Abstract
Aim
Management of diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) differs regarding core training, surgical repair methods and post-operative rehabilitation. The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to evaluate the effect of a novel concept of treatment for DRA, the TOR-concept (Training, Operation and Rehabilitation). The concept includes preoperative evaluation of symptoms and instructed abdominal core training; tailored surgical repair of the DRA; and an individualized postoperative rehabilitation program.
Material and Methods
A cohort of seventy-five post-partum women with diagnosed DRA and training resistant core dysfunctions were evaluated and included to the study during 2018-2020. After surgery, all participants underwent an individualized supervised rehabilitation program with progressive increasing load for four months. Physical function was registered preoperatively and one year after surgery with the disability rating index (DRI) questionnaire. Quality of life (QoL) was assessed with the SF-36 questionnaire. The DRA and the surgical result were assessed with ultrasonography before and one year after surgery.
Results
Sixty-nine participants, 92%, completed the study. There were no DRA-recurrences at the 1-year follow-up. Early results shows that self-reported physical function, (DRI), improved in 88.8 % of patients, with a mean score improvement of 78.5 %. Quality of life, (SF-36), improved significantly compared with the preoperative scores, and reached a level similar to, or higher than, the normative Swedish female population.
Conclusions
In this cohort of post-partum women with DRA combined with core instability symptoms resistant to training, surgical reconstruction within the TOR-concept resulted in a significant improvement of physical function and QoL.
Cohort study of the effect of surgical repair of symptomatic diastasis recti abdominis on abdominal trunk function and quality of life
