You can check for diastasis recti at home with a simple self-test that takes less than a minute. Lie on your back, do a partial sit-up, and feel for a gap between the two sides of your abdominal muscles along the midline of your belly. A gap wider than about two finger-widths (roughly 2 cm) generally indicates diastasis recti, though the exact threshold depends on where you measure and your age.
The At-Home Self-Test
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Place one hand behind your head for support. Then lift your shoulders slightly off the ground, as if starting a sit-up. While holding that position, place the fingers of your free hand just above your belly button, pointing down toward your toes, with your palm facing you.
Press your fingertips gently into your midline. You’re feeling for the inner edges of the two vertical muscles that run down the front of your abdomen. If those muscles have separated, your fingers will sink into a soft gap between them rather than pressing against firm muscle. Count how many fingers fit into that space. Repeat this at three spots: a few centimeters above your belly button, right at your belly button, and a few centimeters below it. The gap is often widest at or just above the navel.
If you can fit two or more fingers into the gap, you likely have some degree of diastasis recti. But width isn’t the only thing to notice. Pay attention to depth as well. A shallow gap where you can feel tension at the bottom is different from one where your fingers sink in deeply with no resistance. Depth and how well the tissue resists pressure matter just as much as width when it comes to how the separation affects your body.
What the Measurements Mean
Normal spacing between the two sides of the abdominal muscles varies by location. In people under 45, measurements up to about 10 mm above the belly button, 27 mm at the navel, and 9 mm below it fall within the typical range. Over 45, those numbers shift slightly to 15 mm, 27 mm, and 14 mm. Anything beyond those thresholds is generally considered abnormal.
A classification system published in 2022 breaks diastasis recti into four levels based on gap width:
- Mild: 2 to 3 cm
- Moderate: 3 to 5 cm
- Severe: 5 to 7 cm
- Very severe: 7 to 9 cm
During pregnancy, the gap widens steadily. One study found that 100% of participants had measurable diastasis recti by week 35 of pregnancy when using a threshold of 1.6 cm below the belly button. That’s completely expected. The question isn’t whether it happens during pregnancy, but how well it resolves afterward.
Visual Signs to Watch For
Beyond the finger test, your body gives visual clues. The most recognizable is “coning” or “doming,” a ridge or tent shape that pops up along the center of your belly when you strain, sit up from a lying position, or lift something heavy. It runs vertically between your breastbone and belly button and looks like a small mountain pushing up through the middle of your abdomen.
You might also notice a persistent belly pooch that doesn’t respond to exercise or weight loss, particularly in the area between the rib cage and navel. Some people describe their midsection as looking pregnant months or years after delivery. That bulge is typically oval-shaped and sits along the midline.
Symptoms You Might Not Connect
Diastasis recti isn’t just cosmetic. The abdominal wall acts as a support system for your spine and pelvis, so when it’s weakened, other areas compensate. Lower back pain is one of the most common complaints, especially during activities that require core stability like carrying a child, standing for long periods, or bending over. The pain tends to be dull and achy rather than sharp.
Pelvic floor problems also show up frequently alongside diastasis recti. That can mean leaking urine when you cough, sneeze, or jump. Some people experience a sense of heaviness or pressure in the pelvis. Poor posture, particularly a swayback stance where the lower back curves excessively, is another indirect sign. If you have several of these symptoms together with a visible midline bulge, abdominal separation is worth investigating.
Diastasis Recti vs. a Hernia
A bulge along your abdomen could be either diastasis recti or a hernia, and the two sometimes coexist. The simplest way to tell them apart is pain. Hernias often cause noticeable pain at the site of the bulge, especially with straining or lifting. Diastasis recti can cause discomfort and weakness, but it typically isn’t painful at the bulge itself.
The shape and location differ too. Diastasis recti produces a broad, oval-shaped bulge between the breastbone and belly button that appears when you engage your core. A hernia is more of a localized protrusion, a distinct lump that can appear anywhere on the abdomen or in the groin. Hernias involve a hole in the abdominal wall where tissue pushes through, while diastasis recti is a stretching and thinning of the connective tissue between muscles without a true hole. If you feel a hard, round lump that’s tender to the touch, that’s more consistent with a hernia and worth a medical evaluation.
Getting a Professional Assessment
The at-home finger test gives you a reasonable estimate, but it has limitations. Your fingers aren’t a precision tool, and it’s hard to feel the exact edges of the muscles on yourself. The gold standard for measuring diastasis recti is ultrasound imaging, which shows the exact distance between the muscle bellies in millimeters and produces consistent results across multiple sessions. It’s painless, quick, and doesn’t involve radiation.
Physical therapists and some physicians also use digital calipers, which are placed at the inner edges of the muscles to give a numerical readout. A newer device called a diastometer, introduced in 2015, measures both the width and the depth of the separation. Palpation (the clinical version of the finger test) remains the most widely used method in day-to-day practice because it’s accessible and requires no equipment, but ultrasound is the most accurate option when precision matters.
A pelvic floor or women’s health physical therapist is often the best starting point for assessment. They can measure the gap, evaluate the tension and depth of the connective tissue, check for related pelvic floor issues, and design a rehabilitation plan. For mild to moderate cases, targeted core rehabilitation exercises that focus on deep stabilizing muscles (rather than traditional crunches, which can worsen the gap) are the first-line approach. Surgical repair is typically reserved for severe or very severe separations that haven’t responded to months of focused rehabilitation.