Diastasis recti, and two things you were probably told wrong
Curl-ups do not make it worse, and exercise does not close the gap.
The gap between the abdominal muscles widens in nearly every pregnancy. It narrows on its own over the first year, and does so incompletely in many women.
| Time point | Prevalence of diastasis |
|---|---|
| 21 weeks of pregnancy | 33.1% |
| 6 weeks after birth | 60.0% |
| 6 months after birth | 45.4% |
| 12 months after birth | 32.6% |
So roughly one woman in three still has a measurable separation at a year. In that cohort there was no difference in reported back or pelvic pain between women with and without it.
What a randomized trial actually found70 women between 6 and 12 months postpartum were randomized to a twelve-week home programme of head lifts and abdominal curl-ups five days a week, or to nothing.
The gap did not widen. The standard instruction to avoid all crunches and sit-ups after birth was not supported.
The gap did not close either. At one standard measurement point the difference was 1 mm, with a confidence interval from −1 to 4, and the trial's own summary of its primary outcome was no improvement and no worsening.
What did improve was muscle thickness (0.7 mm, 95% CI 0.1 to 1.3) and abdominal strength (9 Nm, 95% CI 3 to 16). Worth having. Not what was promised.
The gap did not widen. The standard instruction to avoid all crunches and sit-ups after birth was not supported.
The gap did not close either. At one standard measurement point the difference was 1 mm, with a confidence interval from −1 to 4, and the trial's own summary of its primary outcome was no improvement and no worsening.
What did improve was muscle thickness (0.7 mm, 95% CI 0.1 to 1.3) and abdominal strength (9 Nm, 95% CI 3 to 16). Worth having. Not what was promised.
This guide will not make claims about abdominal binders, taping, breathing-based core programmes, or surgical repair, because it could not verify evidence for or against any of them. That absence of evidence is itself worth knowing when any of them is sold to you.
Where this comes from:
416. Sperstad JB, Tennfjord MK, Hilde G, Ellström-Engh M, Bø K. Diastasis recti abdominis during pregnancy and 12 months after childbirth: prevalence, risk factors and report of lumbopelvic pain. Br J Sports Med. 2016;50(17):1092-1096.
417. Gluppe SB, Ellström Engh M, Bø K. Curl-up exercises improve abdominal muscle strength without worsening inter-recti distance in women with diastasis recti abdominis postpartum: a randomised controlled trial. J Physiother. 2023;69(3):160-167.
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This page is educational. It supports the conversation with your own clinicians. It is not consent to any treatment, and it cannot assess you. If you are worried about a symptom now, see urgent warning signs.