Why shouldn't new mums do crunches?
Filed under:
Nutrition & Fitness
Lots of new mums are desperate to get back into shape as soon as possible after giving birth. Your abdominal muscles have been through a lot in pregnancy so you need to be careful about the way you exercise them after your baby is born. No matter how strong you were before there are certain rules that are really important to follow to get your abdominal muscles back in good working order. No matter what your situation, how fit or unfit you were before you had your baby, situps/crunches/ab curls ARE NOT THE ANSWER!!!
What is abdominal separation caused by?
The production of the hormone Relaxin during pregnancy softens the muscles, ligaments and connective tissue throughout the body. The combination of this softening, as well as the growth of the uterus pushing against the abdominal wall, can result in the abdominal muscles opening up to make space for the baby. It is completely normal to experience some kind of separation of the abdominal muscles (Rectus Abdominus) during pregnancy and postnatally so don’t panic if you are told that this has occurred in your pregnancy. The medical term for this is Diastasis Recti. A gap of more than 2-2.5 fingers or 2 cm is considered more problematic and in this case you should seek specialist advice. However, no matter how large or small your separation is, you can help significantly by following a safe exercise programme. Just as significantly, you can do your abdominals damage by working incorrectly. NO CRUNCHES PLEASE!!!
Why should I try to close the abdominal separation?
When the abdominals are separated it reduces their functional strength and they are less likely to work efficiently. This will exacerbate the pelvic instability that many postnatal women experience and can lead to back pain. The abdominal muscles have often been weakened in pregnancy and it is vital that new mums learn to engage them correctly to avoid any further separation. Diastasis recti can also be the cause of the ‘pouch’ like belly that mums often complain of. The good news is, if you work correctly, there is no reason why you can’t get a lovely flat tummy once again!
What do crunches have to do with this?
The abdominals need to be strengthened from the inside out. If you do not learn to engage your abdominals correctly, you are likely to ‘dome’ the abdominals (push them out) and end up increasing the separation. This is what usually happens when people do crunches, especially when the deeper muscles aren’t strong enough to support the movement. The rectus abdominus is the muscle that can separate in pregnancy but it isn’t the only muscle that needs to be addressed. Postnatal exercise should start with learning to correctly engage the pelvic floor and transverse abdominus, which is often referred to as your “core”. If your “core” isn’t working properly, you will never get your abdominals back to normal, and your core is not easily found when you do crunches!
What abdominal exercises should I be doing?
In postnatal Pilates, we focus on stabilising the lumbo-pelvic region; learning to co-ordinate the use of the pelvic floor and transverse abdominus in a functional manner to help new mums to be pain free and work towards getting their abdominals back into the shape they are hoping for. This is achieved by exercises such as heel lifts, knee floats, leg slides and knee openings, all executed while correctly engaging the abdominals. I still haven’t got over my fear of posting exercise descriptions online – it is so hard to get it right without correct instruction- so my advice is to find a well qualified postnatal Pilates or exercise instructor and ask them to teach you these exercises. www.postn atalexercise.co.uk
What is abdominal separation caused by?
The production of the hormone Relaxin during pregnancy softens the muscles, ligaments and connective tissue throughout the body. The combination of this softening, as well as the growth of the uterus pushing against the abdominal wall, can result in the abdominal muscles opening up to make space for the baby. It is completely normal to experience some kind of separation of the abdominal muscles (Rectus Abdominus) during pregnancy and postnatally so don’t panic if you are told that this has occurred in your pregnancy. The medical term for this is Diastasis Recti. A gap of more than 2-2.5 fingers or 2 cm is considered more problematic and in this case you should seek specialist advice. However, no matter how large or small your separation is, you can help significantly by following a safe exercise programme. Just as significantly, you can do your abdominals damage by working incorrectly. NO CRUNCHES PLEASE!!!
Why should I try to close the abdominal separation?
When the abdominals are separated it reduces their functional strength and they are less likely to work efficiently. This will exacerbate the pelvic instability that many postnatal women experience and can lead to back pain. The abdominal muscles have often been weakened in pregnancy and it is vital that new mums learn to engage them correctly to avoid any further separation. Diastasis recti can also be the cause of the ‘pouch’ like belly that mums often complain of. The good news is, if you work correctly, there is no reason why you can’t get a lovely flat tummy once again!
What do crunches have to do with this?
The abdominals need to be strengthened from the inside out. If you do not learn to engage your abdominals correctly, you are likely to ‘dome’ the abdominals (push them out) and end up increasing the separation. This is what usually happens when people do crunches, especially when the deeper muscles aren’t strong enough to support the movement. The rectus abdominus is the muscle that can separate in pregnancy but it isn’t the only muscle that needs to be addressed. Postnatal exercise should start with learning to correctly engage the pelvic floor and transverse abdominus, which is often referred to as your “core”. If your “core” isn’t working properly, you will never get your abdominals back to normal, and your core is not easily found when you do crunches!
What abdominal exercises should I be doing?
In postnatal Pilates, we focus on stabilising the lumbo-pelvic region; learning to co-ordinate the use of the pelvic floor and transverse abdominus in a functional manner to help new mums to be pain free and work towards getting their abdominals back into the shape they are hoping for. This is achieved by exercises such as heel lifts, knee floats, leg slides and knee openings, all executed while correctly engaging the abdominals. I still haven’t got over my fear of posting exercise descriptions online – it is so hard to get it right without correct instruction- so my advice is to find a well qualified postnatal Pilates or exercise instructor and ask them to teach you these exercises. www.postn atalexercise.co.uk
