Hi all,
I hope you’re well.
I have been meaning to write this blog post for quite a long time but really had to think hard about how to frame this.
I saw this post from Andy Murray on the BBC website in June where he talks about his hip injury and the cycle of pain he was in.
Most Personal Trainers who deal with rehab are familiar with the pain cycle;
Image created by the guys at GMB.
In the blog Andy writes;
“Long-term pain can be demoralising and it definitely affected my mental health, but at the time I didn’t realise it as much because it became the norm.”
Does that sound familiar at all? That feeling that something is not quite right but you’re not quite sure what’s getting you down?
A lot of my clients with Diastasis Recti, a weak pelvic floor or back pain don’t even realise they don’t “feel right” until we’re starting to resolve their physical issues.
Diastasis Recti is NOT just an aesthetics issue. Diastasis Recti can have a profound effect on your mental health. The same goes for a weak pelvic floor.
And there is something we can do about it if we treat it.
I remember reading this column by Shappi Khorsandi in May and reading this line in it;
“Five years after having my younger child, my belly still looks like it’s holding a baby inside it. It simply doesn’t want to give up that job and there’s not much that I can do about it.”
I agree with almost everything else in her excellent column but that line drives me nuts. Obviously I don’t know what, if anything, Shappi has tried to “do about it” and I have come across some cases of Diastasis Recti that could not be resolved by exercise alone. But they really are very few and far between. Targeted exercise almost ALWAYS resolves Diastasis Recti, like I wrote about here.
It might take a bit longer for some than for others and you want to make sure you’re doing the right type of exercise for you rather than just a standard group exercise class.
But we have to stop telling women that “it’s just the way it is once you’re a mom” as it really is nonsense.
There is no reason why you should still have Diastasis Recti, a weak pelvic floor or poor posture and lower backpain 5 years after giving birth.
If we start thinking of some post-natal issues as needing rehab maybe the Health service and health insurance providers will start taking it seriously. If Andy Murray can get a hip replacement and start playing competitive tennis again, why can’t women just get access to post-natal healthcare that can help heal their issues.
Just to be clear, as I usually get emails about this sort of thing, I am NOT saying that there is anything wrong with the post-natal body. I am not “telling women they are broken and should be fixed”. (Seriously, just stop sending me emails explaining my intent back to me) I am saying that if you have a medical issue that you can and should get that treated, you’ll feel better for it.
Diastasis Recti ALWAYS means your body isn’t functioning the way that it should. And you really shouldn’t pee yourself every time you laugh at one of Shappi’s excellent routines;
Take care,
Peter
