Can simple exercises heal postpartum tummy separation?
NCT ID NCT07628400
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study compares two types of exercises—hypopressive (breathing and posture-based) and split tummy (focusing on deep abdominal muscles)—for women with diastasis recti, a separation of the belly muscles after childbirth. Fifty postpartum women will be randomly assigned to one of the two exercise groups for 8 weeks. Researchers will measure changes in muscle gap size, pelvic floor strength, and quality of life to see which approach works better.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- hypopressive exercises and split tummy exercises
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a safe, non-surgical exercise program to help close abdominal muscle separation and improve pelvic floor function after childbirth.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial with only 50 participants, so results may not apply to all women. Exercise adherence and individual differences could affect outcomes.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Oct 2025
- Expected to finish
-
Jul 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
24 to 40 years
- Sex
-
Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age: 24 to 40years * Weight: 50 to 70kg * Height: 4.5 to 6ft * BMI: Both underweight and overweight/ obese individuals can experience DRA. * Parity: Multiparous * Mode of delivery: vaginal delivery in split tummy. * Subjects who gave vaginal birth with or without episiotomy in multiparous women in hypopressive. Exclusion Criteria: * Undergoing a severe illness * Uncompleted inter-rectus distance (IRD) records * Have a history of pelvic floor dysfunction * Primiparous, polyhydramnios, uterine fibroids during pregnancy, previous abdominal, surgery caesarean delivery * Subjects with untreated high blood pressure, cardiovascular illness, hernia, pregnant and underwent any recent surgeries.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Diastasis recti are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Civil Hospital Sukkur
RECRUITINGSukkur, Punjab Province, 65200, Pakistan
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can special exercises heal postpartum belly separation without surgery?
- New study: simple exercises may close Post-Baby tummy gap
- Researchers develop tool to gauge hidden toll of stomach muscle separation
- Pilates or planks? new study tests best exercise for postpartum belly gap
- New study aims to spot pelvic floor problems early after childbirth
- New exercise combo could ease postpartum belly pain