Diastasis Recti is the separation of the outermost layer of the abdominal muscles (rectus abdominis). During pregnancy, the pressure of the expanding uterus pushing against the abdominal wall may cause the recti muscles to separate. As the right and left sides of the rectus abdominis muscles spread apart, the connective tissue that joins them stretches sideways. The more the connective tissue stretches sideways, the thinner and weaker it becomes. When the recti muscles are separated, the support system for the back and organs is significantly weakened, causing lower back pain and the appearance of a "mummy tummy" that women just can't seem to flatten. This "mummy tummy" is actually the organs protruding as a result of the separated recti muscles' inability to protect them. Unfortunately many women are unaware of the fact that traditional crunches, sit ups, and even getting into and out of bed the wrong way will make a diastasis worse or will help to create one.

You can check yourself for a diastasis both during and after pregnancy. You will be checking the distance between the two recti muscles, as well as the condition of the connective tissue that joins these muscles together. Lie on your back with your knees bent. With your middle three fingers pressed together, place these fingers on your belly button with your hand resting on your stomach. Your fingers should be pointing towards your toes. Relax your abdominal muscles (do not contract or hold them in) and slowly start to lift your head off the floor as you press your fingers into your stomach. Notice when you start feeling the recti muscles coming together. You are checking to see how many fingers you can fit in between the two halves of the recti muscle when you first start to come up off the floor. The muscles will come closer together the higher you lift your head, so for an accurate measurement make sure to check the number of fingers you can fit in the space between the muscles when you first start feeling the muscles coming together. You may have to raise and lower your head a few times while pressing into your stomach in order to get a feel for how the muscles work. If you don't feel the sides of the muscles against your fingers with three fingers pressing down, you may have to add in your pinky and fingers from your other hand. Also note how deep your fingers go towards your spine when you press into your stomach. The easier it is to press your fingers deep towards your spine, the weaker the connective tissue.

The Tupler Technique is a research-based method of closing a diastasis regardless of how or when it was created. The Tupler Technique can also be used to minimize or prevent the occurrence of a diastasis during pregnancy. The four-step program includes: (1) performing exercises that isolate the innermost abdominal muscle (transverse abdominis), which draws in the recti muscles; (2) wearing a splint to bring the two halves of the recti muscle closer together (this differs from wearing a girdle or "belly band" type product) and, once the transverse is strengthened, manually splinting during the exercises; (3) engaging the transverse muscle during every day activities; and (4) getting up and down correctly from a back-laying position.