SPLINT WEARING QUESTIONS

When you do a crunch you are lifting your shoulders off the floor. When you do a headlift you are just lifting your head. When you lift your shoulders off the floor it is impossible to hold in your transverse. If you can’t hold in your transverse muscle it will go forward forcefully making the diastasis larger if you have one or creating one if you don’t have one.

This program closes the diastasis by healing the connective tissue. As the connective tissue becomes shallow, the muscles come together. Healing connective tissue is all about putting it in the right position as well as protecting it.

 If you follow all 4 steps and do only cardio exercise as described below, you will see the healing process beginning. Your diastasis will may get one finger smaller, your connective tissue will feel shallower and your belly circumference will be 1-2 inches smaller. Make sure you take those before photos of your belly from the front and the side so you can see the changes in week 3 and week 6.

You use your abdominals with every move you make. You have to develop the awareness and the strength of how to use them correctly to be able to heal your connective tissue. It takes six weeks to do this. In week six once you have this abdominal strength and awareness of how to use your abdominal muscles, you are taught how to incorporate the Tupler Technique® into an exercise routine. During the first six weeks we recommend only cardio exercise such as walking, treadmill, stationary bike, and the elliptical machine. No running, weights or exercise classes .It is important to be belly breathing while doing cardio exercise.

If you play these sports you need to make sure you engage your transverse and keep your ribs in as you do the crossover movement in tennis and golf. Check yourself before and after the game and to make sure you are not opening your diastasis back up again. Some people wear a splint while playing to remind them to hold the transverse in. 

If you have not closed your diastasis you need to continue doing what you are doing. Double splint as much as you can when doing the seated and backlying exercises. If you have closed your diastasis you do not have to wear a splint but you need to continue the other three steps of the program. For the contracting exercise do anywhere from 10-20 sets of 100 a day.

No. Weight has nothing to do with the separation of the muscles. Many people mistake the “bulging belly” that is a sign of a diastasis for fat.

You may want to look in a mirror while doing the seated exercises. For the headlifts you may want to have a friend put their hand on your belly to make sure you are working the muscles correctly. If you have a Licensee in your area it is always best to have someone see you in person. If you don’t you can also do the Six Week Online Support Program for all your questions or an individual skype session with Julie Tupler, RN so she can see how you are doing the exercises.

No. The contracting exercise is now at 5th to 6th so there is no need to do the elevators anymore unless you want to.

No. In the first six weeks it is not recommend to do this. The back must be supported and not move. It is much harder to control this in a standing position.

The back needs to be supported with a pillow or back of chair so it does not move and so it can rest and let the abdominals do the work. If it is not supported the back muscles need to work to maintain correct posture.

It forces you to breathe. If you hold your breath it puts intra-abdominal force on both your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.

To maintain the integrity of the sutures after your surgery. It is important to strengthen your abdominal muscles and know how to use them correctly in the recovery process. Intra-abdominal force on the stitches makes them come undone. You are told by your doctor not to lift anything heavy after surgery. When you go from a seated to a standing position if you do not use your abdominals correctly while doing this you are putting your whole body weight on your sutures!

 Ideally it is best to do the Tupler Technique® before you even get pregnant. If this is not done then the Tupler Technique® program should be done during pregnancy to keep the diastasis as small as possible. If this is not possible then the Tupler Technique® should be done after the pregnancy. With each pregnancy the diastasis will get larger.

All the weight of your organs is putting pressure on the weak connective tissue. Pressure on connective tissue weakens it and does not allow it to heal.

Yes. The seated position is the best position to be in while having sex to protect the connective tissue. The hands and knees position puts pressure on the connective tissue. In the back lying position with your legs in the air it is too difficult to hold in your transverse muscle.

Back lying with knees bent. Whatever position you sleep it is always important to have your knees bent. In a side lying position it is important to have a pillow between your bent knees. A pillow should be under your lower legs whether you are back lying or lying on your belly. This keeps the top of the pelvis from tilting forward. When this happens it flares the ribs and stretches the connective tissue.

Once you close your diastasis your do not have to wear our splint. You do have to continue doing the exercises for 18 weeks and then for the rest of your life. These exercises are the BEST way to strengthen your abdominal muscles. Strengthening your abdominal muscles means shortening them. This program shortens them from front to back and from top to bottom.

When you do the seated exercises you will be “chest breathing”. With chest breathing you do not get as much oxygen as when you belly breathe. Therefore, it is important to count out loud. This forces you to breathe. The louder you count, the more oxygen you get. Also, people get out of breath because they are doing the exercises too fast. So you may want to slow down when doing the exercises.

When you do the seated exercises you will be “chest breathing”. With chest breathing you do not get as much oxygen as when you belly breathe. Therefore, it is important to count out loud. This forces you to breathe. The louder you count, the more oxygen you get. Also, people get out of breath because they are doing the exercises too fast. So you may want to slow down when doing the exercises.

No. The program is all about closing the diastasis. This will give you a flatter belly and smaller waist. The loose skin is a lack of collagen issue.

If your toddler can climb up on a chair so they are at a higher place and you do not have to bend over that is the most ideal way of picking them up. Always hold your transverse in right before you lift them. If that is not possible then bend over with a flat back and bent knees. Again, transverse is in at 5th floor before you lift them. This is demonstrated in the exercise portion of the DVD.

NO. Crunches create a diastasis or make a diastasis larger if you have one. A diastasis is caused by a forward forceful movement on the outermost abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis). When the shoulders come off the floor it is impossible to engage the transverse muscle. If you cannot engage the transverse muscle then it is going forward forcefully making the diastasis larger or creating one. Besides working the muscles in the wrong direction they also work the discs of the spine in the wrong direction. Solution to safely increase the intensity of your abdominal work: When doing the head lifts, bring your feet away from the buttocks. This brings the small of the back off the floor. The higher the small of the back is off the floor, the harder it is to use your abdominals to put it on the floor.

When doing the seated Tupler Technique® exercises we always start and end with a belly breathe. However, it is not possible to belly breathe while doing the exercises with holding the transverse at 5th floor. You must chest breathe. That is why it is so important to count out loud. This forces you to breathe. If you don’t count out loud you will then put pressure on both your abdominal and pelvic floor muscles.

This is common when you first start doing the exercises. If a muscle is weak it will ask another muscle to help. In this case, it is your shoulders. So when you feel it in your shoulders just relax them. Also make sure your head is not forward when doing the exercises. Think of bringing the chin back as you are doing the exercises. When the head is forward it rounds the shoulders and then you will feel it there while doing the exercises.

The Tupler Technique® is a great exercise for toning even if you do not have a diastasis.

We use our abdominal muscles with everything we do. A forceful forward movement makes the diastasis larger. However, some forward forceful movements are worse than others. A jack knife and a roll back are the worst and will undo your hard work. So you need to be especially careful not to do these things as they will undo all your hard work.

In a hands and knees position gravity put all the weight of the organs on the already weakened connective tissue. Engaging the muscles in this position will not take the weight off the connective tissue. So planks and pushups should be done against the wall where there is no pressure on the connective tissue and gravity makes it easier to engage the transverse muscle.

When you are doing aerobic exercises it is important that you belly breathe to get as much oxygen as possible. Remember to expand and fill the lungs up with air as your bring the muscles forward and then bring the belly back to the spine on the exhale part of the breath. You will be working the transverse if you use the transverse on the exhale part of the breath

When you are doing aerobic exercises it is important that you belly breathe to get as much oxygen as possible. Remember to expand and fill the lungs up with air as your bring the muscles forward and then bring the belly back to the spine on the exhale part of the breath. You will be working the transverse if you use the transverse on the exhale part of the breath

Yes. One of the functions of the recti muscle is to support the back. When the muscles separate it weakens the support for the back and causes back problems. When you engage the transverse is shortens the recti (outermost muscle) from the middle and makes the diastasis smaller. Also when you engage the transverse muscle you are also working the lumbar multifidus muscle. Working this muscle also helps with low back pain.

Very carefully! You cannot do crunches or any back lying exercises with your shoulders off the floor. You must tell the instructor that you have a diastasis recti and you must do your abdominal work differently.

No. It is physically impossible to bring the transverse to the spine and hold it there when doing these exercises. Working the core means bringing the transverse to the spine and holding it there. If you can’t do that with any exercise then you will be making the diastasis larger (if you have one) or creating one if you don’t have one.

We recommend that you space them out during the day initially as the muscle will get fatigued if you do too many at once. Once the muscle is fatigued, you will not be able to do the exercises effectively. Once the muscle is strengthened you can do more each time you do them during the day.