Diastasis Recti Abdominis (DRA) Doesn’t Require Anxiety
Many women have heard about “DRA” or “Diastasis Recti” or “separated abs” as a postpartum issue. Yes, all women experience some degree of “separation” of abdominal wall during pregnancy. Our bodies NEED to change to accommodate the growing baby and the expansion of the linea alba (vertical line of tissue that connects the rectus abdominis muscles in the abdomen) is a normal part of pregnancy for women. Since this is an expected and normal process of pregnancy and the postpartum period, I am here to argue that DRA really should stand for Doesn’t Require Anxiety!
Women are more likely to experience a wider separation of the abdominals if she is carrying multiple babies (twins, triplets, etc.), a high weight baby, having babies close to each other in age, if mom is petite, or if mom is over 35 years of age while pregnant. Most women don’t notice the separation of their abdominal wall until the postpartum period because the belly is being stretched during pregnancy, so it is more difficult to notice the softening of the vertical line in the middle of the abdomen until after delivery when the belly is soft and no longer stretched.
In the immediate postpartum it is completely expected for women to have softness of the vertical line between the abdominals, and it may even be quite a wide gap in the first few weeks of recovery. It is important to realize that this is not cause for anxiety or concern! It is a great time for women to focus on good breathing techniques with moving around, lifting the baby, and doing basic household chores. Mindfulness in how you are moving in and out of bed and avoiding abdominal straining is important in these first few weeks of recovery in postpartum. Taking time to roll onto your side to get up from bed rather than performing a “sit-up” type motion is important. If you’re questioning whether anything you are experiencing or noticing is normal or cause for concern, give us a call at Shift Physical Therapy. Even within the first 6 weeks of recovery, you can still meet with a physical therapist to help guide you in the best activities to guide your recovery. You don’t need to wait 6 weeks to reach out!!
Further into the postpartum period (6-8 weeks postpartum) you may want to assess whether or not you have a DRA - check out this video by Jackie about how to assess for a DRA. Again, if you find that you still have >2 finger widths of a gap present - it still Doesn’t Require Anxiety! At this point in your postpartum recovery, often more than 40% of women still have a significant gap. As you start to resume more activities, it is most important to learn how to strengthen the deep core muscles such as the transverse abdominals rather than over-emphasizing the rectus abdominus. This means that there are certain abdominal exercises that are better for allowing recovery of the DRA and it would be a good time to reach out to us at Shift Physical Therapy to help you learn the right kinds of exercises to be performing.
Another sign that it you may need to see a pelvic floor specialist at Shift Physical Therapy is if you are also experiencing lower back pain, urinary incontinence, pain with sex, pelvic or hip pain, or feeling unable to lift due to weakness of the core muscles. If you find that you have a DRA in your postpartum journey, it Doesn’t Require Anxiety - there are professionals who can help you heal and recover from this common issue. Give us a call at Shift Physical Therapy to help you!
Written by: Renee Hancock, Pelvic Floor Specialist
