting or standing, you should do a warm-up in the form of stretching and rotating movements.

In general, do not forget: healthy feet – a healthy spine! Try to do exercises for the feet as often as possible. It is not difficult and quite affordable at home.

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Can I work out if I’m sick?

In short, working out when you’re sick is unacceptable. During a workout, the blood will rush through the body faster. And with it, the virus will spread quickly. This will definitely delay the healing process or aggravate the course of the disease. Cell regeneration will take much longer than usual.

But even if you do a workout, it will be pointless – there will be no muscle growth, but you will run out of resources. You will be forcing the body to work instead of expending energy to eliminate the disease. You can’t do it that way!

If your body temperature is also high, it shows that the body is actively fighting the virus.

Even with a slight increase in temperature it is strictly forbidden to train!

If you have already planned a workout, but have felt the signs of illness, it is worth to postpone the exercise until you are fully recovered.

To be fair, it is worth noting that some studies on the tandem “SARS + sports” have been conducted. In their course, it was noticed that training during an illness has no effect on the course of the disease. Perhaps they are neutral. But do not take risks, it’s better to consult a doctor, whether it is worth an additional load on the body during an illness.

Most athletes do not train during acute respiratory infections and acute respiratory viral infections – they give the body a chance to rest.

Feeling sick “on your feet” can lead to complications.

Of course, everything can work out without consequences, we all at least once in our lives went to work with a runny nose or even worked out with a malaise. But it is better to rest, stick to bed rest.

What to do during a cold

Your job is to help your body fight the plague as much as possible.

It will help you:

• Sleep a lot – regeneration and rest takes place in sleep;
• Eat light foods – for vitamins and energy to fight viruses;
• Treat symptomatically – but don’t go overboard with pharmacy drugs and folk medicine, most OCDs have no cure;
• walk, read, relax – spend time outdoors, not watching TV;
• think – how you will properly and accurately return to training after an illness.

Allowed Activities

If you really want to do sports and have the strength for it, you can in a light form and at a relaxed pace:

• do some stretching;
• try joint exercises;
• Work with your own weight.

Workouts when you are sick should be short and not intensive. Do not overdo it, it is not necessary now. As soon as you feel tired, dizzy or otherwise worsen, stop.

How to train after a cold

If you already feel healthy, but there are still signs of illness (slight cough, runny nose, general weakness), the answer is the same – training is undesirable. Wait a few days until you have fully recovered. Allow your body to fully recover from the fight against the disease. Do not rush to the gym, sometimes you need 2-3 weeks: the more intensive your training, the longer the break should be and softer the transition to training after illness.

Go back to your classes calmly. Start with simple exercises and a small number of sets. With each workout increase the load until you are back to your usual regime. Don’t try to make up for lost time in 1 session.

Regular sport is the best prevention of colds. When the body works smoothly, the disease affects it less often. A sporty body has a strong immune system that is able to resist viruses and infections.

A few touches to the portrait of a strong immune system:

• Eat right and often.
• Include honey, pollen and propolis in your diet. Unless you are allergic, of course. Eat onions and garlic.
• Add vitamin C. You can take it from food or buy it in the pharmacy in tablets. Better yet, take a full vitamin complex several times a year.
• Give your body plenty of water.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Don’t forget about wet cleaning at home.
• Watch your personal hygiene: wash your hands often.
• Don’t overexert yourself.
• Start to harden your body. This will help your body fight disease.

If you approach the disease wisely, you can be on your feet in a few days and resume your normal rhythm of life. It is not necessary to prove anything to anyone by exercising as usual. Love yourself and help your body. Work as a team against the disease and you are sure to win with minimal losses. Be healthy!

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