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Kasia Gondek, PT, DPT, CSCS
Do You Have Ab Muscle Separation? These 10 Diastasis Recti Exercises Can Help Fix It.
For how common it is, diastasis recti (DR) is a condition that's surprisingly misunderstood.
In short, DR is what it's called when your abdominal muscles separate — specifically, the two sides of your rectus abdominis (your "six-pack muscles"). Separated stomach muscles occur as a result of too much pressure inside the abdomen (intra-abdominal pressure). That's why it's extremely common during pregnancy.
As your pregnant belly grows, it puts pressure on the connective tissue in the middle of your tummy called the linea alba. Over time, the linea alba stretches, causing the two sides of your rectus abdominis to separate, explains Kasia Gondek, PT, DPT, CSCS, a women's health physical therapist at Femina Physical Therapy.
"When you gain weight in any other instance of life, you don't pick where. When you are pregnant, in 9 months you gain 30 pounds or so, and that's centralized through your core. Because of this, there is a level of separation that will occur," says Kristie Alicea, CPT, a pre/postnatal fitness specialist and founder of ABC Fit Collective.
However, pregnant people aren't the only people who are affected by DR. Abdominal separation can occur in people of any gender, especially those who carry a lot of visceral fat in the belly area, have poor core engagement or hold too much pressure in their abdomen during heavy lifting, Alicea says.
Fortunately, you can help minimize and repair abdominal separation with diastasis recti exercises. But first, here's how to test for DR and common signs to look out for.
Click here to read the full article on diastasis recti exercises at Livestrong's website.
