I Rock(Taped) it!

       This was done a while ago but I thought I'd put it on the blog for easier reference for those of you that keep looking for it.

         I did not have a very large DR (diastasis Recti) after C was born, but I did have one, I had it fairly big after G was born also so I expected it. I wanted to correct it quickly because I already had residual back pain and I wanted to make sure that I did what I could to keep the DR from getting worse, because it very easily can...and it can take years to heal if you don't correct it right away.  

     So along with some non-crunching core exercises for strength and healing, I had a RockTape certified massage therapist do the taping technique on me as seen here in the first picture...(with the 4 year old rocking out like a rock-star)... This is roughly 7 weeks postpartum:  

During the week that I wore the tape I felt a lot more stable and really feel that it helped my core strength and my performance during lifting workouts.As I added in some core workouts I felt that I was more in tune with what I had to do to keep my core strong and activating the Transverse Abdominis (deep ab muscles). Through all 5 days of lifting and core workouts the tape stuck...very well! The only thing was that I had some itchiness under the tape and even got a tiny spec of a rash, but I think that was my sensitive skin. 

This picture is from 5 days later, the tape is still sticking and my posture was much better. 

I do think it really helped, my back pain was not as bad during this time because I was reminded to keep my abs tight and sit up straight. Because of the itchiness I only reapplied the tape one more time for 4 days and I really liked the results and feeling of strength.  But, I did not put it on again because I then began to tape my lower back (for some continuing pain/inflammation) and didn't want to be a tape-monster.

Conclusion: Do it! Because no matter what, you don't want DR to stick around, you want better posture and you want to regain core strength as soon as you can. Your body will thank you! (if you're looking for ab workouts keep an eye on my Facebook page, I will post what I do randomly there)

**Update: Still have DR but it had gotten better and my core was SO MUCH stronger over the last month....Here's the thing, my back is still out of whack and in a lot of pain....because my back had many more problems than just the DR so now I know that the reason I still had pain was a disc issue...but with all that going on I still felt better, my core as tighter and I felt more "solid" through my core.