After pregnancy, it’s common to feel a general sense of weakness, especially in your core – your body just went through a big change! Some women notice movements like sitting up out of bed or picking something up from the floor feel much more challenging than before. Others might notice some abdominal doming or bulging in the middle of their belly when they do effortful tasks. One of the most common contributors to these changes in the postpartum period is Diastasis Recti.
What is Diastasis Recti?
Diastasis Recti is when the two sides of the abdominal muscles stretch apart. During pregnancy, this stretch can occur as your belly is growing, allowing more room in your abdomen. During the early postpartum period, these muscles may begin to heal on their own. However, healing can be slow during what is often a physically demanding and exhausting time. Repeated lifting and carrying a growing baby, a lack of sleep, and entering a whole new routine can all make it harder for the abdominal wall to regain strength. This is where targeted physical therapy can play an important role.
How do I know if I have Diastasis Recti?
In PT, we can do an assessment to measure the separation between the left and right sides of the abdominal muscles. More importantly, we can assess how your core is functioning during movement. One common sign of Diastasis Recti is coning or doming, where the abdomen bulges outward along the midline of your belly. This usually happens during core-focused effortful tasks such as sitting up out of bed or picking your baby up from the floor – indicating that there is a lack of strength and pressure management within the abdomen.
Diastasis Recti can show up differently for everyone. Some women experience abdominal or pelvic pain, others notice coning or doming without pain, and some feel that their core is weaker than it used to be. There are also women who have no symptoms at all, which is why checking in with your physical therapist can be so valuable.
Why is it important to address Diastasis Recti?
Addressing Diastasis Recti is important because our abdominal muscles play an essential role in how the body moves during everyday life. Our core stabilizes the spine, supports our posture, manages pressure on the pelvic floor, supports breath, and more. At BEYOND PT, we focus on healing Diastasis Recti to make sure your body can work optimally and safely as you increase your activity postpartum.
How Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Can Help
Pelvic floor physical therapy can help by addressing the core as a system rather than focusing only on the separation itself. We often begin with retraining breathing patterns to improve pressure management and reduce any coning/doming during movement if present. From there, we progress abdominal strengthening in a way that supports the deeper core and the healing of the Diastasis Recti. As the Diastasis Recti heals and your core gets stronger, we put this new strength into real-life movements and your long-term goals, whether that’s working on returning to weightlifting in the gym, planning for that half marathon one day, or as simple as lifting your baby comfortably. At BEYOND PT, all exercise programs are always customized to your specific needs, as everyone’s body and goals are different!
I had kids many years ago – is it too late to heal my Diastasis Recti?
A common concern we hear often is whether it’s too late to work on Diastasis Recti. The answer is – NO! It’s never too late! We work with women as early as just a few weeks postpartum to decades after their last pregnancy who are able to make meaningful progress in healing Diastasis Recti and ultimately feeling stronger in their bodies.
Next Steps
If any of this resonates with you, we’re here to help. Diastasis Recti is common, but is not something that you have to live with. Working one-on-one with a pelvic health physical therapist can help you better understand your body and move forward with confidence, whether you’re recently postpartum or many years out. When you’re ready, schedule a complimentary call with one of our pelvic health specialists at the link below:
We offer a Complimentary Introduction Call on our website to get started:
References
https://www.jospt.org/doi/10.2519/jospt.2015.5459
PMID: 30839304