Yes, YOU can measure your own diastasis. You don’t need a doctor or a surgeon to measure it. Many doctors don’t even know HOW to measure it, in my experience. But you can take control and empower yourself with how to find out if its a DIASTASIS that is causing that “I-can’t-put-my-finger-on-it-but-my-midsection-does-not-look-normal” look.
HOW TO DO IT:
- Lay on your back (getting down by laying on your side and walking your hands down).
- Bend your knees
- Place your straightened fingers perpendicular to your body RIGHT at your belly button.
- Lift your head just a little
If you have a diastasis you will feel a valley or a gully.
THE MEASUREMENT: How many fingers can you place in the gully when you FIRST start to feel the muscles engage around your fingers? Is it 1 fingerwidth? Is it 2 fingerwidths? 3? 4? 5? 6? 7? 8? more?
- REPEAT if you don’t know what your measurement was the first time by putting your head BACK down and then lifting it up just a LITTLE with your hands in place until you feel the muscles engage around the fingers again
- REPEAT 3 inches ABOVE the belly button
- REPEAT 3 inches BELOW the belly button
That’s it – then you will know your measurments of your diastasis!
TROUBLESHOOTING?
“I can’t feel the muscle engage around my fingers”
You may be putting your head up too high. Or if your pregnant, you will fill a protruding ridge rather than a gully, depending on how far along your are. Or if you are a larger measurement like a 6 or 7, you will need to measure with BOTH HANDS.
Many people think its gross when they feel it for the first time. But knowing is half the battle, as my husband always says.
SO GO FOR IT!! Find out if the diastasis is causing a bulge, or unsightly look in your abdominals! What did you find out?
I only have a gully right on my belly button, 3 finger widths wide. Am I doing it correctly if this is the only area I have a opening? Loving your blog and am so interested to find out how to remedy this! Thank you!
Hi Miranda,
Absolutely that can be the only area you have a “gully” or a separation of the recti. The belly button is the weakest point of the connective tissue, so it is usually the largest gap. I have measured many women who are closed at the top and bottom of the recti and have an opening right at the belly button. At 3 fingerwidths I would definitely get a splint, and do 5 sets of seated tuplers (at least) a day. Work up from 3 to 5th floor, then 4th to 5th floor, then 5th to 6th floor. Graduating from one to the next weekly.
Good luck!
Oh, an no jackknifing in and out of bed – or with your abdominals 🙂