Beautiful After the Belly

Diastasis Recti, Hernias, C-section and Ab Scarring, Belly Button, Pelvic Floor

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March 29, 2018

WHAT?! Guys can get a diastasis recti, too?

Can men get a diastasis recti?  The answer is unequivocally, YES!

 

But wait!  You may be thinking – they don’t get pregnant, so how can they get a diastasis recti?

A diastasis recti is created from a foreward forceful movement or pressure of the abdominals.  (It can also be exacerbated by the thrusting of the ribs and stretching of the connective tissue.)

What kind of foreward forceful movments or pressure would impact the abdominals of a man?

  1. INCORRECT ABDOMINAL EXERCISES – foreward forceful movement
  2. BEER BELLY – constant foreward forceful pressure
  3. GASTRIC DISTRESS – foreward forceful pressure from imflammation of the internal organs due to food, gastroverticulitis, etc

Client JS story:

This client is a firefighter, had been doing Crossfit for awhile, and found out he had a diastasis recti.  This client decided to do extra sets of the Seated Tupler Contractions (THE exercise for closing the diastasis recti, as long as its done CORRECTLY).  Instead of doing 5 the first week he did around 8 each day.  He had good technique with the Seated Tupler Contractions  as well – VERY important to get the proper results. He decided to PAUSE doing Crossfit until he could close AND start healing the diastasis recti, which is recommended so this part of the body can CLOSE *AND* HEAL.

During a workshop, we always measure the diastasis and the waist measurements, as well as look at the connective tissue condition between the two halves of the recti and do a belly button and hernia eval.

Client JS measured:

WAIST:

40 inches on the upper ab measurement

41.5 at the navel measurement,

40 in the lower abdominal measurement.

DIASTASIS:

5 fingerwidth upper diastasis measurement with moderate connective tissue

3 fingerwidth navel diastasis measurement with shallow connectie tissue

6.5 fingerwidth lower diastasis measurement with moderate connective tissue

DAY TWO OF WORKSHOP:

When we measured him on Day 2 of the workshop, he was almost completely closed!  He had PAUSED crossfit to strengthen the transverse and to close the diastasis.

He measured:

WAIST:

37.75 inches on the upper ab measurement

37.85 inches at the navel measurement

37.75 inches in the lower abdominal measurement.

DIASTASIS:

0 fingerwidths “closed” upper diastasis measurement with moderate connective tissue

0 fingerwidths or “closed” navel diastasis measurement with shallow connective tissue

0.5 fingerwidth lower diastasis measurement with moderate connective tissue

DAY THREE OF WORKSHOP

WOW!  What a transformation!  Client JS caught the day 3 of the following workshop due to work, so it had been 6 weeks after DAY 2.

WAIST:

35.6 inches on the upper ab measurement

35.6 inches at the navel measurement,

35.6 inches in the lower abdominal measurement.

DIASTASIS

0 fingerwidths “closed” upper diastasis measurement with moderate connective tissue

0 fingerwidths or “closed” navel diastasis measurement with shallow connective tissue

0.5 fingerwidth lower diastasis measurement with moderate connective tissue

So we saw a 16.5 inch decrease in his waist measurements!

So what was client JS doing?

During these 8 weeks, Client JS followed the Tupler Technique® Guidebook, wore the Tupler® Splint doing extra sets of contractions on many days.He was still PAUSING Crossfit until everything was closed.  He also decided to do a great compliment with Tupler Technique® which is CARDIO! He started running stairs and running in general at the same time.

Men and Women can both close their diastasis recti at ANY TIME!  There is no statute of limiations.  I see people from age 10 to 84 who have closed their diastasis!!

Any other firefighters willing to take on the Tupler Technique® Challenge??

October 25, 2016

Dry Brushing for Diastasis Recti Issues, Revitalize Abdominal Skin Tautness, C-section numbness!

6how-to-body-brush

Is there a 3 FOLD APPROACH to helping abdominal skin post diastasis recti,helping tautness, helping numbness, and stimulating the nerve endings on a “turned off muslce”?

YES!!

SKIN TAUTNESS

This has got to be one of the number one questions I get apart from diastasis and hernia questions. After pregnancy the skin can lose skin integrity.  When I work with people who bring their diastasis recti together and lose inches in the waist, the inevitable next question is – ok, what about the skin.  I do recommend both Emu oil and Coconut (the GOOD stuff – I like Tropical Traditions brand personally) in tandem, or Diastasis Rehab has a great connective tissue cream with a really great formulation.  But there has to more than JUST a topical approach to skin.

NUMBNESS

I work with many clients who have had C-sections.  Some have  numbness from 2 weeks Post C-section to 20+ YEARS!!  When we do exercises that work the transverse, if the lower section is not responding we have them poke the muscle, brush the muscle with different kinds of bristles of brushes to stimulate the nerve endings to send messages to the brain it needs to be worked. Different textures stimulate the nerve endings differently.

MIND BODY CONNECTION

For ANYONE who has been pregnant – when you can’t see a muscle, like when the belly gets bigger with pregnancy, the brain can literally turn the muscle off because you can’t “see” it (at least while looking down) and  and can become disconnected with the whole area.  The brain often needs some “additional info” to convince it that it still needs to send messages to the lower abs after it takes a break by turning it off, or gets the muscle fibers cut, as in a C-section.

DRY BRUSHING

AHA!  Something that can take these areas of weakness and bring them together.

I have been hearing about dry brushing for the past several years but did not look into it seriously for belly benefits until one of my clients mentioned how much it helped her post C-section.

I did some research about dry brushing – some ins and outs – here are some of the articles I read and liked:

http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/beauty-style/dirt-dry-brushing

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/24/dry-skin-brushing.aspx

http://wellnessmama.com/26717/dry-brushing-skin/

The Benefits of Dry Brushing

10 Benefits of Dry Brushing Your Skin

OTHER BENEFITS

Of course, there are also other benefits as well – detoxing, stimulating the lymph system, eliminating other skin issues, helps circulation.

Did I mention it only takes 30 seconds to 2 minutes per day to do?! Yeah, that’s VERY little investment for some great potential!  In the diastasis world – it helps with THREE THINGS at the same time – the skin tautness, mind-body connection, and stimulates nerve endings post C section if there is numbness (make sure to be careful around the scar area).

WHERE AND WHAT KIND:

This is the one I got – less than $10.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00016RIIA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

BEFORE AND AFTER:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=dry+brushing+before+and+after+pictures&t=h_&iax=1&ia=images

ADDENDUM:

*The one addendum I would make to the chart above is to do a clockwise motion also on the abdomen in the middle as that will help stimulate digestion as well.

ENJOY the journey of Dry Brushing!!

 

October 17, 2016

Diastasis Recti and Sex – whats our position?

No pun intended!

And believe it or not, I get asked this one ALL THE TIME!!

I will take an except from diastasis rehab for this one!

“I tell my clients that your transverse muscle should be your best friend.  This is because you use the transverse muscle with every breath you take and every move you make! So you must think about using your transverse with all your activities of daily living.  But I forgot about one very important activity of daily living……having sex.   It was not until a client who was not progressing as fast as she should have with the program, who was very  sexually active,  asked me if having sex would affect her diastasis.  I knew immediately that this was the reason she was not progressing in the program. A light bulb moment! Having sex does effect the diastasis. I told her how and she then made remarkable progress in a very short time.

So how does sex need to be modified so that it does not make the diastasis larger?

It is all about the  “positions” when having sex. If you have a diastasis, the hands and knees position is OUT.  In this position all the weight of the organs  presses on the weak connective tissue not allowing it to heal. Closing a diastasis is all about healing the connective tissue.  Besides the pressure on the connective tissue, in this position it is very hard to hold in the transverse muscle.

A backlying position with the legs in the air is also a challenging position. Gravity makes it hard to hold the transverse in when on your back with the legs NOT in the air. That is why the Tupler Technique® strengthens the transverse in a seated position for three weeks before headlifts are started.  That way you have transverse strength and the awareness of how to use it in a position where gravity makes it hard to do. Even if you have a strong transverse and no diastasis,  the combination of backlying AND legs in the air   is a very difficult position to hold the transverse in. If you can’t hold it in it is going forward forcefully putting intra-abdominal pressure on the weak connective tissue and separating the muscles.

So the best position is to be seated on top. The next best position is sidelying with a pillow supporting your belly.  With that in mind…..enjoy”

October 29, 2015

Home birth, New Baby, Binding Bones, Healing Diastasis Recti, 1 month Post Partum!

Baby #6 is here!

isaac birth

3 hours after birth

isaac 4 days old

4 days old

 

I had an AMAZING birth experience.  This time I did several things differently than the others.

COPING MECHANISMS

I did Hypnobabies this time around, which rocked my world.  Helped me really have some great coping mechnanisms and think of things differently – pressure waves, instead of contractions, and so forth.  I used the same mechanisms to cope with the uterine cramps afterwards.

RELAXED ATMOSPHERE

I did a Home Birth which was so great!  The birth happened so fast (TOTAL labor of 1 hour 40 minutes) that the kids were COMPLETELY oblivious to what was going on. My oldest (12) was playing Canon in D on the piano, while the others were entertained on the ipad. I put my youngest daughter down for a nap at 1:20 PM as labor was just getting started.  Had the baby at 2:47 PM.  It was so fast, the midwfie didn’t make it in time.  The assistant made it with 5 minutes to spare.  She had just enough time to put down her laptop, through the absorbant pads on the ground and literally catch the baby.

PERFECT PUSHING®

My muscle memory from doing the Seated Tupler Contractions was right where it needed to be – Just 1 1/2 pushes and the baby was out.  You can’t learn a new skill while in pain, so if you practice DURING pregnancy, especially (don’t get grossed out here) during each bowel movement, your muscles will know exactly how to push perfectly during the crowning moment.  Your stomach muscles will go BACK rather than DOWN (a.k.a. bearing down) while the pelvic floor relaxes.  This makes for a good pushing experience – be it a water birth, or land birth. You can get the HOW TO HERE.

QUICK BIRTH

We did a land birth, rather than the water birth.  I LOVE water births.  Two of my six have been water births.  The tub did not have enough time to fill up, so we did a land birth right on the floor. I will always think of that spot in our room differently now – like it has an energy mark of the experience.

PLACENTA ENCAPSULATION

I had my placenta encapsulated by Peace Love Placenta. It has been GREAT for energy.  Holy Cow – why did I not do this the first 5 births.  It has its personalized cocktail of hormones for each individual.  I definitley have felt the quick balance it gives.

HERBAL HEALING

I used some herbal tea with shephards purse, as well as some other herbs that kept postpartum bleeding down to a minimum. THIS TEA REALLY rocked my world.  With 6 kids to chase after, its important to really heal internally.  This was so great for that.

SPLINTING

I waited several weeks to splint with this one.  My uterus was a bit stubborn to go down at first.  The encapsulated placenta helped.  I listened to my body with the splinting.  I have waited a little longer after each child to splint.  This time I waited 3 1/2 weeks to splint.  I felt it helped everything calm down with the uterus, so there was no ligament damage.  ALWAYS listen to your body while splinting.  Though my diastasis is already closed, and has been for a couple weeks – the Diastasis Rehab® Splint found HERE is helping the waistine go down.  After a week of splinting, though the diastasis was closed, my waist has gone down 3 inches from 29 1/2 to 26 1/2.

BINDING BONES

I have been binding my bones as well. This you can do postpartum ideally in the first 6 months after birth.  You use a compression binder ON TOP OF the Diastasis Rehab® Splint.  This is the version I like HERE. I like this one because it helps give compression to the hips and ribs both.  I have liked the look and feel of my abdomen MUCH better after binding the bones AS WELL AS Splinting to bring the diastasis together, and the waistline in.  It also has the added bonus of keeping the Diastasis Rehab® Splint in place.

INTRINSIC HEALING EXERCISES

And now – doing my 10 sets of 100 a day of Seated Tupler contractions to get the waistline where I want it to be, since my diastasis is already closed (mostly from splinting consistently during pregnancy coupled with the 10 sets of 100 contractions, and correct body mechanics). Can learn about them HERE.

SUMMARY

Putting yourself back together after 6 kids can have its challenges. After EACH child, the trick is to listen to your body.  Most cultures have learned to approximate muscles, bind bones, use herbs to care for mom, and many other tried and true things our culture has by in large forgotten about, but is now emerging back into our culture.

Postpartum mamas – it doesn’t matter whether you had a baby 3 days ago or 30 years ago, you can STILL put yourself back together!

 

 

March 3, 2015

Amazing stories of those in the Tupler Technique® program:

I see so many amazing things with my clients, and I tell all the good stories at my workshops.  I decided to share a few here:) Some Amazing stories in the past few months of those who have gone through the Tupler Technique® program: diastasis-recti-before-after

Client CS

She is in her 30s was taking the workshop and just found out the first day of her program she was pregnant with #5.  She measured 10.5 fingerwidths wide on the lower measurement of her diastasis recti.  In only TWO WEEKS she brought that measurement down to 1.5 fingerwidths WHILE she had morning sickness!

Client CI

She is a mom in her lower 40s with 2 kids.  She has fibromyalgia and wanted to do the program to fix her diastasis recti.  She emailed me after 1 week commenting her fibromyalgia had never felt better, AND her belly looked much better!

Client MT

She is a mom in her 40s with 2 kids.  She had a 3.5 inch by 3 inch hernia 1 inch above her navel.  After 2.5 weeks of doing the Tupler Technique, she decreased her hernia to 1.25 inch X 1 inch (while only doing half the suggested exercises).  A 66% decrease!

Client GU

She is a mom in her 30s with 3 kids.  She was very athletic, but her belly did not reflect that.  After doing the Tupler Technique® program for 5 week, She closed her 7 fingerwidth diastasis, and shrunk her waist from 39 inches at the belly button to 32!  She also lost another 5 inches across the lower and upper parts of her belly.  12 inches off her belly in 5 weeks (not changing what she ate or anything else).

Client KM

She is a mom in her lower 30s with 2 kids.  She had a 1in. X 1 in. hernia that had bothered her for years.  She did the Tupler Technique® program and splinted, and her hernia completely reversed in 2 days!  She couldn’t believe it and emailed me to make sure this was even possible.  It has never come back.   Gone for good.

Client PH

She just turned 60 this year and has 4 kids.  She is taking the working with her daughter.  She completely closed her 5 fingerwidth diastasis she has had for 30 years in just TWO WEEKS!  Her abs were rock solid, connective tissue has already started healing beautifully. She told me she used to buy a belt for her pants to hold over her pooch, but now, she has to wear a belt just to keep her pants up!  She shed 7 inches off her belly in 2 weeks!

Client CS

She is a young mom of 2 kids, one just an infant.  She drove 3.5 hours from another state for the workshop.  We practiced coughing correctly at the workshop;  especially important time of year as it was a January workshop.  She came back 2 weeks later reporting that she had pneumonia for the last two weeks.   However, she had brought her diastasis to only ONE fingerwidth from EIGHT fingerwidths in just TWO WEEKS WITH pneumonia!  Little things like coughing are so important to learn to do correctly!

Client KG

She is a mom of 4 in her mid 50s.  She is a professor at a university in the City of Chicago.  She was overweight, had a  large 8 fingerwidth diastasis, both of which were taxing on her back, causing her severe back pain.  She had to frequently go in for an epidural to alleviate her pain. She called me on her Jewish New Year to thank me, as the Tupler Technique® program had not only closed her diastasis, it helped her back so much to the point she no longer needed the epidural every couple of months!

CLIENT KH

This client was a male client who had a 10.5 fingerwidth diastasis.  He was a cute older gentlemen from the city (Chicago) with a white beard in his 60s. He reported that after two weeks all his pants were falling off, so he had to go shopping with his wife to buy new pants.  We measured his diastasis and he had nearly closed it in just TWO WEEKS!  It was down to a 1 fingerwidth diastasis.  He also reported that his back felt much better than it had in a long time (decades).

Client SB

This client is a mom of 4 in her 60s.  She had a 14 fingerwidth diastasis and 9 very large hernias – a few of them being 5X6 inches, and a few of them being 3 X 4 inches, and a couple of them being 1 X 2 inches.  Her connective tissue was like a spiderweb, barely holding in her organs.  Someone with this severe of a diastasis and this many hernias will take much longer to heal than someone without shredded connective tissue, and someone without this wide of a diastasis.  No doubt any surgeon would recommend surgery with super heavy duty mesh.  Over 9 months, with the help of an MRI, ALL over her hernias were COMPLETELY UNDERNEATH the connective tissue!  We measured her to see – she was a 6 fingerwidth diastasis and was no longer in constant pain.  Her spiderweb of connective tissue had come back together and started healing.  She was only a 1 fingerwidth diastasis in the upper and lower measurements of the diastasis! This with NO surgery, just the Tupler Technique® program!

Client MS

This client is a nursing young mom in her 20s.  She had 1 baby a few months ago.  She wanted her belly back.  She was a 28.5 inch waist and had a 4 fingerwidth diastasis.  After 4 weeks she was able to bring her waist back to her wedding waist measurement of 24 inches.  Her diastasis was completely closed and her abs were rock solid. I see so many amazing things – I tried to include stories from all gamuts and walks of life.  I am so proud of them all!

January 4, 2015

Before and After pics from 2014!!

What can happen in  just 4 weeks? There are some AMAZING stories behind these pics – the majority just during the 4 week workshop!  I am so proud of all these ladies! IMG_3291 IMG_3298 IMG_3299 IMG_3300 IMG_3301 IMG_3302 IMG_3303 IMG_3070 IMG_3071 IMG_3072 IMG_3073 IMG_2525 IMG_2526 IMG_2534 IMG_2535 IMG_2537 IMG_2538 IMG_2539 IMG_2541 IMG_2542 IMG_2543 IMG_2544 IMG_2545 IMG_2546 IMG_2547 IMG_2548 IMG_2549 IMG_2550 IMG_2552 IMG_2553 IMG_2561 IMG_2562 IMG_2563 IMG_2576 IMG_2577 IMG_2085 IMG_2089 IMG_1237 IMG_1945 IMG_1946 IMG_1947 IMG_1948 IMG_1949 IMG_1950 IMG_1951 IMG_1952 IMG_1953 IMG_1954 IMG_1955 IMG_1956 IMG_1957 IMG_1961 IMG_1962 IMG_1963 IMG_1964 IMG_1896 IMG_1897 IMG_1899 IMG_1900

September 25, 2014

Surgery best option? Diastasis Recti too large? Tupler Technique® Better!

BonnieWayne pamphlet

An email I received this week:

 

I’ve had numerous consultations with general surgeons. Two out of three doctors consider my situation as an incisional hernia and recommend surgery. The other surgeon said it’s technically abdominal wall laxity or Diastasis Recti. The latest CT scan shows 8 cm wide and 10 cm long. Have you worked with anyone with these measurements or larger? Would I still be a candidate for your program and benefit? I’m hoping so, I would like to avoid surgery since I would like to start planning a family soon. However, I would like your professional opinion. If you believe surgery is the better option for my situation or if I can avoid it and still have a normal pregnancy.

 

My response to her:

I have worked with many severe diastasis with amazing results.  Just today I had a mom who was a 12.5 fingerwidth diastasis (almost 18 centimeters!) with very deep connective tissue and a very large hernia.  She brought it down to a 3 fingerwidth diastasis (measuring now 2.5 cm from 18 cm = down 15.5 cm!!), 70% improvement of connective tissue, and a 60% reduction in the hernia JUST in 5 weeks over the span of the workshop.  I have worked with hundreds of 10 cm + diastasis with also amazing results.
Also, I will tell you most Surgeons will recommend surgery because that’s what they are trained to do.  Most Doctors refer to a surgeon because thats what they are trained to do.  60 – 70% of the clients I see have seen 1 or more surgeons and were referred to  have surgery.  In that time, there is only 1 client I would have passed on to a surgeon – she had a 22 cm diastasis recti, and 9 VERY LARGE hernias, as her connective tissue was shredded.  Even then she made improvement, has not had to get surgery, and is progressing.  (MY SIDE NOTE)  In fact, that client just talked with me today telling me that ALL NINE HERNIAS are now behind the connective tissue, which means they are in fact NO LONGER HERNIAS – THEY HAVE BEEN REVERSED!  Considered individually 3 of the 9 hernias were 4 inches X 6 inches that is amazing!
The body will recognize a natural solution much more than an artificial cutting and sewing.  We get into all that at the workshop as well 🙂

 

(Pictures of this said mama’s amazing results shortly to come!)