r/DiastasisRecti

As a disclaimer, I’m seeing my new PCP tomorrow and will be asking about this, I’m just trying to make sure I know best what to discuss/ask!

I’m nearly 4 years post partum with my last kiddo having been 10 pounds 11 ounces when they were born 🫠 My second was just shy of 9 pounds and first was 8, so the big kids definitely did a number on my abdomen. I’ve had issues with lower back pain/strain ever since having them, and my posture has gone to pot.

I self measured for the first time in a year or two and my belly button gap is about 4 fingers, above and below is 3 at least. And I can press deep into my abdomen especially in my belly button. Is this considered moderate to severe? I’m willing to try PT but is a gap that big even fixable without surgery? Looking pregnant after eating, even after drinking a lot of water, is getting old. So now that the littles aren’t so little anymore and my husband having a schedule change, I’m hoping this will be my chance to fix the issue.

Anyone’s personal experience or perspective is definitely welcome!

I want to get back into working out. I’m very out of shape and haven’t exercised in a while. I quit drinking recently and I’m just overall wanting to get back to a healthier lifestyle. I used to do lots of HIIT exercises in a group setting, but haven’t in years. After my last pregnancy six years ago, I developed a diastasis recti and an umbilical hernia. The hernia is very small and it doesn’t require surgery (though someday I’d love to just for cosmetic purposes) and the diastasis isn’t very big (maybe 1 to 2 fingers). Because of this I have like no core strength. It affects my back pretty badly, so I do have some persistent low back pain. I want to incorporate cardio but more importantly strength training. I don’t have a gym membership and can’t afford one at the moment. I do have 10 and 15 lb dumbbells at home, as well as a resistance band and a mat. What are some beginner exercises you’d recommend that are safe for my core?

Hello all!

I had my second c-section 8 months ago. My baby was huge and I was TOLACing with two hours of pushing before ending up in the OR for a repeat with a uterine rupture. During the surgery my baby was verrrry stuck, to the point a vacuum wasn’t helping. My surgeon ended up cutting my left rectus andominus muscle. She did not stitch it back together. She told me it would heal on its own with time and gentle exercise and sent me on my way. 8 months out and I have absolutely no idea what exercises to do or how to help my abs. I still have soreness and twinges of pain. I feel really unsupported by the surgeon that did my c-section. I’ve asked multiple times and she just told me to do “core exercises”. I asked her about a PT referral and she said it wasn’t necessary. I’m also fairly certain I have diastatis rectus as well but have not officially been diagnosed.

Has any one else had their rectus muscle cut during their cesarean? I cannot find another person who has and just desperately am looking for guidance on how to help my body heal. I feel like this may be something I need to be seeing a PT for but have no idea where to start and feel really overwhelmed about the whole situation still. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I have two young children and a severe Diastasis gap, which is especially bad in the upper part of my abs. After trying physio and exercises for 5 years, I would like to get it fixed surgically.

I‘ve consulted with a few physicians and am currently torn between a tummy tuck or laparoscopic repair. I am very petite with not a lot of loose skin — the plastic surgeons told me that due to not having a lot of loose skin, I’d need either an ”umbilical float” (so they’d artificially lower my belly button), or they’d do a traditional tummy tuck with the possibility of needing to add an additional vertical scar below my belly button.

Because of this, I’m considering a laparoscopic approach since it’s less invasive/faster recovery, but I do worry some loose skin will look strange. Has anyone petite had a positive outcome with the laparoscopic Diastasis repair? Either way, it seems like the cosmetic outcome might not be ideal.

I have an umbilical hernia (3 cm) along with diastasis recti (around a 4-finger gap). My physiotherapist has advised me to consult a surgeon, and the surgeons are recommending robotic surgery to repair both conditions.

Before deciding on surgery, I would like some guidance on the precautions I should take and whether there are any non-surgical approaches or exercises that may help.

I am also looking for an experienced physiotherapist in Bangalore who can visit my home and guide me with safe exercises for diastasis recti and core strengthening. Any recommendations or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I have 2 tots 18 months apart, youngest will be 3 in July.

Heard about DR for the first time about a month ago and have tried doing the 'fit with sally' videos to try and fix my pooch...

But I'm obviously doing it wrong, so am asking for help.

She says things like activate/engage the core and pelvic floor, but I don't know how to do that.

During the workout I feel next to nothing in my core, but my lower back hurts more than usual (lying on my back is always uncomfortable for my lower back, I always assumed because of my butt). I'm trying to move in a way that makes me feel something in my core, but my body has always tried its best to 'spread the load' rather than let one specific area take it all on. I'm also struggling with trying to focus on my movements because I have to put a lot of thought into the (counterintuitive for me) breathing.

Can someone recommend a more noob-friendly video, and/or ELI5 how to activate/engage core and pelvic floor?

Or is there another strategy altogether that might be better for someone with my issues?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you for reading.

Quick recap: I had a 10 cm DR and an umbilical hernia. In November, both were repaired laparoscopically and robotically using mesh. I did not have any cosmetic work done by a plastic surgeon, just the functional repair by the general surgeon.

I’m in this weird space that can only be called the messy middle. I feel strong and I can tell that I’m getting stronger, especially in my core. I’ve been in PT for about eight weeks and it’s definitely helping. I’m able to do everyday activities with an ease and efficiency that I couldn’t before I had surgery, and complete exercises correctly and effectively that I used to do improperly and didn’t feel in the correct muscles. But what’s hard for me lately is how much my body has changed and how unpredictable it can be from day to day.

(Disclaimer: none of this is intended to come across as fat shaming, just challenges with my changing body.)

I have love handles that I did not have before surgery and my abdomen is now wider than my hips and shoulders. This has made getting dressed a bit difficult and frustrating: leggings that fit my legs are too small for my abdomen, so they roll and are uncomfortable, and leggings that fit my abdomen (or any pants, for that matter) are entirely too big for my legs. Before surgery, I was still able to wear my maternity leggings because they comfortably fit my severely distended abdomen. But after surgery, my abdomen is now too flat, centrally, to hold them up, so they slide all day. I’ve had to choose which challenge I want to deal with.

Recently (and after so much wasted money), I found one design of working pants that don’t roll or slide and are cute: Boost PowerHold® High-Waisted Flare Pant by Fabletics. As summer approaches, I plan to embrace my dress collection as alternatives to athleisure.

I’ve come to understand that all the skin and fat that grew to accommodate my distended abdomen has now settled at my sides and my back; my central abdomen is mostly flat. I’ve been reading that this is normal and can change over the next several months because healing can take anywhere between 12 and 18 months. Apparently, I can also be dealing with swelling that isn’t completely visible and can change from day to day. PT is also helping me address muscle imbalances and posture issues that affect how the fat is stretched across my midsection. I have a pretty short torso, so it’s all kind of just stacked and squished between my ribs and pelvis. Sometimes, it feels physically uncomfortable.

Less about aesthetics and body composition, I’ve also noticed that since surgery, I cannot finish many of my meals in one sitting. I stop eating when I’m comfortably full… then I’m hungry 30 minutes to an hour later. I learned that this is because my stomach is adjusting to its new parameters, per se; it didn’t have the pressure of an intact abdominal wall for months. I usually end of up eating 5 or 6 smaller meals a day.

TLDR: Skin and fat that covered my distended abdomen before surgery have settled at my sides, making it a challenge to find clothes that fit. I also eat several smaller meals a day because I cannot finish larger meals in one sitting anymore. All of these things are apparently normal parts of healing.

I share these updates so that anyone else who may be in a similar position will have information on what things could look like for them post-op. I haven’t found much info about the post-op period for the functional repair without the full tummy tuck or some amount of lipo.

Previous updates are on my profile if you’d like to read them.

I have DR and also two small inguinal hernias and one femoral hernia. I believe this is all related to EDS but I’m seeing a specialist in a few weeks to get that confirmed. In order to deal with the v uncomfortable feeling of bloating that DR can cause I’ve been thinking about getting an abdominal binder. However won’t a binder increase internal abdominal pressure (back to normal levels) and as a consequence worsen my existing hernias? Or are those hernias basically unaffected by any change to abdominal wall pressure because they sit outside the wall (I think)? Apologies for my rudimentary anatomy knowledge!

Had a small umbilical hernia fixed along with diastasis recti repair 5 May Tues; laparoscopic, no mesh, no robot.

Advised no lifting till 6 weeks; wear belt day and night 3 weeks and only day remaining 3 weeks.

Wanted to get a sense check of recovery timeline, belt wearing practice, movement and belt wearing practice, chance of recurrence, etc.

So far, I haven't had too much acute pain (day 4 today) but alot of the pulling sensation and discomfort (pretty expected). Pretty uncomfortable to sleep, haven't attempted side sleeping yet.

Have twins, 1yr old, 12kg each, so picking them now is out of the question- but realistically when will I return to normal life, movement, lifting? I am really scared to cough, laugh, move, scared to rip stitches, and worsen recovery.

Finding it really tough, looking for advice, experience, perspective. TYIA

Edit: have help at home so wont have to lift twins but its killing me when they keep crying and reaching out for me :(

I have a 2.5 cm (1 in) gap,which I noticed while working out then got it confirmed today,so i wanted to ask what I should do to get my abs to normal,the exercise I was thinking of is hanging knee raises on a pull up bar or plank,which I got told I can do.

I'm not sure if this needs more context. Just want to know if it is DR. I went to the doctor twice while feeling a gap with maybe half a cm (practically none) depth and with two different ob/gyns, it was said that they couldn't feel anything. One said that the separation felt was likely just the shape of the muscle and that I needed to strengthen it. Maybe 10 months ago it was 1-2 cm deep. Can anyone relate to this?

Again I don't know if more context is needed so you can just skip this rambley part, but the appointments were about 8 months apart since the first said to wait until after breastfeeding for further changes. FYI YouTube videos did nothing in the early post partum months. I went to a general family practitioner (hausarzt) and, just upon request (no manual evaluation), he gave me a prescription to go to a physical therapist - jesus, do I have stories about that and also further unnecessary context. The only thing I did between then and the disappearance of most of the gap depth, was the vacuum exercise mentioned in the NPR article with Leah Keller (now Every Mother co-founder).

Thank you in advance for any advice or clarity on my situation.

Edit:

Well I did find this:

DR chart, depth vs width

I don't understand how my ob/gyns aren't feeling the gap that I'm feeling with my fingers, but i guess I would only be borderline.

I have a really severe case, but I’m not loving the idea of surgery because I’m a dancer and it has such a long recovery time. Obviously non-invasive methods are going to be FAR less effective, but is it useful at all? Has anyone tried this?

This is kind of ruining my life right now so I would suck it up and get surgery if there’s no other option.

When you are standing is your belly hard or soft?
When I’m standing it’s hard but feels squishy when laying down. I’m a bit over weight so I’m trying to figure out how much of my belly is visceral fat.