Physiotherapy with kinesiotherapy and physical agents to reduce postpartum diastasis recti: a randomised trial.

In 30 seconds

This randomised controlled trial compared abdominal kinesiotherapy, physical agents (electromagnetic shock waves, TECAR therapy and neuromuscular electrical stimulation), and their combination in 60 women with diastasis recti six months after childbirth. Inter-rectus distance and abdominal perimeter were assessed by ultrasound and measurement before treatment and at re-evaluation 60 days after the initial assessment. The combined approach produced greater reductions in inter-rectus distance than either approach alone: supraumbilical distance was reduced by 0.80 cm versus physical agents, while infraumbilical distance was reduced by 0.74 cm versus exercises and 0.85 cm versus physical agents.

Key findings

• Combined treatment reduced supraumbilical inter-rectus distance by 0.80 cm compared with physical agents alone.
• For infraumbilical inter-rectus distance, combined treatment showed reductions of 0.74 cm versus kinesiotherapy and 0.85 cm versus physical agents.
• Groups receiving physical agents, alone or combined with exercises, had approximately 10 cm greater infraumbilical circumference reductions than the kinesiotherapy group.
• No significant differences in abdominal circumference were observed in the supraumbilical or umbilical regions.

Why it matters

The findings suggest that combining exercise-based physiotherapy with physical agents may improve selected measures of postpartum diastasis recti more than either approach alone. The regional differences in inter-rectus distance and circumference also indicate that treatment effects may vary by measurement site. These results add comparative evidence for physiotherapy approaches in women with postpartum diastasis recti.

What to keep in mind

The abstract reports outcomes at re-evaluation 60 days after the initial assessment, so longer-term effects are not established.