Coning vs doming: what is the difference?

Am I coning? I hear this question a lot with abdominal work. And while we do want to monitor for coning through the midline, I find that a lot of times what we see may actually be rectus dominance, or what some may call "breadloafing” (abdominal doming).

What is coning?

First up. What is coning? Coning is when the center connective tissue of the abdomen, the linea alba, protrudes beyond the rest of the abdominal wall. This tends to occur due to Diastasis recti, a totally normal occurring separation of the six pack abs during pregnancy. Coning could look like a tent type shape of the abdomen. The pressure within the abdominal cavity exceeds the capacity of the abdominal wall, and pushes out at the point of least resistance (most often - the stretched linea alba). We can see coning during pregnancy and/or postpartum.

*Coning during pregnancy, from my friends at Ula & Us*

When does coning happen?

Coning tends to happen when the pressure within our abdominal cavity / core canister exceeds our ability to manage it. Postural tendencies, certain exercises, or go-to breathing patterns can cause coning. Oftentimes we can make some tweaks and adjustments to help manage coning. If we are unable to manage the coning after these changes, we may need to omit the movement or regress to a less challenging variation where we can manage pressure.

Common movements that may produce coning:

Sit ups and crunches (flexion). This could also even be sitting up out of bed.
Overhead pressing movements. We may often also see a rib flare here.
Pull ups or movements where we are hanging from something.
Rowing
Prone (face down) isometric movements like a plank, bear position, or push up
Spinal extension - something like a wheel pose in yoga

Other things that increase pressure:

Breathing holding
Bearing down
Coughing, sneezing, laughing
Increase load / weight
Quickly getting out of bed

What is doming?

Doming, or “breadloafing” occurs when the rectus dominates the transverse abdominals. You can check out this visual!

Coning = linea alba pushing outwards

Doming = muscular imbalance - rectus are over dominating TVA

I notice doming most in exercises like leg lifts, planks, or even crunches. What can we do?

Focus on breathing and activating the deep core (TVA) through the movement: learn how to connect with and engage your abdominals.
Decrease intensity: instead of both legs with a leg lift, try one at a time
Find your hamstrings and lower TAs: this is an important step in improving pelvis positioning while helping the muscles that flatten the abs kick in.

Something like a 90/90 breathing exercise is a great place to start. Here’s a great example too.

Strategies to Minimize Coning

Posture / Set up: our body’s go-to positions and how we set up for our exercises matters. If we can maintain a more neutral spine position (ribs over pelvis) during a movement we may find we are better able to manage pressure and minimize coning. Coning is quite common with overhead movements. Progressing postpartum we can focus on choosing a variation that is accessible to us while being able to maintain a neutral position.
- Standing —> seated or half kneeling
- Decrease range of motion: try an incline press or landmine press variation

2. Breathing Strategy: focusing on the breath can be huge for managing pressure outwards on the linea alba. Inhale down and out and exhale up and in (pelvic floor on up), syncing breath to movement. Inhale to lengthen (eccentric part of movement) and exhale on concentric (shortening). Inhale to lower in a squat, exhale to stand.

3. External Props for additional engagement: We can also add external props to enhance the pelvic floor + TVA coordination.

Squeezing a ball between the hands
Squeezing a ball / block between the thighs (adductors)
Crossbody connection: pressing hand into leg

4. Increase support or decrease difficulty:

We can:

Decrease range of motion
Decrease load
Decrease Reps / volume
Switch up the tempo
Find a new movement

If you try all the breathing cues, positional changes, external props, and regressions and you still experience coning, we likely need to put aside the movement for now or find a new movement.

Hard coning vs soft coning

Not all coning is created equal :) The main coning we are trying to avoid is what is called hard coning. If you pressed into the midline, it would feel hard to the touch. In this case the pressure is pushing outwards on the connective tissue. Soft coning would be a bit “squishy,” and is likely OK.

Hard coning - generated in response to exertion. Can be damaging to the linea alba
Soft coning - generated in response to passive movement like side lying or an inversion. Probably fine.

Questions on coning during pregnancy or postpartum? I’d love to chat!