Can you prevent diastasis during pregnancy?
The answer is no because diastasis is a normal adaptation to pregnancy!
We need our core to expand and muscles to stretch and separate to accommodate for our baby’s growth.
But! This does not mean we shouldn’t be considerate with our movement patterns and with abdominal coning. The more we experience coning throughout pregnancy, especially with exertion, the more damage we could be causing to our abdominal wall.
AKA, it may be harder to heal postpartum!
Let’s explore two strategies to minimize or prevent coning during movement!
Protect Your Core During Pregnancy: Minimize the Damage from Diastasis
What is coning? Coning is when the center of the abdominal wall pushes out further than the rest of the abdomen.
This is due to the connective tissue, the linea alba, being stretched and thinned throughout pregnancy, making it more easily manipulated by pressure changes in the abdominal cavity.
If we experience excessive coning under exertion (with exercise), this tissue can become damaged and make it much harder to heal postpartum.
2 Strategies to Minimize Coning with Exercise
The good news is there is a lot we can do to minimize coning with prenatal exercise!
- Breathing Strategy
- Core Engagement Strategy
How we coordinate our breathing and core engagement can help to increase the density of the abdominal wall, making it less easily manipulated by changes in pressure during exertion.
The thinner something is, the easier it is to manipulate!
Think about a thick Pilates ball compared to a balloon. It’s much easier to manipulate and change the shape of the thinner balloon!
When we use optimal breathing and core engagement strategies, it will increase the density, so our abdominal wall is more like the pilates ball! (hint, lifting weights can help to increase the density of our tissues and muscles throughout pregnancy and postpartum, as well!)
1. Breathing Strategy Breakdown
Breathing is how we manage pressure within our thoracic and abdominal cavities!
The strategy we use to breathe can either support our core integrity or potentially worsen the symptoms and issues we are experiencing!
When we inhale, we want to expand in the rib cage (aka where your lungs are) in order to move the diaphragm down. As the diaphragm moves down, it increases pressure within the abdominal cavity. This increase in pressure *should* be 360: the back, the sides, the abs, and the pelvic floor.
Then, when we exhale, our abdominal cavity engages (see core engagement strategy in part 2) to counter this increased pressure.
Watch the video below to better understand diaphragmatic breathing!
Bonus Tip: Thoracic Mobility Affects Your Core
Since the abdominal wall tends to be the point of least resistance, there may be a tendency for belly breathing (which could worsen coning and potentially be why a postpartum diastasis is still lingering).
Focusing more on thoracic expansion can help to minimize belly breathing tendencies and also minimize or alleviate coning!
Thoracic mobility, particularly a focus on thoracic expansion to the back, can help with managing coning during pregnancy to protect your core! Learn more mobility routines in our pelvic floor prep for birth course.
This course explore your pelvic floor anatomy, function, and how to prepare your pelvic floor for birth! This course includes educational videos, mobility exercises, relaxation drills, and how to relax your pelvic floor during labor tips.
- 2+ hours of on-demand videos
- Immediate and lifetime of the course access
- Watch on Mobile Device
Watch the video below for one of my favorite thoracic releases that involve the side body and the back!
2. Core Engagement Strategy
Now that we understand breathing (inhales to expand and increase pressure, exhales to engage the core to counter increased pressure), let’s break down some core engagement strategies!
Our core activates with exhalations to increase muscular tension to resist the increased pressure.
When we turn our core on, the muscles and tissues get denser, and this increased density is less easily manipulated by changes in pressure.
Some tips for core engagement include:
- Start with the bottom to lift the pelvic floor up and in
- Then engage the transverse abdominals and internal obliques by focusing on bringing the hip bones closer together and zipper up the center of the belly
- Think draw baby or belly to spine
Watch the video below for some more tips on how to engage your core! An optimal core engagement strategy can help prevent coning to protect your core during pregnancy!
We cue breathing and core engagement in our on-demand fitness videos! In our on-demand fitness programs, you watch a video as you work out at the same time! We offer our on-demand programs for both pregnancy and postpartum!
Protect Your Core Throughout Pregnancy!
We can still work out and exercise throughout pregnancy, but if we experience coning, we may need to adjust our strategy!
Focusing on our breathing strategy and coordinating our core engagement strategy with our breathing can help to minimize or alleviate coning during exercise!