Of course it can! Have I had it happen to me? Of course I have!
In fact, I became lacksidasical about “GETTING UP AND DOWN CORRECTLY” and “LAYING DOWN CORRECTLY” the past months (ahem…holidays…still not much of an excuse for THAT…!)
Those may seem like VERY insignificant things, but let me tell you – they can be VERY influential for the good, or the bad – as can some of the other culprits – incorrect abdominals, and pregnancy.
To LAY DOWN CORRECTLY: From a sitting position (and while keeping your transverse in) you walk your hands down to one side and let you hand slide down and let the head and body inch down as your stationary hand supports your body in this process. You will then be lying on your side, with your head on your arm. Then lay your head down on the ground first, and then let your body roll over onto your back. If you DONT lay your head down on the ground before your body rolls over, you will get a BULGE OUT.
And that is how it happened…(getting up and down incorrectly) a few times at least. And SHAME on me, I measured my previously beautifully closed recti, and discovered I had a 1 on the top, 2 in the middle, and 1 fingerwidth gap on the bottom. This was 2 1/2 days ago.
(On a side note – getting up and down correctly out of bed is a very common culprit for women who have small children who cry in the middle of the night. They bolt upright out of bed – jacknife – and it causes a very forceful forward movement and SPLITS the recti further.)
Well, I was very upset with myself for letting that happen. And I was not keeping up to at LEAST 5 sets of seated Tuplers a day, so I am sure my transverse and recti muscles atrophied a little.
Well, Repentently I did some HEADLIFTS (another post for another day) – which are essentially the CORRECT version of “crunches” but where you KEEP YOUR SHOULDERS ON THE GROUND at all times, slightly tilt your pelvis, and approximate your recti as you lift JUST your head, and (OF COURSE) keep your transverse in. I also put on my SPLINT the next day and wore it all day. Today – 2 days later – TOTALLY CLOSED.
Is this the first time this has happened to me? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!
In my experience teaching and training, and observations with myself, I have noticed that once you gain the mind-body connection of bringing the recti together and closing the diastasis, its MUCH easier to bring it in during the occasional relaspe. I think of it as TWEAKING! I have to do it SEVERAL times on myself – Maybe once every 4 – 6 months or so…usually when I get lazy.
BUT HERE IS THE DIFFERENCE – (Instead of this initial 5 months it took me to close my diastasis measuring 3 on top, 3 in the middle, and 3 on the bottom) it only takes me a day or two now to get everything back together BECAUSE of the mind-body connection, and GREAT Transverse (innermost abdominal) strength (Referred to also as “CORE” )
So – its not an ALL or NOTHING thing. Diastasis can be the DARNDEST things. You just have to show them who is boss! And don’t GET DISCOURAGED!! I have not met one yet that couldn’t be tamed, trained, and fixed 🙂
Hey- I just got my “Loose your mummy tummy”!!! I’m so excited to start… however, is teh splint a must? Is there something other than the splint that could be used? Will not using it ruin my chance of loosing the nasty belly i have? HELP! 🙂 and thanks for the great blog!!
-Rochelle
Hi Rochelle!
Yes in response to your question, it depends. If your diastasis is larger than a 2 (2 fingerwidths wide), you would DEFINITELY want a splint. The women I teach and train by FAR get the fastest results with a splint. The reason is because the muscles are approximated and exercises are done with the recti together, which physically works in your advantage but also you establish a mind body connection of working the muscles close together and it speeds up the process considerably. If you don’t want to buy a splint, I would use or make a 5 inch scarf and safety pin it. You will want to wear it during the day all day, and while you work out.