Do you suffer from a separated abdominal wall? Do you have lingering core complaints, like back pain, leaking urine when you cough or sneeze, abdominal weakness, or a "mummy tummy" that never went away after pregnancy? It's possible you have a common condition called Diastasis Recti. Learn more about how to fix diastasis recti through exercise, and without surgery.
Here's how to fix diastasis recti from the comfort of your home.
Diastasis recti, the medical term for separation of the abdominal muscles, is very common during and after pregnancy. It is not a tear, but a sideways stretch that separates the two halves of the rectus abdominis, the "6-pack" muscles. In addition to pregnancy, there are other causes of diastasis recti. Anything that exerts repetitive, forward, forceful bulging pressure on the abdominal wall can induce or worsen abdominal separation. For example, deep visceral fat resulting in a classic ‘beer belly’ can force the abdominal muscles to separate. And surprisingly, many traditional ab exercises that bulge the abdominal muscles forward (including crunches, sit-ups, double leg lifts, and some Pilates-based exercises) can induce or exacerbate diastasis recti because they exert forward, forceful pressure on the abdominal wall. These movements are particularly injurious when a woman already has some degree of diastasis recti from a current or previous pregnancy. If you are experiencing any of the common symptoms, such as back pain, leaking, core weakness or a widening waistline, you may be wondering how to fix diastasis recti.
The Health Implications of Diastasis Recti
Diastasis recti is undesirable for a few reasons. First of all, it weakens the support for your back, increasing the risk of back pain. It also compromises the support for your organs, decreases hip stability, contributes to pelvic floor dysfunction and urinary stress incontinence, and increases the risk of both ventral and umbilical hernia. For those expectant mamas out there, diastasis recti also weakens your push muscles – leading to a potentially longer, more difficult labor. The health implications of diastasis recti are far more serious than the cosmetic impact– although that, too, is a nuisance. Diastasis recti often presents externally as a poochy abdomen (sometimes referred to as "mummy tummy") that can leave someone looking 5 months pregnant years or even decades after childbirth.
Do You Have Diastasis Recti?
You can find out right now. Watch our self-check for DR video to learn how to check yourself for diastasis recti. What if you do find a separation between your rectus abdominis? First of all, take some comfort knowing you are not alone. A majority of child-bearing women have some degree of diastasis recti following even a first pregnancy. And secondly, I'm delighted to share the good news that there is a proven, non-surgical solution.
How to Fix Diastasis Recti with a Proven Solution
Diastasis recti is both preventable and reversible without surgery! The key to fixing diastasis recti lies in therapeutic activation of the transverse abdominis, your deepest abdominal muscle, and proper coordination with the diaphragm and the pelvic floor. This muscle activation serves to protect the integrity of the abdominal wall during pregnancy – it's possible to prevent or minimize separation of the abdominal wall while pregnant! And after delivery, this same muscle engagement works efficiently to restore strength, form, and function.
Our 12-week Reclaim program, based on therapeutic activation of the deep core, is proven to fix diastasis recti and dramatically improve core health. As reported by NPR, a study conducted by Weill Cornell found that 100% of 63 women who performed the exercises in our program achieved full resolution of abdominal separation in less than 12 weeks on average! Our comprehensive online program offers daily core exercises and 3-4 full-body workouts per week (all of them less than 30 minutes!) to make it easy and accessible to improve core health as you rebuild overall fitness. A peer-reviewed study of Every Mother’s online exercise program performed by Hospital for Special Surgery found that participants significantly improved diastasis recti, low back pain, and stress urinary incontinence during the 12-week intervention – and 95% of study participants said they would recommend the program to a friend! You'll feel better and stronger within days, and you can see measurable changes within weeks.
Every Mother’s app-based exercise program delivers personalized exercise protocols for every stage of motherhood. Whether you’re training to build strength for birth, to enhance postpartum recovery, to heal diastasis recti, to address symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction, or to improve health during perimenopause and beyond, our clinically proven online program offers evidence-based coaching and support from pelvic floor physical therapists each step of the way. Get started today.
Sources:
- Flattening The “Mummy Tummy” With 1 Exercise, 10 Minutes A Day. (2017, August 7). https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/07/541204499/flattening-the-mummy-tummy-with-1-exercise-10-minutes-a-day
- Leopold, Madeline, et al. “Efficacy of a Core Strengthening Program for Diastasis Rectus Abdominis in Postpartum Women: A Prospective Observational Study.” Journal of Women’s Health Physical Therapy, vol. 45, no. 4, 2021, pp. 147–63. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1097/jwh.0000000000000214.
- Sharma, Geeta, et al. “Postnatal Exercise Can Reverse Diastasis Recti.” Obstetrics & Gynecology, vol. 123, no. Supplement 1, 2014, p. 171S. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1097/01.aog.0000447180.36758.7a.
Note that results may vary and are not guaranteed.
