Straight diastasis: what is it and how to treat it without surgery

Diastasis recti is a condition in which the most superficial abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis) are separated along the midline of the body. The left and right sides of the abdominals separate and the connective tissue along the midline stretches and weakens. It occurs most often during pregnancy or childbirth, but many people, including some men, have diastasis recti and just don’t know it. It has been said that even the founder of Pilates, Joseph Pilates, had diastasis!

Aside from the abdominal “doggy” appearance that can accompany a diastasis, there may also be functional deficits. These muscles are designed to help support your back and organs, and if they are no longer in the proper location and not maintaining proper tension, they fail at these important jobs. Pelvic pain, incontinence, back pain, and poor joint mechanics can occur when someone has diastasis. The goal is to bring the muscles toward the midline, so they can start doing their job again and the connective tissue no longer has to work overtime to provide that support in your absence.

The main cause of a diastasis is continuous stretching or overuse of the rectus abdominis muscles. Pregnancy or having a lot of excess weight in the abdomen is the main cause of stretching of these muscles. Oddly enough, overtraining this set of muscles (overuse) in the pursuit of better looking abs can actually lead to diastasis, allowing abdominal protrusion, making the abs appear more ” sunk “. So many fitness fans create that vicious cycle because there is such a strong popular focus on sit-ups, bikes, razors, and similar exercises that they contract the rectus abdominis almost to the exclusion of the transversus abdominis (the deepest, stabilizing layer of the core). . If we can achieve a balance between training the front of the abs, as well as the deeper layers of core support (deep lumbar muscles, transverse abdominals, diaphragm, and pelvic floor muscles), we can prevent diastasis from occurring. And once diastasis occurs, shifting the focus from traditional abdominal exercises to more comprehensive core strengthening can help lessen the severity of the condition and also increase core stability and function.

Treatment of straight diastasis

*** Exercises to perform:

Transverse Abs Strengtheners (Heel Slides, Modified Dead Bugs, Core Contractions / Compressions)

Glut exercises (glute bridges, squats, single leg deadlift, squats)

Pelvic floor exercise (Kegel exercises with transverse abdominal contraction)

Diaphragm exercises (deep breathing, relax on inhale, pull navel towards spine on exhale)

*** Exercises to avoid:

Forward bend (sit-ups, bikes, roll-ups, knives, boat stance)

Forward Loading Exercises (Front Plank, Full Bend, Bird Dog, Burpees)

Extreme extension (abdominal exercises on exercise ball, upward facing dog)

Auxiliary care for the healing of the diastasis recti

It is important that the pelvis is well aligned and balanced as you work to heal diastasis. If the pelvic joints are restricted or misaligned, it will be more difficult to maintain proper core stabilization during challenging exercises and daily activities. Similarly, if the muscles that attach to the pelvis or core are too tight, that can cause a pull on the bone structure of the pelvis and skeleton, resulting in pain, stiffness, and lack of function. One of the main culprits causing an entire cascade of dysfunction is the psoas muscle. Chiropractic adjustments and active release techniques (ART) can help restore proper pelvic alignment and muscle balance.