Gap width tells you far less than tension does.
Diastasis recti is a widening of the linea alba, the connective tissue running down the middle between the two halves of your rectus abdominis. Almost everyone has some separation at the end of pregnancy. It is a normal adaptation to a growing uterus, not an injury you did to yourself.
What matters is whether that tissue can hold tension and transfer load. A narrow gap with no tension behaves worse than a wider gap that goes taut under effort. Checking it with your fingers every morning tells you almost nothing about how your abdominal wall performs when you lift, cough or carry your child.
Signs the abdominal wall is not holding load.
Watch what happens when you get out of bed or sit up from the floor. The shape of the midline under effort tells you more than any measurement taken lying still.
Doming or Coning
A ridge or peak rising along the midline when you sit up, get out of bed, or push something heavy.
A Soft Midline
Pressing along the center of the abdomen finds give rather than resistance, even while you are actively bracing.
Loss of Load Transfer
Lifting and carrying feel like they go straight into your back, because the front is not taking its share of the work.
Low Back Pain
The lumbar spine and hips absorb what the abdominal wall cannot, which is why the back is often the first thing to complain.
Leaking or Heaviness
Leaking urine and pelvic heaviness travel with diastasis, because the pelvic floor and the abdominal wall share one pressure system.
A Midline That Still Bulges
A stomach that pushes out at the middle, usually worse at the end of the day. That is a real reason to get assessed.
Restore tension, not just width.
Assessment looks at what the midline does under real effort: getting up off the floor, bracing, pressing, breathing. We measure the gap, because it is part of the picture, and we pay far more attention to whether the tissue goes taut at the moment you need it to.
Treatment is graded loading of the abdominal wall alongside breath and pelvic floor coordination, because pressure management is the mechanism here. Some people also see the gap narrow. Everyone can improve how the wall handles load, and that is the part that changes what you can do.
No referral needed in Illinois. In-network with BCBS, PPO and Medicare, and we verify your plan before you start.
Stop measuring it and get it tested.
No referral needed in Illinois. We are in-network with BCBS, PPO and Medicare, and we will verify your plan before your first visit.
Bring the question you actually have, whether that is running, lifting, another pregnancy, or the way your stomach looks. Your first visit is a one-on-one evaluation and you leave with a plan.
You’re all set.
We’ll reach out within one business day to confirm your appointment. If you need to speak with us sooner, call us directly.