Diastasis Recti and Loose Belly Skin

Diastasis recti is a common condition encountered during pregnancy, mostly in the 2nd & 3rd trimesters. It is a temporary separation of the abdominal wall and usually goes away after the baby is born. It is not harmful, but during pregnant exercise you need to modify your workout. This is done for you on the Moms Into Fitness pregnancy DVDs.

The word diastasis means “separation” and the rectus abdonimis muscle is the center muscle of your "six-pack". What happens as a result of your expanding belly is this muscle can become separated from the linea alba. The linea alba is line of fibrous tissue that runs down the midline of your abdomen. It separates your rectus abdonimis muscles into a left and right side. Sometimes, as your baby develops and your abdomen expands, a slight separation of the muscle from the dividing tissue can occur. If you have this condition, then you should not do the traditional Core exercises. Generally, women don’t have this separation during the first trimester, but if you experience any discomfort in this area, you may want to ease up on the core exercises.

After pregnancy, diastasis recti usually goes away within a few weeks. Some moms (less than 5%) have diastasis recti 2-20 years after having a baby. If you are one of these moms you must use the Moms Into Fitness modifications found on Boot Camp 2 and the CFS Method DVDs. It can take several weeks to several months to heal the diastasis. But doing traditional ab exercises will make it worse, so you must do exercises specific for diastasis recti.

The condition is not serious and in most cases will heal after the baby is out. Because it is caused by the expanding of your belly, those of you who are carrying twins or who are having a larger baby are more susceptible to it occurring.

If diastasis recti (a separation of the right and left side muscles of your belly) occurs, then you should stay away from twisting motions, planks, quadruped positions, crunches and most traditional abdominal exercises. You will need to train the pelvic floor and transverse abdominis to re-create the strength and integrity of your core. You can do this with pelvic floor training, supported crunches and TA training. Lindsay's Fitness Blog has pelvic floor exercises you can do. And these modifications are provided Lindsay’s Boot Camp 2 DVD and CFS Method DVD. Please scroll down or go to Diastasis Recti after Pregnancy on YouTube or Diastasis Recti during Pregnancy on You Tube to determine if you have diastasis recti.

Please read this self test for diastasis recti or watch the videos below on testing yourself for diastasis recti. You can do this test both during pregnancy and after pregnancy.

Lie on your back with your belly exposed. Get into a crunch position. Place the middle finger of one hand an inch above your belly button and aligned with its center. Place your pointer and ring directly on the other side of your middle finger. Gently press in as you crunch up. If all three of your fingers sink into a gap (between your abdominis recti muscles) then you have the diastasis (separation). If only one or two fit easily in the gap, that is completely normal. If you notice a large gap or any pain associated with this test please read about diastasis recti and abdominal hernias.

You can also watch one of the following videos to determine if you have diastasis recti. There is both a video for pregnant women and non-pregnant women. As you scroll down you will also see two videos demonstrating exercises you can do if you have diastasis recti.*If you have had diastasis recti or currently have it, it is best to stay away from traditional abdominal work (crunches, twisting, holding plank positions etc.) You need to slowly work back into traditional ab work as the separation improves or is gone. The best way to do this, and create a flat stomach, is to train the transverse abdominis and pelvic floor. Boot Camp 2 and the CFS Method focus on this inner core training with workouts that get more challenging as your core regains its health and integrity.

Test yourself for Diastasis Recti during Pregnancy

Exercises for Diastasis Recti (non-pregnant)

What is the Core Firing Sequence?

If you have diastasis recti either during pregnancy or after pregnancy, then you should not do the traditional Core exercises.

During Pregnancy

After Pregnancy

Diastasis Recti and Abdominal Hernias

Loose Skin