How to Know if You Have Diastasis Recti
Have you been feeling extra weak in the core? Experiencing a pooch or bulge around your stomach? Diastasis recti might be the culprit. It’s important to know if you have diastasis recti so that you can take the proper steps in getting your core strength back. Let’s go over what diastasis recti is, how it happens, and how to check for it.
Diastasis recti is an all-too-common condition that affects many people—especially pregnant women — but luckily there are ways to treat it!
What is Diastasis Recti?
Diastasis recti is a condition where the abdominal muscles separate at the midline of your abdomen. This separation creates a gap between your right and left abdominal muscles that can result in weakness of the muscles and give off an appearance of a protruding belly—commonly referred to as “mummy tummy” or “pooch.” It can happen to anyone but is more common among pregnant women due to the increased pressure on their abdominals from carrying a baby.
How Does it Happen?
Diastasis recti happens when excessive stretching of the ab muscles leads them to separate from each other in the midline, leaving an empty space between them. This occurs when there is too much pressure on the abdomen during activities such as weightlifting, pregnancy, or even just simply coughing! The stretch causes damage to connective tissue that joins these two muscles together which then leads to diastasis recti.
How Do I Check For It?
The most common way to check for diastasis recti is with a simple test called “the finger test”. To do this test you need to:
Lie down on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
Place one or two fingers above or below your navel about an inch apart and press gently into your abdominal wall while lifting up slightly off of the mat with an exhale (you should feel some tension).
If you feel a gap between your fingers then you likely have diastasis recti.
There are also other tests such as ultrasound imaging that can be done by medical professionals if needed.
