The key to healing Diastasis recti lies in rebuilding your core from the inside out. This involves strengthening the Transverse abdominis (TVA) muscle, which is the deepest abdominal muscle and can provide support for those muscles that have been stretched.
The simple and easy at-home exercises in the FREE beginners’ core program can help rebuild your core muscles. But it is important to understand that Diastasis recti is a full-body issue, and to heal your Diastasis fast, you need to focus on the whole body. This means including work to regain strength in your Pelvic floor and diaphragm (which work in conjunction with your ab muscles), your posture and your total body strength.
If you are unsure of where to begin, check out the Blueprint to a functional core which outlines everything you need to know about healing your Diastasis recti.
It’s important to focus on “healing” instead of trying to “fix” or “close” the gap. The main goal is to gain stability and strength; there’s no actual breakage to fix.
The two halves of your rectus muscle were never fused together and there was never ‘no gap’. All of us have rectus ab muscles, in two halves, joined by connective tissue – the linea alba. It is this connective tissue that stretches and weakens, widening the gap down the midline between the breastbone and pubic bone. It’s not broken or torn so there’s nothing broken to fix (unless you have a hernia – which is different from Diastasis recti).
The time it takes to heal depends on the severity of the Diastasis to begin with, genetics, making sure you are doing the correct exercises and not pushing yourself to do things your body is not ready for, your posture, your consistency in doing the exercises and making sure you keep progressing – doing the same exercise for weeks on end won’t help you to get stronger.
If all it took was “strengthening your abs,” a simple handout would do the trick for everyone. Unfortunately, it’s a bit more complex than that.
As I stated above it is important to remember that a small gap firm gap is normal. It’s important to determine the width of the gap and push down gently to see if there is any tension or pushback, or if your fingers sink right down. You want to assess the width and, more importantly, the depth of the split.
The width tells us how well your rectus (the “6-pack” up the front) is working. The depth tells us how well you can create tension across your linea alba and transfer load (looking at the function of your obliques and Transverse abdominals). Decreasing the depth is more important than the width; but in the end, we want all of these muscles to work together!
You can measure the width and depth with your fingers: One- to two finger-widths with good tension is normal; three or more could be a sign of Diastasis recti.
You can find the instructions and video of how to check in this this article >>>
Diastasis recti healing exercises
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You can find out more about different exercises that will help your with your Diastasis recti here >>> ;
Or you can start straight away by signing up to my FREE beginners’ core program
This program is designed for all moms, whether they are just six weeks postpartum or several years after giving birth. It includes all the best initial exercises that should be done to reconnect and retrain the core, such as:
a) Connection Breathing: Which helps you connect the diaphragm and Pelvic floor with your breathing.
b) Knee Lifts: So you can target the lower abdominal muscles allowing you to strengthen the core without straining the separated muscles.
c) Glute Bridges: Focusing on the glute muscles, to promote pelvic stability and support while minimizing pressure on the Diastasis recti gap.
d) Modified Planks: Modified versions are used to safely rebuild core strength.
Can Diastasis recti be healed years later?
It’s never too late to strengthen your core function, heal Diastasis recti and improve the stability of your abdominal muscles.
You can always improve your core function, tension and the stability of your abdominal muscles. However long ago you had your baby. The truth is we never stop being postpartum, so why put an expiry date on your recovery period?
It’s never too late to improve core strength and minimise diastasis, but some of the more traditional ab exercises you’re used to, aren’t the place to start. Instead focus on the Diastasis recti specific exercises and build up your strength from there. Once you give your body the right movement patterns that it needs and progressively challenge under load, it will start to respond. At any age and time postpartum!!
Can Diastasis recti be fixed without surgery?
In most cases – yes! But you won’t know until you give it your best effort.
However, Not everyone can heal their Diastasis, (but don’t automatically assume that’s you!!!) Sometimes the damage/stretching to the fascia is just too great. That being said, I’ve seen many, many, MANY women heal who were told by their doctor the only option they had was surgery. Even if you end up needing surgery, the work you do beforehand will help set you up for success afterward. Surgery doesn’t change patterns or strengthen muscles—it only tightens fascia. So even with surgery, you still need to work on pressure management strategies and learn how to load well through your core.
So if you are ready to get started NOW is the best time to do it, you can check out the different programs here >>> .
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