Diastasis Recti: What It Is and Why Your Core Still Feels Weak

If you're pregnant or postpartum, you may have noticed your core feels off. You may have seen doming or coning through your abdomen during certain movements or exercises. Maybe your core feels weaker than it used to, or it feels like it never fully came back the way you expected. You may already be familiar with "DRA" or diastasis recti abdominis. The thing is, this isn't only a thing in pregnancy and postpartum. It can happen in anyone, including men.

While diastasis is very common, there is also a lot of confusion surrounding what it actually is and what helps improve it.

What Is Diastasis Recti?

Diastasis recti refers to a widening between the two sides of the rectus abdominis muscles, often called the “six pack” muscles. This happens as the abdomen expands during pregnancy. This can also happen with years of poor pressure management. The connective tissue between the muscles, called the linea alba, stretches to accommodate the growing baby. Outside of pregnancy, this stretch happens from repetitive stress and strain at this connective tissue.

After pregnancy, many people expect this gap to close completely on its own. For some, it does improve naturally. For others, the tissue remains stretched and the core system may not function as efficiently as before. There is a good amount of evidence stating that a DRA still present 8 weeks postpartum is likely still going to be there at a year postpartum without intervention.

Two important things to note: With intervention, healing is completely possible and that while the gap and depth give us great information, DRA is not just about the gap.

Why the Gap Isn’t the Whole Story

A lot of people focus heavily on the width of the separation between the abdominal muscles. While that measurement can be part of the assessment, it does not give the full picture. Ever heard the phrase, 'form over function?' Well, around here, when it comes to DRA, I care far more about function than form.

I care about how the core is functioning as a system.

Your core includes several muscles that work together to manage pressure and stabilize your body, including:

• The diaphragm

• The abdominal muscles

• The pelvic floor

• The deep stabilizing muscles of the trunk

This group of muscles creates stiffness and stability at the spine, controls pressure inside the abdomen, and generates strength for movement.

Signs that this system isn't quite doing it's job might include doming, core weakness, or a general difficulty building core strength. You may notice that even getting up from the bed or couch is significantly more challenging than it should be, or that it might even be a bit painful.

Why Doming or Coning Happens

Doming or coning occurs when pressure inside the abdomen pushes outward along the midline of the abdominal wall on the linea alba. This doesn’t mean something is “wrong” or that damage has occurred. Instead, it is often information that the core system is not managing pressure as effectively as it could during that movement.

Sometimes the exercise is simply too challenging for the current capacity of the core. Other times, improving breathing and pressure strategies can help the body distribute load more efficiently.

What Actually Helps Improve Diastasis

Ab exercises to "close the gap" are just one piece of the puzzle, but if that's all we look at, we're going to completely miss the mark. We need to build a functional core. This means, that we need a robust core that can bend, lift, and twist.

To build this, we might:

Improve breathing mechanics

The diaphragm and pelvic floor work closely together to regulate pressure in the abdomen. Breathing patterns can strongly influence how the core activates and stabilizes the body.

Learn better pressure and load management

Daily movements like lifting, exercising, or even getting out of bed require the body to manage pressure and load effectively. Learning strategies that support the core during these movements can make a big difference.

Strengthening the deep core muscles

Targeted strengthening of the deeper stabilizing muscles can improve support for the abdominal wall and spine and lay a solid foundation for further strengthening.

Gradually progressing strength

As coordination improves, gradually increasing load and complexity allows the core to build strength and resilience over time. We need to train the entire core (and body, really) to improve function. Think transverse abdominis, obliques, rectus abdominis, spine stabilizers, trunk extensors, and beyond.

How Pelvic Floor Physical Therapy Helps

Pelvic floor physical therapy focuses on helping the entire core system work together more effectively. Rather than focusing only on the abdominal muscles, treatment looks at the coordination between breathing, pelvic floor function, abdominal strength, and overall movement patterns (all the way from your head to your toes).

We gradually expose your body to more challenging movements through various planes in order to addres all of these pieces together. This has been shown time and time again to help many people notice improvements in core strength, better pressure control, and greater confidence returning to exercise and daily activities.

The Bottom Line

Diastasis recti is extremely common, especially after pregnancy. But it is not simply about closing a gap between the abdominal muscles. What matters more is how the core system functions together to support movement and manage pressure.

The encouraging part is that this system is very adaptable. With the right approach, you can see meaningful improvements in strength, function, and confidence in your body. If you’ve been dealing with abdominal doming, core weakness, or concerns about diastasis recti, pelvic floor physical therapy may be able to help you feel confident in your recovery!

You can schedule a complimentary discovery call to talk about what you’re experiencing.