Reddit reviews Diastasis Recti: The Whole-body Solution to Abdominal Weakness and Separation

Perinatal personal trainer here, specializing is DR repair.

As mentioned, coning is an indicator. Also an outtie belly button can be an indicator, though not always. In certain clothes, you may even be able to see the linea Alba widening. Avoid the crunch test for now, as it's better for post partum. Basically. There's not much point in stressing about it now. You are either going to get or not, but focus on the following to minimize impact and severity:

Deep diaphragmatic breathing where you hug the baby with your abs on the exhale.


Pelvic tilts, standing or on the ball (my fave)..make sure you feel the core pulling the pelvis on the forward tilt


Avoid bending over to pick things up: SQUAT!!! Putting load on the low back and belly makes it worse


Make sure your posture is as good as can be and avoid shifting from hip to hip (like when carrying a toddler on one hip)


Foam Roll your hips and stretch the hips and psoas as much as you can. These muscles can tighten and possibly pull the gap wider.


If you can still do some side plank lifts without your belly coming or pushing out, do it. Dont do them if you cant control your core anymore.


Minimize twisting as much as possible . (Russian twists are a big no no)


No forward planking, crunching or pullups now - gentle core work only for the time being esp in 3rd trimester.

There are a ton of books on the subject. Here is one of my faves:

Diastasis Recti: The Whole Body Solution to Abdominal Weakness and Separation https://www.amazon.com/dp/098965396X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_hZv0Ab2WG2BWT

Definitely PT. I also found this book useful for the theory of doing more than just simple PT exercises!

I wasn't careful enough during my first two pregnancies and didn't even learn about diastasis recti until I realized I had a mild case after baby 2.

The book "Diastasis Recti: The Whole Body Solution to Abdominal Weakness and Separation" by Katy Bowman has a lot of great information and exercises to treat and/or prevent diastasis recti and specifically states that everything recommended is safe and beneficial for pregnancy.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/098965396X?fp=1&pc_redir=T1


I haven't read the whole book yet because I haven't worked on it enough to progress but the transverse abdominus/deep core muscles are the focus as well as stretching to ensure your arms and legs can move freely while your core remains stable (for example - while on your back, bringing your hands over your head without your rib cage moving up). I really think this book has information that will benefit everyone and hopefully it will help my diastasis not to worsen during my current pregnancy.

There's a book called Diastasis Recti by Katy Bowman that is super valuable- I found Katy when I was looking at pelvic floor issues, and she really helped me see it was about my whole body. The link to the book is below, but she also has podcasts and articles on her website. She has a lot of moves which help even out the pressures in your abdominal wall, to shrink the gap. https://www.amazon.com/Diastasis-Recti-Solution-Abdominal-Separation/dp/098965396X/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=241902617958&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1014573&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=826856802788893565&hvtargid=kwd-93644857290&keywords=katy+bowman+diastasis+recti&qid=1556058032&s=gateway&sr=8-1