Many women suffer from diastasis recti after pregnancy. It is a muscular surgical repair that is almost never covered by insurance for women, though it is often covered for men.

Make sure to avoid certain activities and exercises that may make diastasis recti worse. These include crunches, ab twists, planks, backward bends that stretch the abdominal area, certain yoga poses, or any type of heavy lifting activities that bulge out the stomach.

A 10 percent disability rating for diastasis recti of the abdominal muscles is allowed, subject to the regulations governing the award of monetary benefits. In evaluating the Veteran’s request for an increased disability rating, the Board considers the medical evidence of record.

Diastasis recti feels like a physical separation in the middle of your abdomen. You may also feel like you have a flabby or weak stomach as your rectus muscle or “6 pack” muscles are stretched apart.

Diastasis recti may heal on its own or improve with the help of targeted exercises. However, when the issue persists, you may choose to have it corrected surgically. Surgeons can close the space and reconnect the muscles as a standalone procedure or as part of an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck).

Is diastasis recti dangerous? For most people, diastasis recti is not an inherently dangerous or harmful condition. However, many men and women experience frustrating side effects of diastasis recti, which can be cosmetic, functional, or both.

Depending on how severe your diastasis recti is, it can take anywhere from 6-12 months to heal completely.

Diastasis recti is the partial or complete separation of the rectus abdominis, or “six-pack” muscles, which meet at the midline of your stomach.

LEARN MORE TODAY! One of the most common symptoms of rectus abdominis separation is the bulging, doming, or “coning” of the abdomen during core exercises. Many symptoms that occur with diastasis recti can appear to be akin to that of a hernia.

Here’s how to self-check yourself for diastasis recti after childbirth: Lie on your back, legs bent, feet flat on the floor. Raise your shoulders up off the floor slightly, supporting your head with one hand, and look down at your belly.

A normal gap is 1-2 finger widths. Normally, if this gap is over 2.7 cm or two finger widths, it’s considered diastasis recti. If you do have this separation (or gap), it does not always mean you need a surgical procedure!