Watch this video to learn:

• What is diastasis recti?

• How do I know if I have it?

• How can I self assess?

• What do I do if I do have it?

Diastasis rectus abdominus (DRA) is a normal part of pregnancy and expected to happen towards the end of your third trimester to accommodate for the growing baby.

Postpartum it is characterized as an increased distance between the two rectus abdominus muscles. The connective tissue (called the linea alba) is thinned and stretched between the two muscles which contributes to a coning or doming that occurs with an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. Many notice it sitting up out of bed, extending back to wash/shampoo their hair, or in certain exercises.

This coning is not something to freak out about. You are not damaged and your insides are spilling out. Instead, view the presence of coning as simply feedback. This is feedback from your core that the pressure in said activity is a bit more than it is able to control in that moment. We use this feedback to really hone in on our breath strategy (exhale and draw in to create tension) or just make the exercise a little easier so you can perform without doming.

This video explains how to self assess with the Head Lift Test. Here you can measure with your fingers how wide and deep the gap is. You’ll check all along the midline of the abdomen. Make a note of this measurement and as you progress through your rehab, keep checking in to see if the distance/depth has changed. Our goal is not always to have a smaller gap, but to be able to create tension across the abdominal wall to control the doming (you’ll see this at the end of the video).

We treat diastasis by progressively loading the abdominal tissues and making them stronger in all planes of motion, which is exactly what this program is doing! If you do have diastasis, you may have to modify movements slightly as you progress through the program and that is totally okay!