Diastasis Recti: And Why Generalized Statements and Fear Mongering Aren’t Helpful

A lot of people ask about Diastasis Recti. It is a lot of fun to rehabilitate this problem, but it can be complex, too.

This is one of the MOST COMMON TOPICS women ask about, and they want to know more about it – what does it look like, how to solve this problem, and more. They also tend to freak out about it because it is likely that they have heard from somewhere that there are many restrictions as to what you can and cannot do when exercising so as not to worsen the situation.

Some of the myths that I’ve heard about it are:

Don’t to planks
Don’t do sit-ups
Avoid lifting heavy

I am a firm believer that there are no wrong or bad exercises. Fear mongering doesn’t help anybody.

So, if you’ve been told never to do sit-ups or planks, did they also tell you not to fold laundry? Because if you are standing up and bending over a thousand times for eight baskets of laundry, you are essentially doing a standing sit-up.

If planks are bad, are you allowed to do push-ups? Because whenever you do a push-up, you are actually doing a moving plank.

Lifting heavy: well, we lift car seats and children and laundry baskets and groceries constantly… you get the point.

So, if you’ve heard these things, do me a favor and throw them out the window because these do not help you at all!

If you have been assessed appropriately for Diastasis Recti by a healthcare provider and you have been told you are not ready to do some exercises and you need to scale back and build yourself up to it so that you can tolerate the threshold, then by all means, listen to them. This is the whole point of getting assessed.

For me, I cannot deadlift 300 pounds, but I can deadlift 30 pounds. And, I can work up to 300 pounds. I can increase the load gradually. To tell someone you cannot do something and to NEVER do something without appropriately assessing them first, you are only making them weaker. They still have to live their daily lives – they have to get down on the floor to find the shoes under the couch, they have to do the baskets of laundry, lift the children and live their lives.

To end, if you have been told not to do certain exercises because they will affect your Diastasis Recti, be sure to get assessed appropriately before taking their advice firsthand.

– CORE Physical Therapy