What to expect from postnatal physiotherapy for diastasis recti

The physiotherapist may ask about pregnancy, birth, pain, daily activities, and goals. They can assess abdominal tension and movement, breathing, posture, the pelvic floor, and how your trunk works during tasks such as rolling, lifting, or standing. Diastasis recti is about the behaviour of the tissue along the midline, not only the size of a visible gap. The programme should match your symptoms, healing stage, strength, and activities.

You may learn breathing with gentle abdominal engagement, controlled movement, pelvic-floor coordination, and ways to lift or feed your baby with less strain. Exercises usually progress from easy positions to functional tasks as control improves. Practise the prescribed movements consistently, but stop an exercise that causes pain, marked abdominal doming, pressure, leaking, or increased symptoms and tell your physiotherapist. Progress is judged by comfort and function as well as appearance.

Tell your clinician about increasing abdominal or pelvic pain, a new bulge that is tender, wound changes, fever, heavy postnatal bleeding, or difficulty controlling urine or stool. Seek urgent care for severe pain, faintness, heavy bleeding, breathing trouble, or sudden weakness. Physiotherapy should be adapted when recovery is not following the expected pattern.

Ask which activities are suitable now, how to modify lifting and exercise, what signs show that a movement is too demanding, and when your abdominal and pelvic-floor assessment should be repeated.