Feeling disconnected from your core can be frustrating, and avoiding movement out of fear isn’t the solution. We’ll help you build strength, address the cause, and move with confidence again. You deserve to feel strong and capable in your body.
Can’t feel connected with your core?
Self-conscious about your stomach?
Avoiding exercises that you think might make your diastasis worse?
Feeling disconnected from your core can be frustrating, and avoiding movement out of fear isn’t the solution. We’ll help you build strength, address the cause, and move with confidence again. You deserve to feel strong and capable in your body.
You can’t focus on healing because you’re frustrated with how your abs look, worried you’ll make things worse, or avoiding exercises out of fear.
Diastasis Recti Abdominis (DRA)
You can’t focus on healing because you’re frustrated with how your abs look, worried you’ll make things worse, or avoiding exercises out of fear.
Diastasis Recti Abdominis (DRA)
DRA may be caused by a variety of factors such as straining, constipation, bloating, pregnancy, abdominal weakness, pelvic floor overactivity, and/or poor pressure management. Your Doctor of Physical Therapy will do an assessment to determine what are the root causes of your DRA. Once your Doctor of Physical Therapy has done this, she will target any areas of poor functioning muscles to retrain them using our signature 3-step method. In the final phase of our method, your Doctor of Physical Therapy will reintroduce any activities or movements you have had to avoid due to fear around DRA!
Diastasis is the separation of the rectus abdominis muscles (the “six-pack” muscles). This often happens during pregnancy to create more space for the baby to grow. Diastasis can be more pronounced in women with multiple pregnancies or those carrying multiples.
While some women’s diastasis heals on its own after giving birth, others may need pelvic floor therapy to help with recovery. Diastasis can also occur in men and children, not just during pregnancy.
A common misconception is that you have to stop all ab and core exercises if you have diastasis and stick only to “safe” ones. This belief isn’t based on any evidence. The truth is, every person with diastasis requires an individualized assessment to determine which exercises are appropriate. With proper rehab and retraining of the abdominals, many people can safely perform a wide range of core exercises.
When assessing what exercises are right for you, we examine how your abdominals respond during the exercise. We look at the separation distance between the rectus abdominis muscles, the tension created by the muscles underneath, and the “end-feel” of the tissue. We want to avoid exercises if the tissue feels hard, indicating organs, but soft tissue indicates it’s safe to proceed.
Yes! Diastasis can heal with physical therapy. A normal separation is about 1 finger width. We take a whole-body approach to treat diastasis, which includes assessing pelvic floor function, addressing abdominal restrictions and weakness, checking for gut health issues related to bloating, and treating scar tissue, among other factors. By optimizing all these areas, we can strengthen the abdominal muscles and stabilize the core to support healing.
Read this review from one of our patients with DRA:
That’s entirely up to you! In most cases, surgery isn’t necessary. Many women find that physical therapy is enough to effectively heal their diastasis. In more severe cases, some women choose to have surgery, but they often benefit from doing physical therapy both before and after the procedure to support the best outcomes.
Yes! Regardless of how many fingers wide your diastasis is, pelvic floor therapy can help. The wider the separation, the more time it might take, but with the right approach, you’ll gain the tools to support healing and prevent it from getting worse. We’re here to guide you every step of the way!
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