Diastasis Recti or Abdominal Separation. What? Why? How can physiotherapy help?

Ever heard of abdominal separation or diastasis recti and found yourself wondering what it actually is, or who can you see for advice on managing it?

If so, read below for our in depth blog all about abdominal separation in pregnancy and also postpartum.

Our women’s health physios are skilled in assessing and managing diastasis recti and can provide you with individual advice and treatment. 

What is Diastasis Recti? 

Diastasis recti is also commonly known as abdominal separation, or DRAM. Many women believe that the abdominal muscles are physically tearing or ripping apart, which thankfully is not the case. 

When a woman is pregnant, hormonal and physical changes result in the development of a bump. This is a good thing as the body needs to change to accommodate for a growing uterus and baby! To do this, the tissues (muscles and fascia) around the abdomen need to stretch. 

When this occurs, there is also a stretch of a tissue called the linea alba which is a central band of connective tissue that runs down the middle of the abdomen from the breast bone to the pubic bone. As the bump grows, this strip of tissue widens, which in turn makes the rectus abdominis muscles (six pack abs) move apart from one another. 

Where the separation or widening occurs can be different between women and may depend on abdominal circumference or baby size.

Who gets diastasis recti? 

Almost 100% of pregnant women will develop diastasis to some degree. Some women will notice that the width of the linea alba, and therefore the appearance of the diastasis reduces shortly after giving birth, while other women may find that they still have some separation postpartum. Both of these scenarios are normal. 

How can physiotherapy help? 

A women’s health physiotherapist can play a vital role in helping to assess and manage your diastasis recti through your pregnancy, as well as during your postpartum recovery. 

During pregnancy, your physio will discuss correct core activation and lifting techniques, breathing strategies to support diastasis and the pelvic floor muscles, regularly assess the width and depth of the separation, monitor for excessive coning, provide you with abdominal support garments and more. We also run prenatal specific reformer Pilates classes to assist you in your pregnancy exercise journey. 

During the postpartum period and the fourth trimester, your physio will teach you how to reconnect with your core muscles and pelvic floor muscles, and provide you with safe exercise progressions to allow for a full recovery. We also run postnatal specific reformer Pilates classes to support this. 

It is important to note that many women will have a degree of diastasis or abdominal separation that remains following having children. This is considered normal, and when managed correctly should not stop you from carrying out the exercise that you love!

If you have any questions about diastasis recti, or would like to talk to one of our women’s health physiotherapists please feel free to book online or contact us here.