How To Prevent Split Abs (Diastasis Recti) During Pregnancy

Hi, my name is Dr. Allison Felt, and I'm a physical therapist and owner of Body Motion Physical Therapy. So, I wanna start by saying going want to talk a little bit about the diastasis recti. And so that's the split abdominal wall and I've touched on this on other videos. But really what I wanna focus on here is that you really don't have to even get one, this is something that can be prevented. Honestly, I think the minute you find out you're pregnant, you should head on over to the physical therapist and they can help you a lot. Identify the muscle that can help prevent you from splitting your abdominals throughout as you grow through pregnancy. ​

And so, you know, one thing that I see a lot is like women, and this is my favorite thing really, is you get to... so, I see women that you know, come to me and there, they're kind of in this state, like they just found out they're pregnant. And they are literally scared to lose the body, right, lose their shell that they've had their whole life and what can they do to make sure that they can get back to that body right away. And that is the ultimate goal. And so with that, you know, comes a huge opportunity to... for physical therapist to teach you how to really maintain the integrity of your core muscles, even throughout pregnancy. And really that teaching can help prevent the split of the abdominal wall.

And then having the PT throughout the pregnancy is also amazing because it can help release tight muscles and fascia that are pulling to further separate the abdominal wall and the rectus abdominis. And so there's a lot that can be done preventively. So you don't have to experience the diastasis recti. Women really identify their success and, you know, put a lot on... we put a lot on our image. That's just the society we live in. And so the ability to wear a bathing suit and you know, feel like you can get your hips back, or maybe we're a tight shirt and not feel like you're bulging is a big deal. 

So I think that if you can get in touch with someone who can help you identify the right muscles to keep your abdominals intact and to really decrease your chances of a diastasis throughout pregnancy, then you're gonna be in a really good shape to restoring your body and you're gonna have an accelerated recovery. And a lot less likelihood that you're gonna be experiencing the diastasis. And then also, in turn, you won't have as many problems that are associated with that like back and hip pain and difficulty in moving. So I hope this helps and I hope this inspires you. If you just found out that you're pregnant, that definitely get help right away and just find out what you need to do in order to prevent your abs from splitting. ​