What you need to know about Diastasis

What is diastasis and why does it matter?  Diastasis is thinning of the linea alba which is the connective tissue between the right and left rectus abdominus muscles.  When stretched too much, it compromises the strength of the core system and can cause abdominal pain, back pain, or pelvic floor disfunction.  For some it is aesthetically displeasing.

What causes diastasis?  It is typically thought of as a pregnancy related issue, but men and women who have never been pregnant can also experience diastasis.  The cause is due to a variety of issues that occur when the core system is not functioning properly; such as, posture changes, weakening of the deep core muscles, adaptations to the diaphragm/breathing system, and more.

Lets dig deeper into how diastasis occurs and then we will talk about how to check for it.  There is a video at the end of the post discussing how to check for a diastasis.  For the purposes of this article we will examine how pregnancy affects the core system.

Changes that Occur During Pregnancy

Posture - As pregnancy progresses there are two main changes that can occur to a women’s posture.  Either the hips start to tip forward causing the lower deep core muscles to weaken and the low back to tighten.  Or, the hips will tip back and the glutes will tighten as the core weakens.

Deep Core Muscles – As mentioned above the lower core muscles suffer due to the added weight of that sweet baby bump. A study showed that following pregnancy the upper ab muscles kept about the same amount of strength while the lower core muscles weakened.  With this type of imbalance, there is too much pressure going down to the pelvic floor, which can cause pelvic floor issues.

Diaphragm/Rib Cage – During pregnancy the baby has to go somewhere which sometimes means that the ribs get pushed out and the diaphragm gets pushed up.  This is important because the diaphragm is the top of the core system.  If you are not getting a diaphragmatic breath that fills your back, sides, belly and pelvic floor, you will not be able to get a good core connection.  Think of below as your core system:

What happens Post Pregnancy

During pregnancy all women experience a certain degree of diastasis, which is not related to the size of the baby or the weight gained.  Following pregnancy many women naturally resolve their diastasis but others need a little rehab to resolve it.  Sometimes surgery is necessary but I always suggest women to try rehab first.  Why?  This type of surgery is invasive and is going to require a certain amount of recovery and limited movement.  More importantly, the diastasis is caused by a break in the system (posture, weak core, diaphragm), if you sew the tissue together but don’t fix the cause there is a chance that surgery will be a failure over time.

How To Assess

When assessing a diastasis, you want to look at the width and the depth.  Most people know about assessing the width but most do not know about the depth.  Less depth is more important than less width so don’t feel like you have to close the gap all the way.

• Width - The space between your two rectus muscles.  You want to see two fingers or less.
• Depth - How far your fingers sink down.  You want it to feel firm not squishy and about a fingernail or less.
• Check out this video on how to assess your diastasis