Postpartum Moms: How to Rebuild Your Core

When I had given birth to my third child and was in school for physical therapy I heard about diastasis recti for the first time! I was informed that it was a gap in my rectus abdominus, the muscles that run vertically from your diaphragm to your pubic bone. I was told that more than 1.5-2 finger widths apart determined whether I needed some abdominal rehab of some sort to reduce this gap. This of course led me to consider why this was important, all the ways I could have prevented this, and what I could do about it. That was almost 22 years ago. I’ve had some time to do my research, personally and in my massage and wellness practice working with pregnant and postpartum women. By the way all moms are postpartum, whether they are 3 weeks or 40 years postpartum. Recently, I had the opportunity to study with Lynn Schultz, who brought home all that I had learned in physical therapy school, during my clinicals’ in physical therapy, and from the owner of Luna Wellness Center, who came up with her own unique approach to helping women restore their core. Years ago, I learned how important our lower abdominal muscles are, specifically the transverse abdominus muscles, because they help support our low back. When these muscles are not able to engage this leaves us susceptible to back injuries and poor posture. These muscles enable us to lift our babies, as they grow, and engage in our daily activities without strain or overcompensation of other muscles to help us maintain our balance. When they are engaged properly, along with correct postural alignment they serve to hold our pelvic organs in place. What I didn’t realize is how much of an impact our inhalation, exhalation, pelvic floor muscles, and abdominal muscles make on our internal organs, when they are not working synergistically and are overcompensating for muscles weakened from birth. This is where the reestablishment of a working relationship between our core abdominal muscles becomes important and is done by releasing specific muscles and activating other key muscles through fascial release of the muscles that are overcompensating and widening the rectus abdominus gap(although, not the most important goal, I recently learned), and reactivation of the muscles that have temporarily lost their connection, in order to reestablish, restore , and implement functional, healthier patterns of movement in your daily life. I find that this is one of the most important things a new mother can do following birth to address or prevent future physical challenges that can result from skipping over such a critical foundational component of rebuilding her core following birth. If you are interested in exploring your postpartum core further and think you may benefit from learning more about how to strengthen your core following birth, please contact me through mother-touch.com or Therapeutic Kneads Wellness Center, Eldersburg, Md. 410-549-7711, and register for the Restore Your Core Class starting Thursday November 14th(part 1) and 21 from 6-8(part 2). Please check in about our early bird special for those who register prior to November 7th! Can’t wait to see you there!