Top 7 Best Diastasis Recti Exercises to Heal and Strengthen Your Core

Diastasis recti is a common condition in pregnant women and new mums. It can affect women in the later stages of pregnancy and postpartum mums for up to a year. These targeted diastasis recti exercises will support your recovery, prevent any further separation, and reduce the appearance of a “mum tum”.

What Is Diastasis Recti?

During pregnancy, your body is constantly changing and adapting as your baby grows. Naturally, this puts strain on parts of the body, causing conditions like diastasis recti. Diastasis recti is when your abdominal muscles on the left and right sides separate and do not return, leaving a gap in between.

Learn more: Diastasis Recti Before and After Birth: What to Expect

The difference with diastasis recti before and after the right healing journey.

What Causes Diastasis Recti?

Abdominal separation can happen to men, women, and babies; however, it is more commonly associated with pregnancy and childbirth.

The causes of diastasis recti can be:

• Pushing during vaginal birth - this action increases pressure in your abdomen

• Being of an advanced maternal age

• Experiencing labour for longer than is usual

• You regularly carry or lift heavy items

• Expecting multiple babies in one pregnancy

• Having babies back-to-back

• Carrying a heavy or large baby - this puts extra pressure on your abdominals

• Poor posture can put extra strain on your muscles

How Can You Tell if You Have Diastasis Recti?

Some women don’t realise until they are a few months postpartum that they even have symptoms of diastasis recti! So how can you tell if you have diastasis recti? This is how you can check after pregnancy.

• First, lay on your back with your knees bent, and feet flat on the floor placed by your bottom.

• Place your hand on your belly button and gently lift your head off the floor. Keep your shoulders flat on the floor.

• From your belly button, trace up and down in a vertical line, gently pushing, to feel if there is a gap. If you can press your fingers down, you may have diastasis recti.

• If you are ever unsure or feel you are presenting other symptoms, always consult your healthcare professional for a full diagnosis and advice.

Common Symptoms of Diastasis Recti

Some symptoms can be confused with other common pregnancy and postpartum conditions, like pelvic pains after birth or if your back is hurting after a c-section.

To give you an awareness of what symptoms to look out for, these are the types of symptoms that are commonly associated with diastasis recti - mild or severe.

• Pain in your pelvis or hips

• Lower back pain

• A pooch that sits above or below your belly button

• Struggling to sit or stand with the correct posture

• Constipation

• Leaking urine (this is also a symptom of pelvic floor dysfunction)

• Weak core muscles

• Struggling to lift items or carry out normal day-to-day tasks

• The gap above or below your belly button will feel soft instead of firm

• Feeling pain during sex

In most cases, diastasis recti can repair itself over time and little intervention is needed. However, in other cases, where the gap is much larger (up to 20 cm long), postpartum physiotherapy will be required.

Learn more: Diastasis Recti: Symptoms And How To Treat It

When and How to Start Recovery

Your recovery in the first week postpartum, especially after a C-section, will involve slow, gentle movements like walking to keep you active. If you’re not sure when to start diastasis recti exercises after a C-section, consult your physiotherapist or healthcare professional before doing any exercises.

Every mother’s recovery is different - some women will be back to the gym after 8 weeks and others may take months. Set your own pace, listen to your body and what feels right.

Wearing a postnatal tummy wrap whilst doing diastasis recti exercises will help to stabilise your core muscles. It will also alleviate back pain after a c-section because it can support your posture as your body recovers from surgery and labour.

The Best Diastasis Recti Exercises

Here are the top 7 best exercises for diastasis recti. Feel free to mix and match them to suit your lifestyle. As you perform each exercise, let your breathing guide your movements and set the pace. Take your time to focus on proper form and posture to get the most out of every repetition.

Things to remember…

• You can take this opportunity to incorporate pelvic floor exercises as you inhale and exhale.
• Repeat each pose that is within a comfortable remit and bear in mind any limitations.

Bird Dog

1. Position yourself on hands and knees with your wrists directly under shoulders and knees under hips.

2. Extend your right arm and left leg outward, keeping your core engaged and spine neutral.

3. Hold for a few seconds before returning to the starting position.

4. Repeat with the left arm and right leg, completing 10 repetitions on each side.

Pelvic Tilts

1. Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.

2. Gently tilt your pelvis upward, pressing your lower back into the ground as if flattening an imaginary object beneath you.

3. Slowly release back to the neutral position.

4. For a variation, try this on all fours: round your back slightly, tucking your pelvis inward.

5. Repeat 10 times.

Toe Taps

1. Begin on your back with your knees lifted to a 90-degree angle above your hips.

2. Lower one foot to gently tap the floor, keeping the opposite knee in position.

3. Return the tapped foot to the starting position, then switch sides.

4. Engage your core throughout and repeat 10 times per side.

Side Plank

1. Lie on your side, placing your bottom elbow directly under your shoulder.

2. Stack your feet or place the top foot slightly forward for balance.

3. Engage your core and lift your hips off the ground, forming a straight line from head to heels.

4. Hold for 10–15 seconds, then lower back down.

5. Repeat on the opposite side, completing 3–5 holds per side.

Heel Slides

1. Lie flat on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground.

2. Slowly slide one heel forward along the floor until your leg is extended, then slide it back to the starting position.

3. Alternate legs, ensuring your core remains engaged and your back flat against the ground.

4. Complete 5–10 slides per side.

Bridge Pose

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet hip-width apart.

2. Press through your heels as you lift your hips off the floor, creating a straight line from shoulders to knees.

3. Engage your glutes and core as you hold for a moment at the top.

4. Lower back down slowly and repeat 10–12 times.

Dead Bug

1. Begin on your back with arms reaching toward the ceiling and knees bent in a tabletop position.

2. Lower your right leg forward while extending your left arm overhead in a slow, controlled motion.

3. Bring both back to the starting position, then switch sides with your left leg and right arm.

4. Perform 10 repetitions per side.

Diastasis Recti Exercises to Avoid

There are some diastasis recti exercises to avoid, and your physiotherapist can guide you to devise a suitable exercise plan. Any movement that involves crunching your stomach, heavy lifting, twisting the spine, or high-impact exercises will prevent the abdominal muscles from healing and do further damage.

Before you focus on exercises that put pressure on the internal abdominal muscles (linea alba), you need to allow the outer muscles (rectus abdominis muscles) to come back together. Putting strain on your tummy causing it to bulge outwards will do more harm than good - no matter how good your form is!

Additional Tips for Reducing Diastasis Recti

There can be a lot to remember when you’re healing from childbirth, and then you’ve got to throw diastasis recti recovery into the mix too! Our panel of experts and postpartum mums share useful tips for implementing diastasis recti exercises and managing the condition day-to-day.

• Create a postpartum physiotherapy routine you can do at home.

• Choose up to three diastasis recti exercises, to begin with and do these consistently. When you’re ready, you can increase this over time to slowly regain strength in your core.

• Wear a postpartum belly wrap.

• A new mum, Kelsey, said “This band has been a lifesaver! Second time around my inner muscles are much weaker, but somehow this has held me together running around after a toddler & a now 10-month-old.”

• With each diastasis recti exercise, focus on your form. To check you are maintaining a correct posture or form, practice the exercises in front of a mirror or grab your phone and shoot a video of yourself exercising. You can use a wall, exercise ball, or a block for balance if you need it.

• Avoid straining or over-twisting. If it means you have to change your position or stance, do your body a favour and readjust. Do not put your body under unnecessary strain to reach or do something!

• Refrain from lifting anything too heavy. As a rule of thumb, anything heavier than your baby shouldn’t be lifted by you whilst your body is recovering. If you have to lift anything heavy, use the bend in your knees and ask for help.