Scroll through social media long enough, and you are bound to encounter fitness mum-fluencers ready to share postpartum exercises that “snatch” the waist and flatten tummy bulges.
Targeted exercises and physiotherapy can help build core strength and improve abdominal function. But for some women experiencing diastasis recti, there may be a limit to what exercise alone can achieve, said experts.
Diastasis recti occurs when there is a separation between the left and right sides of the rectus abdominis muscle – the muscles that form the “six pack” – along the midline of the abdomen.
Doctors say the condition is not simply due to weak abdominal muscles after pregnancy, or a lack of effort or willpower to exercise.
“Once the abdominal wall has been significantly overstretched, exercise can strengthen the muscles around it but cannot necessarily tighten the stretched tissue itself,” explained Dr Andrew Cheah, consultant plastic surgeon at Artisan Plastic Surgery.
WHAT CAUSES ABDOMINAL SEPARATION?
Pregnancy is the most common cause, as the abdomen expands because of the growing baby, stretching the connective tissue between the abdominal wall muscles. Women who have had multiple pregnancies, twins or larger babies may be at higher risk, said Dr Cheah.
Some studies suggest that diastasis recti affects over one in three (35 to 39 per cent) women six months after childbirth, and up to 30 per cent after a year, said Dr Yap Yan Lin, senior consultant and head of Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Department of Surgery at National University Hospital (NUH).
However, women who have never been pregnant, and men, can also develop the condition.
Heavy lifting or straining, particularly using improper technique, can place excessive stress on the fascia (connective tissue), said Dr Yap.
Increased pressure inside the abdomen, such as from chronic coughing, straining or constipation, can place additional stress on the abdominal wall, she added.