What Does Abdominoplasty Do To Your Body And How To Safely Rebuild Your Fitness
WHAT IS ABDOMINOPLASTY
Full abdominoplasty, also known as tummy tuck, is a complex operation and the recovery time has to be taken seriously. During the operation the skin covering your tummy is lifted and the abdominal muscle is tightened with sutures. In case of an umbilical hernia or very weak connective tissue the abdominal repair is also reinforced with mesh. Finally your belly button is repositioned, the excess skin is removed and your tummy is sutured together.
Yes, the operation sounds big and, believe me, it is big.
WHO NEEDS A TUMMY TUCK
Abdominoplasty, sometimes called a “mummy makeover” is sometimes simply a cosmetic procedure that can help mums firm up their abdomen after having children. However, it doesn’t only remove the excess skin after the pregnancy, but most importantly, it fixes diastasis recti by suturing the muscle back together.
DIASTASIS RECTI
Diastasis recti is an abdominal muscle separation that happens in almost every pregnancy as your tummy expands as your baby grow. In most cases the condition disappears by itself within weeks after giving birth. Sometimes however the connective tissue (fascia) between the large abdominal muscle stretches beyond its elasticity and the muscle is unable to come back together.
DIASTASIS RECTI AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
Diastasis recti is an abdominal muscle separation that happens in almost every pregnancy as your tummy expands as your baby grow. In most cases the condition disappears by itself within weeks after giving birth. Sometimes however the connective tissue (fascia) between the large abdominal muscle stretches beyond its elasticity and the muscle is unable to come back together.
As a result your tummy appears pouchy and – what’s worse! – it looks totally pregnant even though you’ve already lost all your baby pounds.
Apart from the obvious aesthetic issues, large diastasis recti comes with a myriad of unpleasant long term consequences. It means weaker and unsupported pelvic floor muscles, which can lead to urinary incontinence and your lower back muscles are forced to work double because your abdominals are too weak to support your spine properly. This muscle imbalance in your core causes lower back pain.
You also have to be extremely careful when lifting and straining – and that’s something that you basically do every day of your life – as too much pressure put on your abdominals might cause a hernia.
In milder cases of diastasis recti physiotherapy will be helpful enough. But in extreme cases, especially when your abdominals are strong and despite this a large separation persists, surgery might be the only option to fix the problem.
Surgery Needed
My abdominal separation was too big to qualify for physiotherapy.
If I ever wanted to exercise again, it needed to be fixed surgically. A small hernia was already present, and fixing it without repairing diastasis recti would not necessarily prevent its recurrence.
TUMMY TUCK RECOVERY
As I said before, abdominoplasty is a big operation and you need to take your recovery seriously. (To be honest a tummy tuck is so painful and disabling, that you’ll undoubtedly take it seriously.)
After the surgery there’s an awful lot of healing to be done. Regardless whether you were super fit before the operation, or totally sedentary, you must allow plenty of time for the scars to form and heal. Physical exercise is totally restricted for a full three months to ensure smooth healing of the sutured abdominal muscle. During this time your physical activity is limited to walking and you are not allowed to lift anything heavier than 5kg.
TUMMY TUCK AND YOUR (GONE) FITNESS
Three months is a very long time and you will probably observe your muscles wasting away, flab forming and a significant decrease in general fitness.
When Is It Safe To Resume Exercise After Tummy Tuck?
Most online guidance recommends abstaining from any exercise for at least 2 months, my doctors however stressed that waiting full 3 months ensures a better and – most importantly – safer recovery.
Resuming exercise earlier might lead (rarely though) to breaking the sutures and undoing the operation.
Postural issues are numerous.
Sleeping in a seated position left your quads and hip flexors super tight, with hamstrings weakened and overstretched. This contributes to lower back pain.
The tightness of the scar and hunched posture caused excessively rounded shoulders, yet stretching still doesn’t feel comfortable nor is it safe.
The tensile strength of your scar is 60% at 6 weeks post operation and will be only 85% at one year post-op. This basically means you can’t simply jump back to your old exercise routine.
How do you ever get your fitness back? What’s safe and what’s not? Where do you begin?
How Strong Is My Scar?
The tensile strength of your scar is 60% at 6 weeks post operation and will be only 85% at one year post-op. This basically means you can’t simply jump back to your old exercise routine.
REBUILD YOUR FITNESS AFTER ABDOMINOPLASTY WITH MY SAFE EXERCISE PROGRAMS
I designed these simple exercise routines to guide you safely through the first months of training after you’ve been cleared to exercise by your doctors.
ABDOMINOPLASTY FITNESS REBUILT: PHASE 1
Phase 1 focuses entirely on building strong foundation for further exercise and conditioning.
It is designed to strengthen deep abdominal muscles that support your core and provide stability around your spine. It “awakes” unused muscles by re-establishing neural connections between your core and your brain. The Phase 1 program gently exercises most of your muscle groups without putting too much pressure on your abdominals.
All exercises in Phase 1 are carefully designed to improve your physical condition after the operation. Certain movements and stretches are avoided for safety reasons.
Click Here To View Full Phase 1 Program
ABDOMINOPLASTY FITNESS REBUILT: PHASE 2
Phase 2 focuses on improving cardiovascular fitness and re-building your core strength, while actively strengthening all other muscle groups.
It introduces essential stretches to all key areas affected by the operation and prepares you for all future fitness activities.
Click Here To View Full Phase 2 Program
MY ADVICE TO YOU?
Start gradually and listen to your body. If anything hurts or feels uncomfortable, don’t do it. Your body might simply not be yet ready for certain movements. Give yourself plenty of rest and start again a week or two later, and eventually you’ll see progress.
Be patient and persistent. Soon you’ll have your fitness rebuilt.
Did you have an abdominoplasty done in Basel area?
There’s no better post tummy tuck training than the one received from a trainer who experienced the operation and recovery herself. Get in touch if you need any help with your post recovery exercise!