Diastasis Recti Exercises: How to Check, Safe Moves and Recovery

01What

What is diastasis recti?

The rectus abdominis muscles run vertically down the front of the abdomen, joined in the middle by the linea alba. As the uterus grows, hormones soften connective tissue and the muscles separate to make room. This separation, called diastasis recti abdominis (DRA), is present in nearly all women by the end of pregnancy. After birth, the gap narrows in most women over the first weeks and months, but in some it persists. It can also occur in men and in people who have gained weight around the abdomen.

02Check

How to check for diastasis recti

• Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat.
• Place your fingertips horizontally across the midline at the belly button.
• Gently lift your head and shoulders a little, as in a small crunch.
• Feel for a gap between the muscle edges and measure it in finger widths.
• Repeat a few centimetres above and below the belly button.
• Notice also how deep and soft the gap feels; tension in the tissue matters as much as width.
• A gap of more than about two finger widths is often considered diastasis, but a physical therapist can measure more accurately.

03Symptoms

Symptoms and effects

• A visible ridge or doming along the middle of the abdomen when you sit up or strain.
• A soft, “pooch-like” abdomen after pregnancy.
• Feeling of core weakness.
• Lower back or pelvic pain in some women, although research links are mixed.
• Pelvic floor symptoms such as leakage can coexist, but do not always.
• Diastasis recti is not a hernia, although an umbilical hernia can occur alongside it.

04Early

Early exercises after birth

• Breathing with deep abdominal activation: lying with knees bent, breathe in, then as you breathe out gently draw the lower belly in and lift the pelvic floor. 10 breaths, several times a day.
• Pelvic tilts: gently flatten and arch the lower back, 10–15 times.
• Heel slides: slide one heel away while keeping the abdomen gently engaged, 10 each side.
• Glute bridges: lift the hips while exhaling, 10–12 times.
• Side-lying leg lifts and clamshells for hip strength.
• Walking as soon as you feel ready.
• After a caesarean, follow your team’s advice and wait for the wound to heal before more challenging core work.

05Progress

Progressing your core training

• Dead bug progressions: from arm or leg movements to opposite arm and leg.
• Bird dog on hands and knees.
• Side planks from the knees, progressing to feet.
• Modified front planks on knees or against a wall.
• Squats, lunges and lifting with good breathing.
• Curl-ups can be reintroduced gradually if you can control the midline without doming.
• Progress when you can do the current level without doming, pain, leakage or heaviness.

06Avoid

What to modify or avoid early on

There is no list of exercises that are forbidden forever. Early on, it is sensible to modify movements that cause the abdomen to dome or cone along the midline, such as full sit-ups, heavy crunches, front planks held with poor control, or lifting heavy weights while holding your breath. Roll onto your side to get out of bed. Over time, most women can return to all exercise, including running and lifting, by building capacity gradually. Our guide to pelvic floor stretches covers the other half of the core.

07Time

How long does diastasis recti take to heal?

Much of the natural narrowing happens in the first eight weeks after birth, and many women continue to improve up to a year. In the study by Sperstad and colleagues, about a third of women still had diastasis at 12 months. Exercise can improve core function even if some gap remains. Healing means being able to transfer load across the abdomen comfortably, not necessarily a gap of zero.

08Surgery

When surgery is considered

Surgery (abdominoplasty or abdominal wall repair) is considered only for persistent, significant diastasis that causes symptoms despite a good rehabilitation programme, or when it occurs with a hernia. It is usually delayed until at least a year after birth and after finishing having children. A specialist physical therapist should normally be involved before surgery is considered.

09Cases

Three common situations

• Six weeks after birth with a visible ridge: start breathing and gentle core work, walk daily and progress over the next months.
• Runner wanting to return: build core, hip and pelvic floor strength first and return gradually around three months after birth if symptom-free.
• Persistent gap a year later with back pain: see a specialist physical therapist; surgery is an option only after rehabilitation.

10Summary

Key points to remember

• Diastasis recti is a normal, common change during pregnancy.
• Most gaps narrow in the months after birth.
• Gradual core training improves function and may reduce the gap.
• Modify movements that cause doming, and progress steadily.