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I'm super interested in this. I have terrible diastasis recti after my two and might subscribe to her videos for a month to see if it helps. I tried the exercise as described last night and it was so hard.

@gotkimchi: https://thediamethod.com I found the link in the NPR story.

I'm a tad skeptical. To be fair, I haven't heard about the method outlined here before and haven't read about it beyond this article and a glance at the trainer's website, but I have read about abdominal issues and I suspect they generally require more than a single type of exercise to resolve. Again, to be fair, it seems she's trying to give people additional help in her videos/training, even though NPR's headline makes it sound like she has one exercise that is a cure-all.

Even so, I suspect that the actual fix to a DR and all kinds of other bodily problems is probably more along the lines of "change the way you live your life so that your body moves more or less the way it's supposed to" (you know, stuff like stop sitting in chairs and cars, don't wear ridiculous shoes or restrictive clothes, and so forth) than "do these exercises once a day and carry on as usual." Maybe I'm wrong (and maybe she's not saying or implying the "carry on" part), but she did claim to resolve DRs in a matter of weeks and resolving a problem that has probably been building up over decades within that time frame sounds too good to be true to me.

@honeybear: I don't know, the clinical study they did was small but seems promising! I e definitely never heard of supportive footwear and an active lifestyle healing DR though---do you have links for that?

@Anagram: I like this book: https://smile.amazon.com/Diastasis-Recti-Solution-Abdominal-Separation/dp/098965396X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502222901&sr=8-1&keywords=diastasis+recti

Caveat lector: The author is not what I'd call a supportive shoe fan. If you read her website/former blog/IG/books, you'll see she rarely wears shoes (but read her stuff about going to minimal shoes and you'll see that she doesn't think it's a good idea to go from high heels to minimal shoes quickly, which I think makes sense). And she distinguishes (correctly, I think) being active from doing regular exercise. She does offer a lot of exercises in her books to help get the ball rolling and help people start to alleviate problems (although I don't recall a sucking in one in any of the books I've read), but mostly she tells you that you've got to majorly change the way you live (as nicely as possible!). I don't agree with everything she says, but overall she makes a compelling argument.

@Freckles: I'm not saying that the sucking in exercise does nothing. It certainly seems to do something, but what exactly? And is that a good thing to do? (I don't know, to be honest.)

I am admittedly leery of claims that a single exercise or program that can be accomplished in a short period of time each day will magically take off inches and put muscles and tissues back where they're supposed to be in a matter of weeks. And the aesthetic/waist-measuring stuff going on here raises all kinds of red flags for me.

I follow a woman called Lauren Ohayan on FB and her take on this is that a functional core is more than just sucking it in and reducing DR. According to her it's about having a core that reacts to whatever you're body is doing (so not just tense abs and a flat tummy) and that includes the back, TVA and pelvic floor all working together.

ETA here's a link to an article she wrote:

https://laurenohayon.com/qa-are-navel-to-spine-exercises-the-best-way-to-build-a-strong-core/

So who else has been sucking in their belly button today?

@Littlebit7: can you recommend any reputable online resources/videos or do you think any of the programs mentioned in the NPR article are worth paying for? I think I fall into the category of people who are fairly fit/live a healthy lifestyle but I definitely have a little mom pooch that I'm somewhat self-conscious about and I know I have a least a 2 finger DR at my belly button.

@MrsSCB: haha, I was wondering this too. I was trying to do it yesterday throughout the day, but probably only for 1-2 minutes at a time and then not again for a couple hours.

@Adira: glad I'm not the only one! Ten minutes is a long time...

Saw this response to the NPR article on Facebook:

A recent NPR article on diastasis recti has been making its way around social media. I’ve been getting messages regarding the method discussed in the article, so I figure this is a good time to clear up some misconceptions about DRA.

The article already gets off to a rocky start with its click-bait title, “Flattening The ‘Mummy Tummy’ With 1 Exercise, 10 Minutes A Day.” Mamas, if there is one thing you should know, it is that there is no such thing as a miracle exercise. If you ever see the words, “Do this one thing,” be skeptical. Do your homework before you buy into whatever claim is being made.

Diastasis recti is not simply an abs issue. It is a full-body alignment and pressure systems issue. Which is why unfortunately, doing one exercise for 10 minutes a day is not enough. Let’s say you do a few sets of an exercise that brings your rectus abdominus muscles closer together, but then you spend the remainder of your day standing with your ribs flared and sucking in your stomach—both things that increase the pressure on the linea alba and contribute to diastasis recti. Your alignment and breathing patterns just undid whatever you accomplished through your core training.

It’s important to understand how your core muscles function during movement, not just how they work in isolation. Your transverse abdominus, pelvic floor and diaphragm work together to provide stability before movement. Physical therapist Julie Wiebe, PT calls these muscles your “anticipatory core.” A big piece of preventing and healing DRA is activating this system (exhale, lift your pelvic floor, transverse abdominus automatically engages) prior to movement, which Wiebe refers to as “blow before you go.” Let’s say you’re about to lift a heavy weight overhead. If you implement this strategy first, you should feel your belly tighten and pull together prior to and throughout the lift. This trains the muscles and connective tissue to become stronger and more responsive, helping to close a diastasis.

You cannot prevent diastasis recti during pregnancy by doing an exercise. DRA is a normal part of most women’s pregnancies. There are certainly strategies and exercise choices you can make to reduce your risk of a large gap. However, alignment and breathing in your everyday life and in training, as well as your unique genetics, are significant factors in whether you will have a diastasis.

There is so much more to say about this article, including the validity of the studies behind it; the cueing for transversus abdominus (most people won’t even recruit their TA on a “pull your navel to your spine” cue) andthe question of whether these women had any pelvic floor issues and if pelvic floor dysfunction improved or worsened with this single exercise (my guess is it certainly didn't improve).

My one request is simply that you don’t believe everything you read. Please, please do your homework. Talk to a women’s health PT. Spend some time reading Julie Wiebe, PT's blog. Check out Brianna Battles- Everyday Battles, Pregnancy Exercise, Healthy Habits Happy Moms or Jessie Mundell for solid diastasis recti advice (there are lots more of us, just naming a few!) Or if you're local, come find me!

@lamariniere: I'd strongly suggest you find a women's health PT practitioner in your area and pay him or her a visit. It will be worth it. I know it's not ideal from a cost or time standpoint, but with the online courses you have no clue if you are activating what you are supposed to activate. Sort of like the advice of "hey you have a pelvic floor problem? Do more kegels!!" More kegels can actually make pelvic floor dysfunction worse in some women, especially those with pain.

So I'm with @Mrs. Deer: on this one. It's much more complex than one exercise, but I also want to stress PT can and does work for many people.

@gotkimchi: Thanks! That's good to know.

@lamariniere: I also had a really good experience with PT for diastasis recti. I still so my exercises occasionally even thought I was discharged, especially if I notice issues cropping up in my hips/pelvis.

@lamariniere: Yes! I'm so glad I didn't need to go the surgery route. I was in a DR group on Facebook and all those ladies would talk about was getting surgery. I had to leave because I definitely didn't want surgery unless PT didn't work.