My Story- Katie (just after delivery of 4th baby)

Hi Tummy Team! 
 I am so happy to announce that our baby, Lydia Lenora, born at home 10/30/14. 9lbs 9oz, a HUGE head at 14 3/4 cn, and full of sweetness  I wanted to share my birth story to tell everyone how The Tummy Team and Fit2b helped me through my pregnancy and labor!

This pregnancy started out 100% better than the last one I had. Lydia is my 4th baby. I didn't know about DR until after the birth of my 3rd baby 2 years ago. At that time, when I tried to measure my DR, I couldn't even find the edges of it, and it took months of fit2b before I could feel it at about a 5 finger width. My pregnancy with my 3rd baby was so awful, full of pain from my hips, lower back and sciatica, that I had 'sworn off' having any more babies. The Lord helped me with the pregnancy amnesia though, and I was joyful when we found out we were expecting #4. I did the Core Foundations program through The Tummy Team about a year ago (before this pregnancy) and closed up my DR to a 1, 2, 1 while still nursing my then 1 year old. Found out I was pregnant a few months later (still nursing, but weaned shortly after-she was ready) and was amazed by how much stronger I felt through out my whole pregnancy. I was also eating much healthier food, but I feel like knowing and understanding my body and alignment made this pregnancy the best, even though I was still taking care of three other little ones 5 and under. I did the prenatal program around 20 weeks along and was reminded of how to take care of my alignment and body while growing the baby. I know my DR began to open a bit, and at times my back would bother me, but it was NOTHING like my pregnancy with my 3rd. I had very minimal sciatica, and it was only when I wasn't paying attention to my alignment. Having a mostly sciatica-free pregnancy is Amazing if you are used to having it every day in other pregnancies. I ordered another, bigger splint from the Tummy Team (the 4 panel) and used it on days that I felt more tired and couldn't hold myself up as much, but I didn't use it daily, and didn't feel like I needed to. Another amazing note, is that I DID NOT LEAK PEE through the Entire pregnancy! My pelvic floor was SO much stronger, and even through sneezes, light jumps (if playing), and even a severe cold with a LOT of coughing at 35 weeks, I didn't feel the need to change my underwear because of leaking! I *might* have had a few slight leaks during weeks 39 and 40 (baby was 8 days late) but seriously, who can say that they have gone that long without leaking in a pregnancy? And it was so minimal, maybe only 3 or 4 times? In short, I felt so great this pregnancy compared to my others!

Okay, birth story: Contractions started coming around 2 am but they were very sporadic and not regulating at all during the first 7 hours. I was highly annoyed (to the amusement of my midwife, and myself now that I am looking back) by how 'slow' this labor was going as opposed to my 7 hour labor with my 3rd baby. After that, I decided to take matters into my own hands, and began purposeful belly breathing and relaxing of my pelvic floor. I walked constantly between 3 rooms and paused with each contraction to make sure I was breathing correctly. Within an hour, I felt my first urge to push. My midwife believes that it is very possible to *help labor along* by mental and physical things just like I was doing. My labor might Not have been too much longer anyway, but I think I helped a lot in making it happen sooner. I pushed baby out in just under 9 hours. Pushing felt stronger and more efficient than it had with other labors. I pushed her out in 4 pushes, the bulging sac took two pushes to get through, and then head and body. I didn't tear at all, even though my daughter's head is quite large 


Recovery: at 3 days pp, I feel like I am already almost put back together. I began wearing a splint again about an hour after labor and have worn it almost constantly since. It Felt and FEELS so good to have it on, a HUGE difference to letting belly feel all jiggly for days on end after birth. Ive begun working on belly breathing and alignment again and I can already feel my body working on healing and getting stronger. I'm still working on the nursing position, but since my milk is coming in and working on latch it hasn't been Top priority yet. It will be in the next day or so as baby gets the hang of it better. I do use my back support every time I'm sitting though, and it feels so good to have it there. Anyway, I know this is super long, but hope you can find some inspiration and hope through my story!

Katie~  happy mama of 4.

Pain is a blessing.

Our body was designed to be balanced and in line with the perpendicular line against the pull of gravity.  There is intended to be a perfect balance point between the right and the left, and the front and the back of your body.  When you are off balance for an extended period of time, your body starts to act like a muscular tug of war.  Pain/strain/tension comes from one muscle screaming because they are losing the battle.  If you think back to your tug of war days, you may recall there are 2 ways to win.  You can pull harder (recruit more people or in this case more muscles) or the other side can give in (release). At The Tummy Team, we help people understand what parts of their body are in this tug of war and how to help release and balance it all out.

If we ignore the pain, simply power through, then our body is often left out of balance with one side significantly over dominating.  Ignoring pain, leads to chronic pain.

But where do we start?

First you need to be aware of what is going on.  Awareness begins with reconnecting to your body. "Powering through" leads to disconnection and often desensitization of your body.  It is very difficult to activate something you cannot feel.  It is nearly impossible to change something that you are unaware of.  

Start listening to your body.

Your body communicates to you on a regular basis.  Your brain is the ultimate communication system.  It is constantly "talking" to every aspect of your body.  We often explain this with muscles as every muscle has a voice.  The muscles you are used to using have a voice you can hear.  Muscles that have been neglected or under utilized have a quiet whisper of a voice.  (Think right now about your bicep.  You can easily bend your elbow and "hear" your biceps.  Then think of your pinky toe.  Can you easily isolate it and lift it separately from your other toes?  Likely not- it's voice is much quieter.) Some muscle are quiet because we don't use them much.  Some muscles are screaming because they are being overused.  Screaming or whining muscles are muscles that are fighting that tug of war and likely losing.  If we don't know what to do about the screaming and whining we can start to ignore it and disconnect from that sound.  We can become numb to it.  

Pain is actually a blessing.

I am aware that this is an odd statement.  But think of it this way.  When you drive on curvy steep mountain roads you see the guard rail as a blessing.  The guard rail keeps you on the road and keeps you from falling off a cliff.  The guard rail shows you your boundary, where it is safe to be and helps you avoid injury and even death.  Pain is your body's guard rail.  Actually, the guard rail should be tension and aching but we ignore that and then pain is the next step.  

Pain is your body's way of telling you something is WRONG and begging you to fix it.


What is making your body scream and whine?  Does your back hurt when you carry your kids?  Does it hurt when you do the dishes?  Do you get headaches when you work at the computer?  Does your body start failing you by the end of the day?  Do you wake up in pain?  What is triggering your pain?  

We must start with awareness, even if that awareness reveals our weakness and limitations (no one likes that).  But if you don't honestly know where you are starting at you will inevitable continue to hurt yourself over and over and your body will be so busy trying to survive that it will have no time or energy to be able to help you heal.  ( see shut off the water)

Then we need to start connecting again.  This can be so hard as we have trained ourselves to multitask, disconnect, power through and ignore pain (or even worse believe the no pain no gain lie).  Connecting to your body again is a process but it is essential to be able to fully heal.

Every muscle has an ideal alignment for it to function optimally.  Our body can function in a lot of postures and positions but when you have weak muscles and significant muscle imbalance (pain- tug of war) then you need to start in the ideal alignments to allow the body to balance and rebuild.  

Posture and alignment work never seems like exciting stuff but it can be seriously life changing.  At The Tummy Team, we focus a lot on finding neutral.  This is the balance point, the place to start building from and the quiet calm in a storm of tug of warring muscles.  Neutral never feels natural at first. But when your body truly can reclaim neutral, it will be happy.

Here is just one example of living outside of neutral that creates so much pain in our culture....

The weight of your head....
We teach the principles of "eyes on the horizon", "cable from the crown of your head" and "wings (elbows) in".  These simple posture cues will gradually start moving your upper body into its neutral position.

What do you have going on in your life that keeps your eyes down, your head forward and your elbows out?  How can you adjust your environment to help you fix this?  Is it how you are sitting to nurse your baby?  Is it how you look at your iPad or laptop?  Is it how you look down when you walk?  Is it how you have your car seat positioned?  

The Tummy Team will help you systematically rebuild your core and realign your body to help you become pain free, connected and strong.  But it begins with changing how you are interacting your body.  It is about practical, little steps that add up to life changes.

Are you listening to your body?  What can you do to listen better?

Let us help you.  Find out more about The Tummy Team and check out our online Core Foundations Program to start restoring your core today.

Is it possible to truly rehab your core with an online program???

For a long time, we were not sure.  Rehab is personal and specific and people do best when we can see them and treat them specifically.  But there are very few therapist who do what we do and so many women (and men) who need core rehab.  So I spent about 9 months filming what we do in the clinic and then designing a step by step program to walk people very deliberately through rebuilding their core.  We did not know if it would be helpful or more confusing but we felt we had to try to give people and option who had no other options.  

So last summer (July and August of 2013) The Tummy Team launched 2 online programs.  Core Foundations 8 week Online Program and Prenatal Core Training 6 week Online Program.  The results, testimonies and feedback from these 2 programs has blown us away!  

The power of the internet to reach people all over the world has been unbelievable.  Here is just one of hundreds of stories we have heard in just over a year since we launched!  

A message from a mom in Romania back in May 2014....

Hello, my name is Hajni,I’m from Romania and I want to tell you my story. I’m 33 years old, married for 14 years now and I have an eight months old baby girl. I had another child when I was 20 years old, but he had a malformation and died six days after birth. It was a C-section. Physically I recovered fairly well, except a little belly sticking out, which didn’t go away , no matter how many crunches I did on a daily basis. 
After we thought we would never have a baby and almost gave up hope, I finally got pregnant and had a beautiful healthy girl, also by a C-section. I didn’t gain so much weight during pregnancy, I mean after birth I had an extra 15 pounds, but since the baby was big, so had been my tummy, I mean enormous… Moreover, I had problems with my lactation, so I started eating to help it, (big mistake) and in three months I gained 32 extra pounds. My feet hurt, my knees were giving up because of the extra weight they carried, my back hurt, I couldn’t move around properly, not to speak of the depression I fell into because of the way I looked. I started eating less, but that didn’t help me much , I lost 4 pounds and that was it. And now , my belly was sticking out even more than before. I started doing sit-ups daily, as many as possible, to fix the problem, I wore a belly binder for months, it was killing me because I wore it too tight and it was hurting my C- section… but my belly wouldn’t shrink. I look 6-7 months pregnant, my back is still killing me, especially that now Georgia is 18 pounds and I have no help around the house during the day. Seeing that it’s not working, I went to the doctor, because I had this sharp pain around my belly button quite often … and I feared the worst. Turned out I was right, I have an umbilical hernia, which , the doctor said requires surgery. But since I am breastfeeding, I decided to postpone the surgery after I stop breastfeeding…. which will take a couple of years…)
Finally I figured out on my own that my enormous post-partum tummy is due to diastasis recti, hernia, 2 C-sections, and extra baby weight. Of course I also have a terrible posture. And I used to weigh 100 pounds before I got pregnant, so none of my clothes fit.
I cannot take it anymore. People keep asking me if I am pregnant again. I even dislike going to church because I feel so fat and because of my belly…
I found you while I was browsing for solutions to heal diastasis recti, after I read that all the crunches I did actually had worsened my condition and I don’t want another surgery. Reading through your site was like a breath of fresh air for me. It gave me hope again. I read everything, the explanations, the testimonials, I watched the videos… and I want to follow your program. I am so happy that you offer an online solution available for everyone. 

 I am a teacher and here in Romania, teachers are poorly paid, this program will be a huge investment for me but if the program really works, than there is not enough money on earth to reward you for helping mothers to become confident, good-looking, healthy women again!  I am going to sign up this week and pray that it works for me as it has for others.
I realize your time is precious and I already wrote longer than I should have, so I stop here and wait for your answer. Again, I am thrilled that I’ve found you and amazed by what you do. May God bless you and wish you all the well in the world!(this is a Romanian saying). A lovely day to you.

This client just sent this follow up message to us this week!

Hello Kelly, I don't know if you remember me, but I have shared with you my story back in May and you encouraged me to invest in the Core Foundations eight week online program. I should have written you sooner but life got in my way, it has been quite a busy summer for us. Anyway, I want to let you know that I brought the program and it was a revelation for me. I didn't just got through it, I loved it. I had a couple of moments of discouragement, but my husband was - and is - supportive and I finished it. My tummy got smaller, my back pain mostly disappeared, I'm stronger ad feel much better. I still look a little bit pregnant, but as I am still nursing, day and night, I hope that my belly will gat firmer in time. I continue with the workouts as often as possible and I hope for the best. Thank you again for this miracle of yours. You changed my life. Even my doctor noticed and wants to buy the program for herself. God bless you and have a wonderful life.

Don't think that you cannot get your life back.  Motherhood can be very hard on your body.  We specialize on helping you restore your core, relieve pain and reclaim your true self.  Check out our ONLINE OPTIONS.

You are worth the investment!

Why is there so little information about Diastasis Recti?

We get this question ALL THE TIME! Why did my doctor not know to check me for a diastasis? Why was I told by so many medical professionals that my tummy was "just what happens when you have a baby"? Why did my trainer have me doing so many exercises that were actually making my core weaker and back pain worse?  Why is there so little information out there on the truth about what is happening and real ways to fix your core?

I don't know why...but we are doing everything we can to change that.  Education is key.  Education not just for people suffering from diastasis but also for medical and fitness professionals.  We know what we know until we learn more and then we know more.  I never believe that professionals are trying to misguide or hurt their patients or clients.  We just have new information and we need to spread it.

I am super excited to partner with Beth Learn from Fit2b.us online fitness studio.  Beth was a client of the Tummy Team and after restoring her core with us, she transformed her entire way of thinking about fitness.  Beth is now the leading voice on "Tummy Safe" Fitness around the world!  We send all of our online clients to her fitness program and recommend it to most of our clinic clients as well when they are ready to transition from rehab to fitness.

Bethany is not just leading the way in changing how we exercise at home, she is also passionate about spreading the word and creating a community of experts to help further educate EVERYONE on Diastasis Recti.   I am so blessed to be a part of this panel of "experts" on diastasis recti.  For only $24.95 you can get education by leading specialists in the field of core rehab and diastasis recti.  It is an amazing opportunity.  Simply click below to get more information!

Help change the face of fitness and healthcare by understanding more about how healing your core can impact your entire life.  Education is the key.  Join us in helping spread this education.

Part 2 of Testimony from mom healing after uterine rupture...

Click here to read Part 1 of this Testimony...

I have now completed the Core Foundations Online Program and as promised, here is an update.

Overall, I have been AMAZED by this program. My attitude when I started was cynical but hopeful: I had read many positive stories but I didn’t think that The Tummy Team could help ME. It would be fair to say that the last eight weeks has been challenging and at times overwhelming but this is far outweighed by the sheer amount I have learned about the core and how it works, the support I have received from The Tummy Team and so many other women I have “met” along the way, and the emotional reconnection I have felt with the middle of my body. 

Around week 3 of the programme I realised that the constant tension I had felt in my lower and upper back was completely gone. Many people have commented that I look really well but can’t pinpoint why and I think that maybe my posture has changed as a result of working on some chronic posture issues. Also (and this may seem like a weird thing to say to anyone who hasn’t experienced birth trauma or an issue with their core) I feel connected to the rest of my body. I have accepted what my body has been through and am working with it rather than against it.

This leads me to perhaps the most exciting result of all…..

my diastasis is healing! Properly and awesomely healing.. I started the programme at 5/6 at the top and am now a 2/3, a 6/7 in the middle and am now a 2/3, and a 3 at the bottom which has now COMPELTELY HEALED.! Such a huge amount of change in such a short amount of time. And as a little extra bonus have also lost 2 inches around the middle. Yipppeeee!

I have also come to realise that completing the program is just the beginning of my journey. I am still wearing a splint, I have a Skype session to book and am now signing up to Fit2B. I have a long way to go to complete healing but I now KNOW that I can fully heal. I look forward to updating you more on my progress soon.

To read more of my story and for information on birth, breastfeeding and family life seewww.tinkmoo.co.uk.

Tummy Team Testimony~ mom of 4 expecting baby #5

After how my fourth labor went, I knew something had to change, but I wasn't sure what.  My first labor was textbook and beautiful.  With my second baby, I carried him so low that during labor, I had to lean backwards into my husband during each contraction.  He would help me lift my uterus so the baby could come back into a better position to be born (because with how he was originally lying, it would be impossible for him to be born).  My third baby was an emergency c-section at 25 weeks.  My fourth baby was also carried low, and he was asynclitic and my most difficult baby yet.

Earlier this year, I found out that our fifth baby was expected.  We were excited and I put labor out of my mind, until someone in a Facebook group I'm on mentioned diastasis recti.  Several in the conversation recommended The Tummy Team, and I exchanged a few messages with one person who had gone through their rehabilitation program, and decided to check it out for myself.  I gave Yolanda a call and gave her my brief history, and after hanging up with her, I discussed it with my husband and decided to do the prenatal program and started it at about 19 weeks pregnant.

I'm in week five now of the six-week program and it has worth every penny.  The videos each week build seamlessly onto the videos and information from the previous weeks.  It seemed at first that I was starting out slowly, and I wondered how those "little" exercises could help me in the long term, but now that I'm nearly done with the program, I'm seeing how important taking the time to have a solid early foundation is.

Each week has handouts which are helpful in keeping track of each day's exercises and in being a reminder for what to do throughout the day.  They also have a picture/text description of that week's exercises, to help be a reminder if you're not in a position to re-watch the videos.

The videos are some serious meat and potatoes.  They are so full of information that I had to watch some of them multiple times.  Kelly is very easy to listen to and has a knack for explaining things in a way that is a perfect mix of scientific terms and everyday language.  She also fully demonstrates each exercise within the videos and encourages the participant to try out that particular exercise right there while they're watching the video.  I found that immensely helpful in getting the information to "stick" so I could practice it throughout the week.

Midway through the program, I also had a Skype session with Kelly which was very helpful.  She was able to give me some additional "in-person" tips after watching me do a couple of the exercises, to help me move forward in the program.

I'm 24 weeks now and I don't look any "more" pregnant now than I did at about 13 weeks.  With my previous pregnancies, I got tired of "sucking it in" as my baby and belly got larger and heavier and I would just "let it all hang out."  Since I was letting my abdominal muscles chronically relax, they got weak over time and then couldn't properly hold my babies up when I needed them to.  I feel stronger and more aligned this time.  It is a lot of hard work, but it will be worth it in the end.  I hope to add a supplment to this review after I have the baby, where I'm able to say it was my easiest labor yet.

~ stay posted, we will share her 2nd half of this testimony when baby is born!

Healing the core after uterine rupture- A Tummy Team Testimony from the UK

I am a mummy of three little ones, aged 5 ½, 3 and 1.

Around ten weeks after the birth of my first baby boy, I was on holiday lying on a sun lounger laughing at something with my husband when he suddenly said “look at your tummy”. When I checked I found that every time I laughed an “alien like” bulge popped out of my tummy. I was already concerned and self conscious about the size of my stomach, which looked exactly the same as I did when I was pregnant but this worried me even more.

When I got home I arranged to see a doctor who checked my tummy and told me about diastasis, which I had never heard of previously. She referred me to a consultant, who told me that the separation of my stomach muscles that had occurred during pregnancy was significant and had led to an umbilical hernia. Worse, whatever I did to try and repair it was unlikely to work and I would need it to be surgically repaired at some point in the future. 

Even this information did not break my determination to recover my pre baby body (why oh why did I ever moan about it before?!). I had physiotherapy, hired a personal trainer, went on a strict diet and lost all of my pregnancy weight and more.  I ran long distances, swam and did fitness classes and yoga. Whilst these were all helpful things to do in terms of general weight loss and well being, I found that the more weight I lost the more pregnant I looked.

I researched diastasis as much as I could, bought various books and sought advice from different professionals. Despite all my efforts I was unable to close the diastasis in any significant way and resigned myself to surgery when our family was complete. I bought a whole body corset to wear under my clothes but I could only wear it for short amounts of time as it was so uncomfortable. My pre-pregnancy clothes looked ridiculous and I had just a couple of tops that were “passable” and so I wore these all of the time. I was so grateful for my beautiful baby boy, but my self-esteem plummeted.

During my second pregnancy, my back and pelvis gave me quite a bit of discomfort from the start and I wore a support belt from around 14 weeks to the end of my pregnancy. My baby girl was born outside of my womb following a full uterine rupture, which was an extremely traumatic and difficult time for me and my husband. 

Miraculously, she is completely well and we have gone a long way down the road to emotional recovery. However, the diastasis was even worse than before and just looking at my middle reminded me of all that had happened. Again, I lost all of my baby weight and more and exercised hard, this time adding in Pilates, which was great for overall strength. However, despite lots of effort, the diastasis itself only seemed to close very slightly.

My third pregnancy was a surprise to everyone, especially me! The consultants we dealt with had never seen anyone pregnant after a full uterine rupture. In the circumstances, I was concerned about how I would carry but I was fine for most of the pregnancy. I continued Pilates up to 35 weeks and did not require a support belt at all. At 36 weeks, I was diagnosed with late onset gestational diabetes and polyhydramnios (excess amniotic fluid) as a result of the diabetes which partly accounted for my huge tummy. Following the birth of my beautiful baby boy, I was once again determined to lose my pregnancy weight, but still had the diastasis and still felt really low about my tummy. For five years strangers have always congratulated me on my pregnancy when I am not pregnant and family and friends have made horrible comments about it. Despite wanting more children, I tried to plan in my mind when I might practically be able to have the surgery I had been told I needed.

I then quite randomly stumbled across the Tummy Team. I saw a post about diastasis on a blog that I regularly read. The post instantly made me skeptical as I had tried so many things before but I was curious and so I read on and posted in the comments. The blog post talked about Fit2B but a couple of people (including Beth Learn) replied to my comment and mentioned the Tummy Team and so I contacted Kelly and explained my situation. Kelly quickly and empathetically replied and I was drawn to her faith based ethos. I figured that if I did it and it didn’t work I would have lost my money but I could live with that, but if it worked as Kelly claimed it could then I could avoid surgery and that would be priceless. Having had major abdominal surgery three times already, I would do anything not to have it again. 

On starting the program, I was, as I am sure most are, full of enthusiasm. I really enjoyed learning about how the core muscles work and the theory behind the exercises. I was immediately impressed with the way the information is delivered and the way the programme is set out. I have not done an online programme before and without wishing to appear unsociable, I have found that I prefer it to personally attending a course. Maybe it’s the nature of the programme but I feel that I can totally focus on me without being distracted by just being in the presence of others or needing to make conversation (I am easily distracted to be fair!) and no one is watching so I don’t feel self conscious. Additionally, I can record and measure my progress, I feel encouraged by Kelly (and the forum members), it’s completely flexible so no childcare is required and time zone doesn’t matter so being based in the UK is not an issue.

I started to wear my splint and despite my initial reservations about it, I found that wearing it actually makes me feel protected around the middle, whilst also reminding me to engage my transverse. I am now on my second splint with the third on the way. I have accepted that I will have to splint for longer than I had originally thought but having watched the weaning from your splint video, I know that I will only be doing it as long as is necessary.

I went quite quickly from only being able to hold my transverse for a 10 count to being able to hold it for a minute at a time. I tried to do transverse holds and squeeze and releases whenever I could. I drive a long way to my son’s school a couple of times a week and I used the car journey to the maximum. 

At the end of week three I was feeling really encouraged. In just three weeks I had seen significant improvement to the diastasis itself and could definitely feel that my core was stronger. However, by the end of week four, I suddenly felt overwhelmed and doubted whether I would be able to heal my core. Given the progress I had already made, this “low” surprised me and I struggled to be able to pinpoint why I was feeling this way.

It might have been because I tried to go clothes shopping (huge mistake, this is never a fun activity for me anymore) or because I had been really busy studying and preparing for holiday on top of normal life and had not managed to smoothly integrate all of the exercises into my daily life. Whatever the reason, I was really relieved to read that this is a key point in the programme where people suddenly feel overwhelmed for no reason. Knowing that I am normal (in this context at least!), helped me to reflect on my achievements so far and move forward positively.

Also a tremendous help to me during week five, was my Skype session with Kelly. This was excellent and I thoroughly recommend it. Despite me being in the UK, Kelly was able to look at my tummy and we talked about what she saw, she watched me doing transverse holds and checked I was in neutral pelvis. Knowing that I was in the correct position was a relief in itself as I needed to know that I was not labouring in vain. Kelly was also genuinely empathetic and listened to me talking about my difficult births and the way I felt about my middle. She was super encouraging and understood the practicalities of being a mum with little ones and all that that brings. She helped to tailor the program to suit me and my lifestyle, focusing in on the exercises that I needed most. 

I have just completed week 6 of the course. I came to realise quite early on that my core will not be healed by week 8 and that I am on a journey of healing and I keep reminding myself of this. I am feeling positive about the rest of the course and look forward to updating you soon.

To read more about my story, my births or other baby and breastfeeding related issues please see www.tinkmoo.co.uk.

Read part 2 of this testimony here...

What is holding you up?

Do we take for granted that we are essentially the only mammals who live upright on two legs and do not fall over?  Not to mention all of the elaborate balancing acts we are capable of; standing on one leg, dancing, jumping, running, twirling etc.  There is an amazing amount of balance and intricate coordination required for all of these movements, from the most simple to the most complex.

We rarely think about what is holding us up.  It is not simply a skeleton. There is a complex system of muscles that hold you up and allow you to move.  These muscles, like every system of our extremely efficient bodies, function on a "use it or lose it" principle.  Most muscles in your body are designed to be active all day, every day (with the exception of sleep).  Muscles are not designed be neglected and then asked to perform in extreme conditions and then return to inactivity. 

The Tummy Team specializes in Core Rehabilitation but we do much more than that.  In our opinion, it all begins at the core because without that stability there is little hope of having a strong and balanced body.  Most clients we see begin with nearly completely inactive and neglected internal core muscles.  There are a group of muscles that encircle the core (the area between your pelvis and your rib cage) that are primarily responsible for holding you up.  The main muscle in this group, the largest muscle and the only muscle in the body that wraps completely around the body to have a front, back, right and left aspect all in one muscle is your transverse abdominis.  We often refer to this muscle as a corset or your God given girdle.  The function of this muscle (as well as many core muscles) is to hold you up.  It elongates the abdomen between the pelvis and ribcage like a pulled slinky. When this muscle is strong and active it is your major postural muscle and it also holds your organs up and in and provides stability for your spine.

Below is a good image of this muscle with all of the other muscles removed.  The tranverse abdominis in reality is a deep muscle, under several other abdominal muscles and lumbar muscles but for this image they strip the other muscles away so you can see the massiveness of your corset.

The Transverse Abdominis- runs from the 2 sides of the spine along your back, around your sides (love handles) and attaches to your pelvis all the way to your pubic bone and to your lower 6 ribs all the way to your sternum.

The body was designed to be primarily upright and highly mobile.  The muscles need daily work to allow the body to be in optimal positions for balance and movement.  So when we help clients rebuild their core, this is our goal.  We not only strengthen muscles but we retrain the body to use these muscles all day and every day (as they were designed to be used).

This does not mean "sucking in" or "tensing up" all day.  This does not mean engaging your muscles at 100% effort all of the time.  Neither of these strategies are realistic or helpful.  The body is meant to be active and fluid, a happy marriage of stability and mobility, not tense and stiff and tight all of the time.

When you stand up, your legs hold you up right?  Your legs are not tense and tight nor are they noodles and flimsy, but they are "on".  The muscles that support your weight and hold you up and balance you on your feet are active.  This is what you core was designed to be... active.

Sometimes people ask us... "Do you really expect us to hold our core active ALL DAY?"  And our answer is if you are upright "yes". We also expect your neck muscles to hold your head up when you drive and you legs to hold your body up when you stand and walk and your jaw muscles and tongue to move when you talk and chew.  We are not asking too much of the body.  It is absolutely possible to rebuild the strength of the core to hold you up, elongated, tall, "long, lean and lifted every time you are sitting up or standing up.  It was actually how your body was designed to function.

However, most of us have not used these muscles like this for quite some time. Consider how you and how most of the people around you are sitting or standing right now.  Take a some time to people watch, especially the people you know who complain of back pain or low energy.  If we think about that "use it or lose it" principle then we can easily draw the conclusion that what ever we ask the body to do most will win.  If we consistently tell the body it does not need to hold itself up, that you can just collapse the ribs onto the pelvis or rest back against the seat or recline all day, when will it learn how to hold you up.  If you consistently lean against back support or rest your arms or hips against the counter, why would you body think it needs to hold you up.  Check out these visual examples... can you see yourself in any of these images?

Slumped, collapsed core- the transverse is inactive.

Collapsed into chair, sitting on tail bone and unable to activate the core at all.

                           1. Tucked and collapsed core    2. Elongated active core       3. Inactive core resting on the hip ligaments

Chairs, couches, cars, and poor fitness choices are changing how our body postures itself and what muscles are used to hold us up all day.  These changes are not ideal.  They will work as compensation strategies temporarily but they will not last for long.  There is a perfect design to our bodies.  A way that everything is balanced so the systems work well, so we can breath and laugh and dance.  It is beautiful and amazing and very easy to take for granted.  When we are consistently living outside of that optimal design our body begins to fail.

When your muscles do what they were meant to do, the body is able to heal and strengthen.  When some muscles are compensating consistently for other muscles to keep you from falling over, the compensating muscles are kept from doing the jobs they were originally intended to do.  The chain reaction from disuse and misuse can be long and seemingly unrelated to the core but the reality is that it is not and  body starts to feel like it is falling apart.

Often you cannot just try to have better posture.  It is not about trying harder.  You have neglected some muscles and misused other muscles in an attempt to power through life.  You likely need rehab.  

We can help you rebuild your body but it starts at the core.  It is not simply a series of exercises.  Not a list to check off and do again tomorrow.  It involves systematically retraining the muscles to do what they were intended to do and facilitating the body to use the muscles that way.  It is a lifestyle.  It is learning how your machine runs and helping it run efficiently for the long haul.

The Tummy Team is passionate about long term changes.  Not simply how you feel in 6 weeks but how you will feel 6 years from now and more!  Let us help you.

So, what is holding you up?

My Story~ 30 year old mom of 2. Core Foundations Online Program.

Part 1
"So, I thought I would share my progress so far into the C.F. (The Tummy Team Core Foundations Program) program (I'm halfway through week 5), and I'll attempt to be brief, though that may be impossible! A little background: I have 2 children, the last resulting in a c-section and a 6-8-6 DR. This was 2 years ago exactly. A host of problems to deal with: regular low back spasms/nerve pain, stress incontinence, and always appearing 5 mo. pregnant. Oh, and obviously having terrible posture.

It's interesting, to say the least, how the education process has evolved. Virtually every health care professional I saw offered no help, or suggestions. Well, aside from possible surgery. I then discovered Tupler, 3 mo. postpartum, which was encouraging to find something to work with! I made it through about 1/3 of the program, and 'life' became more of the priority (small children, kidding goats/milking goats, gardening, etc.) The next step was about 9 mo. later, when I then discovered Fit2B Studio, and this was a breath of fresh air. I can't say enough about how much I appreciated all the new information, questions that were answered, and encouragement.

I let 'life' get in the way again, even though I was armed with more information I could have ever dreamed of (and happily passed along to every curious mother I came across) I didn't completely heal my core (though it was improved), and I got out of the habit of doing regular TA strength exercises. I started the C.F. program, again in the midst of back spasms:

~By day 3, all back pain was gone. Previously, in the months leading up to this, I'd compare my back to an ice-laden, flimsy birch tree that is about to break. It feels much more oak-ish at this point, which was the goal.
-~Stress incontinence it greatly improved. A full bladder sneeze test further confirmed that yesterday. Woo-hoo!
~I've lost 4 in. around my waist up to this point
~Much improved posture (I've been taking belly pics., but after the fact wish I had also taken full length postural photos from the beginning)

Unfortunately, I'm not sure exactly where I started with DR #'s. I have always had a tricky time measuring (the initial 3 mo. postpartum 6-8-6 check, 2 years ago, was by a Tupler trained PT. Even then, I had difficulty feeling the width. To me, everything was simply 'fluffy/squishy'. I could faintly feel the borders) So I initially measured too wide, thinking I hadn't healed as much as I had. When I measured 3 days ago, at the start of week 5, whatever I started out at, I'm at closed-2-almost closed. Like an upside down teardrop.
It is very exciting to realize that the wide gap that was once there, and I was told would not heal on its own, is that much improved.

I'm looking forward to the remainder of the program! I'm incredibly grateful for all that I've learned and the encouragement along the way, both from the Tummy Team, and Beth at Fit2B. Thank you so much!
I'm feeling normal again. Normal is good....."

Part 2
"Having finished the online program close to a month ago, I thought I would FINALLY take some moments, while the house is quiet, to share. Half way through the program I posted an update on my progress, so this is the product of the remainder of the program, and where I am at this point.

Starting with the numbers (which I've learned is only one piece of a large puzzle), my DR at the end of the program was closed-2-closed, and shallow. I lost 2 in. at the top, 4-4 1/2 at the middle, and 2 at the bottom. The latest check, 3 weeks after this ending measurement, was about 1-1 1/2 finger width at the middle. Let me say, I was not expecting results like this. I mentioned before that I was unsure what my initial measurements were when starting this program because I honestly was having a difficult time finding the muscles! Postpartum, 2 years ago, I was a 6-8-6 that was very deep. Let's just say I had a hard time looking at my abdomen while taking a bath; it was very disconcerting. 

Whatever the measurements, I was tired of having incapacitating low back pain, stress incontinence, constipation issues, terrible posture, and back/pelvic instability. That doesn't even take into consideration the host of problems immediately following delivery, and the months thereafter.
I can honestly say that all of those problems are gone. Even the stress incontinence, which I've struggled with most of my life. They are all non-issues. 

Certainly, everyone heals at different rates, and this progression isn't something that has happened overnight for me. I was concerned I never would heal completely, but I feel that I have. Even my clothes fit better, and a nagging foot pain that was always present is gone. 

During the program, not everything went oh-so-smoothly. My foot pain actually got worse before it got better and during week 5 I got terrible headaches daily, but they disappeared by the end of the week, never to return. So really, not so bad, all-in-all.

Now, after finishing this program, I am equipped to not only easily care for my children, but accomplish a host of other 'tasks' that require a strong core. Hauling wood, hay, buckets of water, sap, stone, and animals around, not to mention large scale gardening. A lot of physical labor that would break me, in my previous state. 

I recommend this program to as many people as I can. It's very comprehensive and doable. To be able to incorporate the exercises into every day activities, address the real issues, and come out of it with such a wealth of information................... Why NOT do it!
Many thanks to The Tummy Team and Fit2B (Kelly and Beth)! 

As a side note: the success and positive habits developed from the online program has pushed me to incorporate other good habits, or good changes into my life that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. I don't need to bore you with the details, but let me just say that it goes beyond core healing, that's for sure!"

~ Samantha, mother of 2.

The Splint is Temporary, Your Transverse is Forever!

At The Tummy Team we get so many questions about abdominal splinting.  We offer a lot of information on our website about the benefits of splinting, types of splints, why we splint and more.  Yet, there is still a lot of misinformation out there.  Even for clients within our programs, the concept of splinting is often incorrect.

In addition, just like every area of our practice, we are constantly learning more and more about how our body heals and what works and what does not.  Due to this, our view of splinting has changed over the past several yearsof doing Core Rehabilitation.  As we learn and integrate more comprehensive and functional use of the core muscles we have a much better understanding of when and how to use an abdominal splint. 

First, abdominal splinting is TEMPORARY! We including abdominal splinting as the initial portion of the core rehabilitation process.  An abdominal splint can support and fascilitate your transverse abdominis (the internal corset of your body essential to true core strength- see image below).  The proper use of the an abdominal splint can; increase blood flow, increase proprioceptive (feel of the body in space) awareness, protect weak and vulnerable connective tissue, and can supplement the muscle to allow you to be in the optimal postures and alignment for your body to heal. 

In our rehab process, we recommend 90% of our clients use an abdominal splint for at least the first 2 weeks of their rehab even when they do not have a diastasis.The initial awareness and increased support that the splint provides in those first few weeks can be very helpful. When we have ignored and neglected our internal corset muscle for years, the feedback that the splint can offer and the alignment correction that it promotes is eye opening and hopefully encouraging.  The temporary support the splint gives to the transverse reminds the body of how it was designed to function and give us a clear awareness of what we are starting to rebuild when we are doing core rehabilitation.

However, the splint is absolutely temporary.  The goal of the splint is to support the healing and rebuilding of the transverse abdominis.  The TRANVERSE ABDOMINIS is your actual God given splint.  Your splint is temporary but your transverse is forever.  Our goal is to systematically rebuild your muscles so the splint needs to support that goal.  The goal is not to replace your core with a splint.

The initial support and benefits of the splint can easily become an obstacle to your complete healing of the transverse if you use the splint for too long. Using the splint for too long, when you do not "need" it  or as a support to consistently help you do things your are not actually strong enough to do...will make it difficult for your transverse to relearn what it needs to do to hold your body up and together.

It is important that even in the initial days of splinting, that you are focusing on activating your transverse.  Letting the splint cue you and remind you of what that muscle is meant to be doing, even though it is not strong enough to do it all the time yet.  Resting into a splint or simply purchasing a splint to use so you can do activities that you core is likely not strong enough to do consistently will confuse your rehab journey.

Connection, awareness and listening to your body are crucial components to retraining and rebuilding your core and healing a diastasis.  We often look for a quick fix to just let us do what we want to do.  The Tummy Team focuses on the long term correction and lasting strength.  If you get a splint for only protection and comfort but not rehabilitation, you risk becoming weaker and more disconnected over time. If you believe if you simply splint you are safe to train for a 1/2 marathon or where your baby in a carrier all day, you may be deceiving yourself.  The splint can be an important piece in the rehab part but rehab is still needed and it is only a part of the process not the entire process.

There is a step by step process to rebuild your core that uses the splint as a small piece of that process.  Once we have reconnected and started building some initial strength and neutral alignment, we systematically wean you from your splint.  We used to make the decision of when to wean mostly based on the diastasis measurement, however we now realize there are several factors involved to determine when and how to start weaning from your splint.  This is obviously easiest to determine when you are working in person with one of our Core Rehab Specialists, but you can also make some of the decisions be taking an honest look at your own healing journey.

In general, we typically start weaning our clinic patients at around 3-4 weeks into the rehab process and our online clients at week 5-6 (only because it is more difficult for them to assess themselves).  After the first few weeks of Core Rehab, your transverse often is able to activate fairly easily in sitting with and without back support, you have begun using an elongated and active core more naturally and you have learned to exhale and engage to stabilize and support your body with effort.  Your awareness has improved and you then able to begin working on strength and endurance and multitasking.  This is when we start weaning from the splint.  The weaning process focuses on your waking "active" hours not necessarily your sleeping hours.  You wean from the splint by taking it off when your tranverse has the best opportunity to be your splint.  Typically this is in the morning, for the first few hours of the day when you are strongest and can be most focus on your core being active and aligned.  This often starts out at 25% off and 75% on.  You continue to use the splint as the day progresses and in that most exhausting (physcially and emotionally) time of the day 3pm-until you put the kids to bed.  Gradually you replace your core with the splint.  Listening to your body and resting and changing activities as needed.  (Keep in mind this a gross generalization of the complete process.)

The most common mistakes we see with using a splint often occur when people choose to splint without doing the full rehab program.  It is very easy to use the splint as a band aid or as a support to allow you to ignore what your body is telling you. This can be one use of the splint but it cannot be your total use of the splint.  For instance, we absolutely recommend that you use a splint any time you are wearing your baby in a carrier but we also ask that you listen to your body and limit wear time to 45min-1 hour at a time.  If you splint so you can wear your baby all day or while you are cleaning the house or letting the baby sleep on you for a few hours, the splint is supporting you but it is also allowing you to further ignore your bodies needs.  (This said, I am a mother and I understand sometimes we need to hold the baby for a long time with teething and illness etc. These times the splint can be a life saver.  What I am discouraging is letting the splint mislead you into thinking you can do more than you physically can without compensation and pain.) 

Another example, is to wear a splint so you can run or do physically challenging fitness.  If your core is not strong enough to run without a splint then you should dramatically limit your running until you can.  Splinting temporarily so you can learn how to use your core and stay in alignment to run well is great.  To splint for running for weeks, or months or more is actually training your body to rely on a splint to run.  Remember, splinting is temporary and is a step in the process not a replacement for the process.

We used to only sell splints to our rehab clients, since we did not want to encourage people to use the splints incorrectly.  Then we realized that there are many people who need splinting even when they are not ready to invest in full rehab.  We are selling more splints now than ever before but since not everyone that gets a splints go through The Tummy Team rehab process we start getting a lot of questions that are to be expected when only doing a part of the process. 

Possibly the most difficult thing to address is something like this..." I have been splinting for several months now and I am ready to be done with the splint but when I start taking it off and try to last all day my body hurts.  I cannot run like I can with the splint and after a long day of household chores I cannot hold myself up.  I think I reopened my diastasis when helping my son get out of the bathtub.  I guess I need to keep splinting..."  (This was not an actual email more like a combination of several emails we get.)  Splinting more cannot be the answer here.  Core Rehab with some initial splinting is the answer. 

Another difficult comment is... " my splint does not seem to hold me together, it is rolling and the velcro is failing and I keep trying to put it on snug but it just does not feel like enough support."  The splint is temporary and should facilitate but NOT replace your core. Too tight or too much focus on the splint doing its job can distract us from allowing it to help the transverse to do its job.  We need to focus on reconnection, rebuilding the muscles and then using them more and more throughout the day.  The splint helps that but will not do it for us. 

The good news is that your core can and will rebuild if you show it how and ask it to do its job.  There is immediate and long term results when doing Core Rehab.  As much as you want to get better fast, you REALLY want to be better long term.  Our goal is lasting core strength and healing of your core.  It is worth the investment.  Since your splint is temporary but your transverse is forever! 

If you are in the pacific northwest come see us at The Tummy Team.  If you do not we have very effective Comprehensive Core Rehab Programs ONLINE and you can follow that up with a Skype session to get the personal care your body needs to heal.  Let us know how we can help you fully heal.  360-952-CORE.

More than just a number...

It is so easy to focus on measurements.  Objective numbers.  We are even trained this way in PT school.  Measurable, quantifiable changes.  We are taught that there needs be something to measure and compare to see progress. 

We focus on numbers in other areas too.  How much we weigh. What size we wear.  How tall we are.  How many inches we have gained or loss. How fast we can swim. 

The numbers don't tell us everything.  The numbers can actually become a distraction.

At The Tummy Team, we focus on core rehabilitation.  In our first physical therapy session, we spend about 30 min of our time asking questions, observing the client and listening.  90% of our "evaluation" can be revealed without even touching the client.  Without measuring the abdominal wall or range of motion or measuring the separation of the abdominal wall (diastasis recti). Of course we do all of these things as well, but the hands on evaluation and assessment often just confirms what we have already suspected from the interview and observation.

Your symptoms, how you hold your body and how you feel is more comprehensive than any measurement we can take.  We are highly trained with our palpation skills so when we do use our hands to assess we can tell what muscles are doing what, we can feel adhesions or scar tissue, we can feel damage and muscle responsiveness, we can feel stability and instability in joints.  However, all of this just clarifies what we already suspect when we listen to you and watch you.

So when you are working on healing your core, you need to look at everything.  Your symptoms, how you feel, what you are able to do, what your pain and energy and confidence and emotional state is telling you. 

Numbers are different.  Sometimes they change dramatically and sometimes they change very slowly.

 To negate the progress you KNOW you have made in your body by having numbers that do not match the changes you feel is crazy.  Yet we see this happen a lot. 

"I feel so much stronger. I can carry my baby without pain.  I can cough without wetting my pants.  I can fit into my pants better and everyone is telling me how great I look.  But I checked my diastasis and I think it has not changed much or at least I think there is still a small separation, so I am not sure if this is working."

What?? 

Why do we allow a number to change our perspective of what KNOW is progress?  Yes the number tells us things, but it never tells us everything.

Sometimes, we have a client who has a diastasis close up very fast.  At the second session there is no sign of the diastasis and pain is better but they still do not have the strength they need for life.  So even though the number looks great, have they fully rebuilt their core?  No!  We still need to build strength, endurance, correct alignment patterns and regain the functional strength needed to fully rehabilitate the core.  They still need a new muscle memory and training.

We have a very comprehensive online program and many people question how we can do "physical therapy" online?  We do this by teaching YOU to understand your own body.  We have you listen to your symptoms and start seeing what your body is telling you and then we give you very realistic and straightforward ways to start retraining your body.  When we become students of our own body, we start to be aware of so much more and sometimes we can start to confuse ourselves with the new information.  The Tummy Team has taken a very systematic approach to teach you one piece at a time and then build upon each piece until you have fully rebuilt your core.

Let us help you see more than simply numbers.  Let us help you restore your core and reclaim your true self.

Mom of 4- 20 weeks pregnant with baby number 5 and having early contractions.

 Current online client...

"I've had irritable uterus (IU) through all of my pregnancies and it's only in the last two that I have come to the point where I said, "enough is enough. There's got to be another answer to this irritable uterus thing that doctors have no explanation for." In my third pregnancy my contractions began at 7 weeks! I just dealt with it that whole pregnancy and tried my best to avoid situations that would trigger it (ie. a full bladder, seat belts, under the belly maternity pants, sitting for periods longer than a few minutes). Then, with my fourth I started having contractions around 9 weeks and they were not the kind I was used to in other pregnancies. They got intense at one point after a doctor had a student perform a PAP smear on me (even though he knew I had IU). After talking with my homebirth midwife I ended up going to a chiropractor that day and he told me about something called a buckled sacrum and he adjusted my tailbone as I stood up against a wall like I was being frisked by a police officer. It felt like he didn't do anything and I was skeptical. I went home and the contractions didn't come back for a couple days (which is unusual for me...I'm used to DAILY annoying contractions). He told me if they came back in the next few days to come back in and I did. He adjusted it again and they stayed away for a week! After that I went in weekly every Thursday to have my sacrum gently coaxed back into place. And I was contraction free. Then, this pregnancy I was shocked when I got to 15 weeks and still hadn't had a single contraction. I thought for sure it had something to do with the core work I had already done with fit2b. But then, in my 16th week they started up My core had reached its limit. After the first day of contractions I got really concerned because I had some spotting the next day, so I contacted Kelly. She spoke with me over Skype and I think we figured out that, for me, the biggest trigger of IU is my posture and alignment. I have a tendency to sit on my sacrum and that's what causes it to buckle. When the sacrum buckles, it tilts my uterus forward causing more pressure on my cervix and stresses the uterus out which causes contractions. So, by strengthening my core I've been able to keep from slumping into that habitual sitting on my tailbone that I do. I've also had to avoid siting in bed and on recliners. Very very bad for me. As long as I am sitting on my sits bones and my core is supporting me I don't get contractions. The only exception is if I let my bladder get too full. That still makes me have contractions. But they stop as soon as I go potty. And I try not to let it get to that anymore.

I'm new here but I'm actually doing week three of the prenatal rehab program online and am just now getting a moment to come over here and say hello. I have four little boys and am on my 5th baby (7th pregnancy) now and am already feeling and seeing huge success from the rehab and my skype session with Kelly. My core is getting stronger and my posture and alignment is so much improved. I am getting to the point where I can sit correctly unsupported for much longer now. Here is a post I put on my wall today....

Halfway there!!! 20 weeks pregnant with baby #5. Did some great work on my abdominals after baby #4 thanks to @fit2bstudio! Now, I have taken a short break from my fit2b membership for just 6 weeks while I am doing an actual prenatal abdominal rehab program through www.thetummyteam.com with physical therapist Kelly Dean. I've seen amazing changes in my core strength and I've worked on my alignment and am not having contractions anymore due to an irritable uterus (it's not irritated when it's locked in place where it should be). ‪#‎nomorecrunches‬ ‪#‎nomoremommytummy‬ ‪#‎youdontneedsurgery‬"
 

Why Core Rehab??

I am surprised at how often people do not taking fixing their “tummy” as a priority.  When you really think about it, it is actually shocking how much we think this is simply vanity or not important.  Perhaps it is because we feel some pressure to have a flat, “photo shopped”, blemish free, media pushed stomach.  We rebel against the pressure, not ignoring that it is there but recognizing in the rational portion of our brain that that body is not ours, it might not even be real and if it is real it may not be what our body was meant to look like.  So we rebel, we stand up and say “Forget it! I am not buying in to one more scheme that says I will look like something that I will likely not.”  I absolutely get that.  It was the main reason that I myself was so skeptical about seeking answers to what might be wrong with my own tummy.  Everything, I looked into was so geared to how you will look and how to look better and how to look skinnier and how to look like you never even had a baby.  That marketing works, I know.  But it is impossible to not feel sucked into the gimmicks and sucked into the vanity of it all.  So we rebel and possibly miss something vital.

To be honest, this is how The Tummy Team began.  Even though, I knew it was more than just losing the tummy, we were really primarily promoting how to lose your tummy post babies.  That was before I really completely healed my core.  That was before I fully understood all that was involved and all that was at stake when dealing with weak and inactive deep core muscles.  I did not fully get it, because you really do not know how bad things are until they are better.  You really do not understand how weak you are and how much you ignore pain and how much you modify your life until you start really rebuilding your core at the most basic level.  

“You know what you know, until you know better, and then you do better.”  

So even though nothing we did caused any damage in the first year and a half of our business, we did not fully address all the details involved in completely healing the core.  Many people were helped even from our very first classes and sessions, but looking back, I see now how that was a mere nugget of what we now know is essential for healing.

Okay, that being said, let’s look at the abdominal wall and the core like we would any other body part.  For example, imagine severally spraining your ankle, so much so that you can hardly walk, that it is painful to move and that when you do walk you have to limp in a way that makes your knee, hip and eventually you’re back hurt.  What would you do?  Would you just power through?  Would you think “oh that is vanity to fix that ankle.”? Would you start jumping on a trampoline?  Would you strap on some roller blades and go for a 5 mile romp?  Not likely.  And if you did do any of these things, you absolutely would not expect the ankle to get better.  Instead, you would likely seek medical help.  You would brace it or if it is severe you would cast it.  You would likely use crutches to keep your weight off of it.  Then you would slowly start moving your ankle; slowly start putting a little weight on it at a time.  Slowly start doing a few trials without the ankle support or without the crutches.  As the ankle heals you will start building up more strength, more mobility and more stability.  You would gradually strengthen and start using it functionally again.  But, it would take some time before you would safely run or jump on that ankle.  It is not like you would never run or jump again but you would need to build up some solid strength for that.  You might even use a brace or a wrap for a while when you start exercising or jogging again.  And if you over do it, jump ahead before that ankle is solid, you might reinjure it, you might have a set back, you might have to slow down again and do a bit more rehab before you move forward.  This all makes sense, right?  It sucks.  No one wants to be injured.   No one wants to take the time to heal something properly but we can all agree that this seems like a reasonable course of action to fully heal a vital part of our body so we can eventually return to the activities we love to do.  However, even once it is all healed, we will always be aware of that ankle.  We would never intentionally place the injured ligaments and tendons of that ankle in the weakest positions over and over again without knowing we are risking re-injury in some capacity.  Once you take the time to feel better, to function better, you will be sure you take care of that ankle.

Some of you see where I am going with this.  Your deep internal core is just as important if not more important than your ankle.  If your deep internal core is weak, inactive, unstable, disconnected or you have a separated abdominal wall (diastasis recti)- you need to rehabilitate and rebuild that muscle.  As with any injury, you will likely need to modify your activities, splint and support the injury and be care how you proceed with exercise and other activities.  Depending on how severe your symptoms or injury, this process may take a little time (likely more time than you thought). 

Your core holds your entire body together.  Your core connects and stabilizes your rib cage to your pelvis, supports your organs and stabilizes your spine.  It is important. A strong core helps your arms and legs move properly.  A strong core maintains your posture and dictates your ability to run and jump and simply to stand and lift and sit without collapsing.

It is not vanity to want to have a strong core!

Diastasis recti is an injury to your abdominal wall.  It is usually the result of a weak internal core and an over- active external core combined with chronic compensations that cause the connective tissue in the center of your abdominals to pull apart.  This is not something you live with.  This is not something you power through and hope will go away.  This is an injury to a vital part of your body that needs Core Rehabiliation! 

Diastasis Recti is much more common than most people realize.  However, it is also extremely common to have a weak deep core and no diastasis.  

YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE A DIASTASIS TO NEED CORE REHABILITATION. 

If we were to ask you how you felt about your deep internal core, more often that not people say “very weak and completely disconnected”.  It is extremely difficult to engage and use a muscle you cannot feel.  If your deep internal core muscles are stretched out and resemble more of a deflated balloon around your waist than a solid meaty corset then you need Core Rehabilitation. 

Do not treat your tummy like it is vanity to try to fix it.  A weak core results in a multitude of serious health issues and leads to chronic medical care for these side effects.  A weak core often reveals itself in low back pain, sciatica, pelvic floor issues, pelvic instability, upper back pain, intestinal issues, prostate issues, constipation, abdominal pain, rib pain and rib instability, hip pain, knee pain, foot pain and can make you more susceptible to abdominal hernias.  

At The Tummy Team, we address the cause of these symptoms not just the symptoms.  We work individually with clients of all ages and stages of life to help them rebuild their core and regain the all day strength at our office in Camas, WA.  If you cannot come see us personally, we have developed a very comprehensive online Core Foundations 8-week Program.  This program gives you access to weekly video instruction, downloadable exercises and stretches, weekly encouragement and problem solving and access to a private FB forum to get support from other Tummy Team clients.  We also offer private Skype sessions to help you meet your personal needs 1:1 with me, the founder Kelly Dean.  

Call our office number 360-952-2673 (PST) for more information. And check out our online programs as well. 

You do not have to ignore this issue.  We have helped hundreds of clients and have hundreds of clients currently in our online programs.  Let us help you systematically restore your core and reclaim your true self.