A Tummy Tuck, aka an Abdominoplasty, is an amazing surgery. With one powerful procedure, you can fully transform your belly and waist. One of the real reasons this surgery is so transformative is that it fixes stretched and misaligned stomach muscles (aka Rectus Diastasis). With this condition, core muscles are weakened. This leads to lower back pain and a poochy belly appearance, especially in profile. In our office, we combine a Rectus Diastasis repair with a Tummy Tuck, all the time. By putting the core muscles back into their anatomically correct position, core strength and body contour will be measurably better. And the best part is that it is long-lasting (like forever!).
It can be hard to know if you have this condition. Therefore, to better help you understand if you do have a Rectus Diastasis, ask yourself these questions:
- Do you feel like your stomach pooches out more than it should?
- Do flex your stomach muscles all the time to maintain some semblance of a toned belly?
- Do you suffer from lower back pain and do you feel like your core muscles are notably weaker?
If you answered yes to any one of these questions, you may be suffering from a Rectus Diastasis. Here are few things you need to know about this condition and the repair:
How does this occur? With pregnancy and weight gain, the vertically oriented Rectus Abdominis muscle, aka the washboard abs muscles, gets pushed away from your midline and towards your hips on both sides. Once these muscles are pushed apart, there is no amount of physical therapy or strength training that will bring them back together again.
How is it fixed? We use surgery, more specifically a Tummy Tuck, to reposition these muscles, back toward the midline. We also reinforce this repair to ensure long-lasting results, even with movement.
Another important fact: Did you know that fixing your stretched tummy muscles not only improves the appearance of your belly but also improves the appearance of your waist? It is a Tummy Tuck (aka abdominoplasty) 2 for 1! As we discussed previously, putting these muscles back into their proper alignment definitely improves the appearance of your belly. Diastasis repair = no more pooch! But it also makes your waist look better too. When combined with liposuction, you can transform the shape of your waist and hips, giving you more curves in the places you want curves! When you add in the improvement that you can get in core strength, a Rectus Diastasis repair is a no brainer.
Watch Dr. Martin’s recent video on Rectus Diastasis below or check out our website for more information.