Five Myths about Diastasis Recti

It’s never too late to start working on your DR! There is no such thing as a “point of no return” with DR. Pelvic floor PT is focused on providing you with strategies and exercises to help you improve the function of your core, build strength, and decrease discomfort.

DR may not heal on its own and in some cases can worsen without proper treatment, so surgery is the only option provided to help correct DR. However, surgery is not necessary for many individuals, and you get results without non-surgical interventions (keep reading for more info!)

Long-term healing and resolution of DR requires more comprehensive approach than one single exercise. Beware of programs selling this promise! A sustainable approach to truly changing your DR means addressing your posture, breathing, back strength, and how you move your body in everyday life! These are all of the pieces we look at in our visits at Awake Pelvic Health.

When we measure diastasis recti, we test how wide your abdominal separation is, as well as how deep the separation is. The deeper the gap, the less likely your deep core muscles are turning and may have poor transfer of tension and load. Some people have a wide gap, but minimal depth and excellent strength, while other people have no gap but core weakness and pain. We look “beyond the gap” at how well you move your body with different exercises, your posture, and weakness in other parts of your body.

There is a lot of scary and sometimes conflicting information on the internet about what exercises you can or can’t do. You can build up the strength, coordination, and pressure management in your core to be able to successfully do planks, burpees, or crunches again. It’s not recommended to jump right back into these exercises before building up a good base of strength and learning to effectively manage the intra-abdominal pressure that these exercises require. But you 100% can get back to these exercises safely with the right approach!