In this Episode:
- Introduction: Dr. Sarah Duvall
- Common Fears Among Women Returning to Running Postpartum
- Common Considerations for Diastasis
- Pelvic Floor Connections
- Common Red Flags in Running Pictures
- Anterior/Posterior Tilt
- Stress
- Breathing Exercises to Destress
- Accessory Muscles for Breathing
- Conclusion
Show Notes:
0:42 –
Introduction: Dr. Sarah Duvall
- Today we will talk about diastasis to prolapse, breathwork, and more
- Postpartum Corrective Exercise course – Dr. Duvall
- Pelvic floor is important!
- Like, subscribe, give us a review, and please share!
- Pick up a copy of Strength Training for Triathlon Success
- An entire chapter on breathing there
- On TrainingPeaks University
- Dr. Duvall is a leader in postpartum corrective exercise
- More triathlon-based than cycling-based episode
- Core Exercise Solutions
- Blogs posts and videos
- “My passion is to get women their bodies back – for whatever that looks like for them” – Dr. Duvall
7:31 –
Common Fears Among Women Returning to Running Postpartum
- Leaking
- Prolapse
- “Most women can run with prolapse – if you do the work it takes to get there” – Dr. Duvall
- “It’s not easy – you gotta put the work in” – Dr. Duvall
- Diastasis: when the mid-abdominal wall stretches to make room for the baby and the tissue thins out
- “100% of women when they go into that delivery room have some form of diastasis… it’s a really cool, natural way for the body to make room” – Dr. Duvall
- “It’s not just women who have diastasis – it can also be men” – Menachem
11:11 –
Common Considerations for Diastasis
- Usually your deep inner core is not coordinating as it should
- Looking for how the deep abdominals are giving with the inhale
- Nice TA expansion or just belly breath?
- What kind of bracing are they using?
- How is the pelvic floor co-contracting?
- How is their posture?
- “Everything is connected” – Dr. Duvall
- Looking for how the deep abdominals are giving with the inhale
13:12 –
Pelvic Floor Connections
- “The way we react to the ground is our foundation for movement” – Dr. Duvall
- It affects how the rest of your body reacts
- “What’s going on with your feet is a window into what’s going on with your hips… and then your hips are a window into your pelvic floor, and your pelvic floor is a window into your respiratory diaphragm” – Dr. Duvall
15:06 –
Common Red Flags in Running Pictures
- Posture and pelvis
- Is your bottom tucked under and your head forward?
- Are you hunched forward?
- Is your pelvis anteriorly tilted?
- Could be a compensation for hip impingement
17:26 –
Anterior/Posterior Tilt
- Both can contribute to diastasis and prevent a diastasis from healing
- If you’re pelvis is tilted it’s not lined up with your diaphragm, which prevents the deep abdominals from working as they should
- “When you have the tilt either way it ends up stressing that midline by creating abnormal or excessive pressure in the abdomen” – Dr. Duvall
- Pelvic floor/prolapse (pressure issue of the pelvic floor) and diastasis (pressure issue of the front) are closely related just on opposite sides
- Check in with external obliques, serratus
- Serratus: “I like to think of it as your transition muscle between your abdominal wall and your shoulders” – Dr. Duvall
- Check in with external obliques, serratus
- Generally safe test:
- Take a sideways selfie in the mirror with minimal clothing and analyze your pelvis
- Is it tucked forward or backward?
- Do you have an arch in your back? Where?
- Can you come out of that posture or does it feel really restricted?
- Take a sideways selfie in the mirror with minimal clothing and analyze your pelvis
- “I am not a fan of stretching – I am a fan of moving through ranges of motion” – Dr. Duvall
- The psoas is the primary vertical stabilizer for the spine
25:38 –
Stress
- “I have seen so many injuries in people because they were stressed out” – Dr. Duvall
- Stress is a huge player in injury
- 4 pillars for athletics progression: hormonal, metabolic, neuromuscular, cardiorespiratory
- “We all forget the hormonal” – Menachem
- There’s a general trend for the neuromuscular
- “There are days to train hard and there are days to take a bubble bath” – Dr. Duvall
- How Dr. Duvall manages stress as a mom:
- “I recognize there are seasons for things” – Dr. Duvall
- Sometimes I’ll work a little less and train a little harder and vice versa
- “I have to pick – I can’t do both at the same time” – Dr. Duvall
- “Something has to give – you cannot have it all to the same level all the time” – Dr. Duvall
- “I recognize there are seasons for things” – Dr. Duvall
- Similar to running the last leg in a relay race that’s how Dr. Duvall does her job – she never wants to let anyone down and wants to be the best for her clients
- “Then I realized I can’t run this race forever there’s no finish line” – Dr. Duvall
- She had to create arbitrary finish lines so she wouldn’t burn out
- “Then I realized I can’t run this race forever there’s no finish line” – Dr. Duvall
- Don’t lose sight of your dreams!
37:19 –
Breathing Exercises to Destress
- It depends!
- Place your hands on your rib cage and take a nice deep breath
- What did you feel when you inhaled?
- “My thumbs went out and back and my fingers went up and out” – Menachem
- This is what we want – nice even rib cage movement
- “My thumbs went out and back and my fingers went up and out” – Menachem
- It’s also easier to perform this exercise lying on your side because it decreases postural control
- Standing is the hardest
- What did you feel when you inhaled?
41:54 –
Accessory Muscles for Breathing
- Learning to breathe properly with proper pelvic positioning can help heal a diastasis
- A lot of women complain about their bra straps falling off with accessory breathing, which tells you they’re using their accessory muscles
- Accessory muscles = helpers
- Typically you don’t want to use the accessory muscles the whole time on a leisure run
- Can cause trigger points and “knots” from overuse
44:25 –
Conclusion
- Key advice:
- “Our body is capable of more than we think – and that includes healing… you’ve gotta have the mental capacity to be able to let it heal” – Dr. Duvall
- Check your attitude
- “Our body is listening to us put it down” – Dr. Duvall
- Be a bit more positive – fake it until you make it!
- Where can we find you?
- Website: coreexercisesolutions.com
- Google Sarah Duvall
- Glutes, Core, and Pelvic Floor
- Great overview