What Is Abdominal Separation or Diastasis Recti?
Diastasis recti is more commonly known as abdominal separation. It is an increase in the distance between your abdominal muscles due to the stretching of the connective tissue (line alba) that joins them together
This is a completely normal process that occurs during pregnancy. In fact, it needs to happen to make room for your baby!
How long will it take till it’s back to normal?
This is different for everyone! The research shows that many remain wider than normal at 12 weeks post-partum. Often abdominal separation can go away on its own but there are many things we can do to help rebuild strength and control through your abdominal and assist in recovery.
What can I do?
The first step is to get your separation assessed by a women’s health physiotherapist so that they can determine the distance and the quality of the tissue and see how this fits with how functional you are and the goals you have.
Two simple things that you can begin to do to help with your recovery are:
- Abdominal compression: this can be done via high-waisted tights, SRC compression shorts, or other forms of compression (such as Tubigrip).
- Graded overall and core strengthening program. This will look different for everyone and will depend on what is found in your assessment with your women’s health physiotherapist. It is best to get guidance before going back to high-intensity exercise.
