How to Prevent Diastasis Recti
Learn about the best ways you can prevent diastasis recti.. or maybe you can’t??
One of the top questions that we get asked as pelvic floor physical therapists is “how to prevent diastasis recti”?
In order to answer this question, we need more details about that patient asking it.
For example, we are unable to prevent diastasis recti during pregnancy. In fact, a study by Mota in 2018 describes that the average woman will have a diastasis recti that is about 6.7cm.
During pregnancy, we are unable to prevent diastasis recti due to the stretch through the muscles of the growing belly and collagen composition changes. In fact, all of our ligaments and tissues become more stretchy because in the presence of high estrogen levels (like those during pregnancy) our collagen composition changes from a stiffer type (Type I), to a more stretchy type (Type III).
If we are not talking about pregnancy, but rather just life in general, the answer to the question “how to prevent diastasis recti” shifts a little.
In general, improved diastasis recti (measured by a separation in between the two sides of the abdominal wall) is tied to a stronger core.
Stronger core muscles (particularly the rectus abdominus, commonly known as the 6-pack muscles), is tied to a lesser degree of diastasis.
However, it isn’t as simple as just strengthening the core. In order to know how to prevent diastasis recti, we also need to know how you core muscles are functioning with the rest of your body.
This is where pelvic floor PT comes it. Pelvic floor PTs are experts of core and pelvic floor rehab and specialize in safe exercise progression for patients looking to make strength and functional changes of the core.
We want to make sure that when we prescribe core exercises, we make sure that we aren’t sacrificing other parts of our body. There are times we find that when patients do core exercises, they actually bear down and push down on their pelvic floor which can make symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse worse.
If you are worried about diastasis recti, and are looking for ways to prevent diastasis recti, partnering up with a pelvic floor therapist is highly suggested. To learn more about us, read below!
Mota P, Pascal AG, Carita A and Bo K. Normal width of the inter-rect distance in pregnant and postpartum primiparous women.Musculoskelet Sci and Tract. 2018 Jun; 35(20)34-37. DOI 10.1016/j.msksp.2018.02.004
Vivid Women’s Health is a women’s health physical therapy practice located in Newtown, PA and Doylestown, PA. We provide unmatched pelvic floor physical therapy to help women resolve pelvic floor symptoms.
If you are local to the Newtown, Bucks County, PA area, please click here to find out more about our in person services. If you are visiting our site from afar, we offer virtual services to help you overcome your pelvic health concerns. For virtual services, please click here.
We proudly put our patients first by offer one-on-one appointments for a full hour. You will have time to be heard and we will take time to listen to your whole story. You won’t be passed between different professionals and we will work to get you a holistic solution to your pelvic health concerns. We choose to participate in a private pay model so that we can focus on putting patients first.
