Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
International Urogynecology Journal
Published in: International Urogynecology Journal 3/2007

01-03-2007 | Original Article

Prevalence of diastasis recti abdominis in a urogynecological patient population

Authors: Theresa M. Spitznagle, Fah Che Leong, Linda R. Van Dillen

Published in: International Urogynecology Journal | Issue 3/2007

Login to get access

Abstract

A urogynecologist’s examination typically includes assessment of the abdominal musculature, including the determination of whether a diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) is present. The purposes of the current study were to examine the (1) prevalence of DRA in a urogynecological population, (2) differences in select characteristics of patients with and without DRA, and (3) relationship of DRA to support-related pelvic floor dysfunction diagnoses. A retrospective chart review was conducted by an independent examiner. Fifty-two percent of the patients examined presented with DRA. Patients with DRA were older, reported higher gravity and parity, and had weaker pelvic floor muscles than patients without DRA. Sixty-six percent of all the patients with DRA had at least one support-related pelvic floor dysfunction (SPFD) diagnosis. There was a relationship between the presence of DRA and the SPFD diagnoses of stress urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse.
Literature
1.
Howard FM, Perry CP, Carter JE, El-Minawi AM (2000) Pelvic pain diagnosis and management. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins
2.
Noble E (1995) Essential exercises for the childbearing year, 4th edn. New Life Images, Harwich, MA, p 4
3.
Ponka JL (1980) Epigastric hernia. Hernias of the abdominal wall. Saunders, Philadelphia, PA, pp 435–454
4.
Critchley D (2002) Instructing pelvic floor contraction facilitates transversus abdominis thickness increase during low-abdominal hollowing. Physiother Res Int 7(2):65–75PubMedCrossRef
5.
Neumann P, Gill V (2002)Pelvic floor and abdominal muscle interaction: EMG activity and intra-abdominal pressure. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct 13(2):125–132PubMedCrossRef
6.
Sapsford RR, Hodges PW, Richardson CA, Cooper DH, Markwell SJ, Jull GA (2001) Co-activation of the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles during voluntary exercises. Neurourol Urodyn 20(1):31–42PubMedCrossRef
7.
Gilleard WL, Brown JM (1996) Structure and function of the abdominal muscles in primigravid subjects during pregnancy and the immediate postbirth period. Phys Ther 76(7):750–762PubMed
8.
Delancey JO (1997) The pathophysiology of stress urinary incontinence in women and its implications for surgical treatment. World J Urol 15(5):268–274PubMedCrossRef
9.
Jensen LL (1997) Fecal incontinence: evaluation and treatment. J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs 24(5):277–282PubMed
10.
Barber MD (2005) Symptoms and outcome measures of pelvic organ prolapse. Clin Obstet Gynecol 48(3):648–661PubMedCrossRef
11.
Delancey JO(1994) The anatomy of the pelvic floor. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol 6(4):313–316PubMed
12.
Boissonnault JS, Blaschak MJ (1988) Incidence of diastasis recti abdominis during the childbearing year. Phys Ther 68(7):1082–1086PubMed
13.
Boxer S, Jones S (1997) Intra-rater reliability of rectus abdominis diastasis measurement using dial calipers. Aust J Physiother 43(2):109–114PubMed
14.
Bursch SG (1987) Interrater reliability of diastasis recti abdominis measurement. Phys Ther 67(7):1077–1079PubMed
15.
Lo T, Candido G, Janssen P (1999) Diastasis of the recti abdominis in pregnancy: risk factors and treatment. Physiother Can 51(1):32–44
16.
Kim S, Harvey MA, Johnston S (2005) a review of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of pelvic floor dysfunction: do racial differences matter? J Obstet Gynaecol Can 27(3):251–259PubMed
17.
Uustal Fornell E, Wingren G, Kjolhede P (2004) Factors associated with pelvic floor dysfunction with emphasis on urinary and fecal incontinence and genital prolapse: an epidemiological study. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 83:383–389PubMedCrossRef
18.
Delancey JO, Ashton-Miller JA (2004) Pathophysiology of adult urinary incontinence. Gastroenterology 126(1Suppl1):S23–S32PubMedCrossRef
19.
Fenner DE, Genberg B, Brahma P, Marek L, Delancey JO (2003) Fecal and urinary incontinence after vaginal delivery with anal sphincter disruption in an obstetrics unit in the United States. Am J Obstet Gynecol 189(6):1543–1549PubMedCrossRef
20.
Chiarello CM, Falzone LA, McCaslin KE, Patel MN, Ulery KR (2005) The effects of an exercise program on diastasis recti abdominis in pregnant women. Journal of Women’s Health Physical Therapy 29(1):11–16
21.
Lockwood T (1998) Rectus muscle diastasis in males: primary indication for endoscopically assisted abdominoplasty. Plast Reconstr Surg 101(6):1685–16891PubMed
22.
Blanchard PD (2005) Diastasis recti abdominis in HIV-infected men with lipodystrophy. HIV Med 6(1):54–56PubMedCrossRef
23.
Nahas FX, Augusto SM, Ghelfond C (2001) Nylon versus polydioxanone in the correction of rectus diastasis. Plast Reconstr Surg 107(3):700–706PubMedCrossRef
24.
Grodstein F, Lifford K, Resnick NM, Curhan GC (2004) Postmenopausal hormone therapy and risk of developing urinary incontinence. Obstet Gynecol 103(2):254–260PubMed
25.
Staskin DR, Tyagi R (2005) What is the effect of menopausal hormone replacement therapy on urinary incontinence? Nat Clin Pract Urol 2(7):328–329CrossRef
26.
Donnelly V, O’Connell PR, O’Herlihy C (1997) The influence of oestrogen replacement on faecal incontinence in postmenopausal women. Br J Obstet Gynaecol 104(3):311–315PubMed
27.
Hanson LA, Schulz JA, Flood CG, Cooley B, Tam F (2006) Vaginal pessaries in managing women with pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence: patient characteristics and factors contributing to success. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct 17(2):155–159PubMedCrossRef
28.
Robinson D, Cardozo LD (2003) The role of estrogens in female lower urinary tract dysfunction. Urology 62(4 Suppl 1):45–51PubMedCrossRef
29.
Nygaard IE, Squatrito RC (1996) Abdominal incisions from creation to closure. Obstet Gynecol Surv 51(7):429–436PubMedCrossRef
30.
FitzGerald MP, Kotarinos R (2003) Rehabilitation of the short pelvic floor. II: treatment of the patient with the short pelvic floor. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct 14(4):269–275PubMedCrossRef
31.
FitzGerald MP, Kotarinos R (2003) Rehabilitation of the short pelvic floor. I: background and patient evaluation. Int Urogynecol J Pelvic Floor Dysfunct 14(4):261–268PubMedCrossRef
32.
Kotarinos RK (2003) Pelvic floor physical therapy in urogynecologic disorders. Curr Womens Health Rep 3(4):334–339PubMed
33.
Mast BA (1999) Alleviation of urinary incontinence after abdominoplasty. Ann Plast Surg 42(4):456–457PubMedCrossRef
34.
Smith CA, Smith EA, Parrott TS, Broecker BH, Woodard JR (1998) Voiding function in patients with the prune-belly syndrome after monfort abdominoplasty. J Urol 159(5):1675–1679PubMedCrossRef
35.
36.
Laycock J, Schussler B, Norton P, Stanton SL (1994) Pelvic floor re-education. 2.2. Clinical examinaiton of the pelvic floor, 1st edn. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 42–48
Metadata
Title
Prevalence of diastasis recti abdominis in a urogynecological patient population
Authors
Theresa M. Spitznagle
Fah Che Leong
Linda R. Van Dillen
Publication date
01-03-2007
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
International Urogynecology Journal / Issue 3/2007
Print ISSN: 0937-3462
Electronic ISSN: 1433-3023
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00192-006-0143-5

Other articles of this Issue 3/2007

International Urogynecology Journal 3/2007 Go to the issue

Case Report

Intermittent urinary retention secondary to a uterine leiomyoma

Training Program

Urogynecology fellowship training program directory

Original Article

Age effects on anorectal pressure in anal continent women with lower urinary tract dysfunction

Original Article

Weak VLPP and MUCP correlation and their relationship with objective and subjective measures of severity of urinary incontinence

Original Article

Tension-free vaginal tape sling for recurrent stress incontinence after transobturator tape sling failure

Original Article

Perioperative complications in abdominal sacrocolpopexy and vaginal sacrospinous ligament fixation procedures