Efficiency of Abdominal Corset and Core Stabilization Exercises in the Treatment of Postpartum Diastasis Recti Abdominis

Comparison of the Efficiency of Abdominal Corset and Core Stabilization Exercises in the Treatment of Postpartum Diastasis Recti Abdominis

Participants will be randomly divided into three groups as core stabilization group, combination of core stabilization and corset group and only corset group.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Diastasis Recti
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Exercise intervention; Other: Exercise intervention by wearing abdominal corset; Other: Corset intervention

Detailed Description

30 volunteer women who were diagnosed with diastasis recti abdominis by an obstetrician in Çamlıca Medipol Hospital, aged between 18-35 and met the inclusion criteria will be included in the study. Participants will be randomly divided into three groups. Participants in the first group will do core stabilization exercises for the transversus abdominis muscle 3 days a week for 8 weeks with 10 repetitions. In the second group, in addition to the first group, core stabilization exercises will be performed by wearing an abdominal corset. Participants included in the third group will be asked to wear only this corset all day (except for the bathroom) for 8 weeks. Anthropometric measurements, ultrasonographic evaluation, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, abdominal muscle strength and endurance, Oswestry Disability Index will be evaluated as pretest and posttest.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 45
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Istanbul, Turkey, 34820
    • Istanbul Medipol University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 20 years to 35 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being between the ages of 20-35,
• Having a normal birth,
• Being at least 6 weeks postpartum when DRA is diagnosed,
• Absence of any musculoskeletal or neurological problems,
• Volunteering to do the exercises

Exclusion Criteria:

• Cesarean delivery,
• Edinburgh Postnatal Depression questionnaire result being >13,
• Having a systemic disorder

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: First group; Core stabilization exercises	Other: Exercise intervention; Women with diastasis recti abdominis will do core stabilization exercises for the transversus abdominis muscle with 10 repetitions 3 days a week for 8 weeks. The exercises include diaphragmatic breathing exercises, core stabilization exercises for the transversus abdominis muscle, and pelvic floor contractions
Experimental: Second group; Combination of core stabilization and abdominal corset	Other: Exercise intervention by wearing abdominal corset; In this group, in addition to the first group, core stabilization exercises will be performed by wearing an abdominal corset. Participants will be asked to wear their corsets while performing their exercises.
Experimental: Third group; Only abdominal corset	Other: Corset intervention; Participants included in this group will be required to wear only this corset all day (except for the bathroom) for 8 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Ultrasanografic measurement	The distance between the rectus muscles will be measured by the obstetrician with ultrasound.	5 minutes
Visual Analogue Scale for pain assessment	The line has a value of 0 at the beginning and a value of 10 at the end. The patient is asked to indicate the intensity of the pain at rest or during activity. A value of 0 means no pain, a value of 10 means excruciating pain.	3 minutes
Abdominal muscle strength measurement	The abdominal muscle strength of the participants will be graded from 0 to 5 using manual muscle testing.	5 minutes
Abdominal muscle undurance measurement	n the measurement of muscle endurance, the participants will be asked to stand as long as they can in their position during the muscle strength measurement.	5 minutes
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale	The scale is used to determine the risk of depression in the postpartum period and to measure the change in level and severity. Minimum value is 0 and maximum value is 30. Cut-off score of 13 is used to distinguish depressed from nondepressed women. High scores means worse outcomes.	5 minutes
Oswestry Disability Index for assesment of pain and quality of life	It is a questionnaire evaluating individuals' participation in activities of daily living due to low back pain.	5 minutes

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Weight measurement	Weight measurement in kilograms will be recorded with weighing machine.	2 minutes
Height measurement	Height measurement in meters will be recorded with tape measure	2 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Istanbul Medipol University Hospital
• Investigators: Study Director: MERVE YILMAZ MENEK, Medipol University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 4, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 4, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): January 19, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 4, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 2, 2022
• Last Verified: August 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physiotherapy; diastasis recti abdominis; core stabilization exercise
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Wounds and Injuries; Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Joint Dislocations; Diastasis, Muscle
• Other Study ID Numbers: Merveylmz.

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: No
• IPD Plan Description: We will publish a manuscript about the result of this study for sharing results of the data with other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No