{"id":7206,"date":"2024-08-11T10:43:38","date_gmt":"2024-08-11T10:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mutumarketing.wpfueledstaging.com\/en-us\/?p=7206"},"modified":"2026-08-09T20:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T20:10:16","slug":"can-you-do-pilates-with-diastasis-recti-or-are-you-making-the-gap-worse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mutusystem.com\/en-us\/diastasis-recti\/can-you-do-pilates-with-diastasis-recti-or-are-you-making-the-gap-worse\/","title":{"rendered":"Can you do Pilates with diastasis recti?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Can you do Pilates with diastasis recti?<\/h1>\n\n

Pilates is one of the most common questions we get asked about diastasis recti. Is it safe? Will certain moves make the gap worse? Should you be avoiding it altogether?<\/p>\n\n

Here’s the current answer, and it’s maybe more reassuring than what you’ve probably been told.<\/p>\n\n

Can you do Pilates with diastasis recti?<\/h2>\n\n

Yes. Pilates is a good choice with diastasis recti, and there’s no evidence that it causes abdominal separation or makes an existing gap worse.<\/p>\n\n

Some exercises will ask more of a recovering core than others, and that’s worth knowing so you can build up sensibly. But that’s about sequencing, not danger.<\/p>\n\n

What the research says<\/h2>\n\n

For years the advice around diastasis recti was built on avoidance: lists of movements to skip, often justified with warnings about pressure damaging the connective tissue along your midline.<\/p>\n\n

In July 2026, a scoping review by Nina-Margrethe Theodorsen, Gr\u00e1inne Donnelly and Professor Kari B\u00f8, published in the Journal of Women’s & Pelvic Health Physical Therapy, looked across 43 studies and found something different. Abdominal and pelvic floor exercise is safe. It does not widen the gap. And the widening that happens in pregnancy is a normal adaptation, not an injury.<\/p>\n\n

The review went further, naming fear-based messaging as a harm in its own right, because being frightened of your own body is what stops women moving at all.<\/p>\n\n

So the question isn’t whether Pilates is safe. It’s how to progress it in a way that builds strength you can feel.<\/p>\n\n

Why Pilates suits a recovering core<\/h2>\n\n

Pilates is low impact, and it works the whole body while building core strength, flexibility and posture. It also puts real attention on breathing and control, which is exactly what a postpartum core needs.<\/p>\n\n

That focus on the deep abdominal muscles and the pelvic floor, your natural corset, makes it a good fit for rebuilding function rather than just chasing effort.<\/p>\n\n

The moves that ask more of you<\/h2>\n\n

Rather than a list to avoid, think of these as progressions to build towards.<\/p>\n\n

Anything that lifts both shoulders and both legs off the floor at once increases the load significantly. Double leg lowers, teaser, full roll-ups and long lever plank variations all fall into this group. So does anything that has you bracing hard or holding your breath.<\/p>\n\n

None of these are off-limits forever. They’re simply further along the path than day one.<\/p>\n\n

How to know you’re ready<\/h2>\n\n

Your body gives you clear feedback. During any exercise, watch and feel for:<\/p>\n\n