Improvement of Gastrointestinal Symptoms After Diastasis Recti Repair: A Prospective Study

Diastasis recti abdominis (DRA) is a common postpartum condition associated with musculoskeletal impairments. While a link to gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction is suspected, it remains poorly studied. We hypothesized that surgical correction of DRA would improve associated GI symptoms by restoring abdominal wall integrity and function.

We conducted a prospective cohort study of 80 postpartum women undergoing surgical repair for DRA. GI symptoms-including bloating, abdominal pain, constipation, and diarrhea-were evaluated before surgery and at a minimum of 6 months post-op (mean follow-up 14 months) using a 5-point Likert scale. The primary outcome was patient-reported change in GI symptoms.

At baseline, all patients reported GI disturbances, with bloating (95%) and constipation (50%) being most prevalent; 19% met Rome IV criteria for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Following surgical repair, 78 of 80 patients (97.5%) reported improvement in their GI symptoms, with 55 (68.8%) experiencing complete resolution. No patients reported worsening symptoms. The prevalence of frequent bloating dropped from 95 to 10%, constipation from 50 to 15%, and abdominal pain from 50% to 5%. All 15 patients who met IBS criteria preoperatively no longer did at follow-up.

Surgical correction of diastasis recti leads to a significant and near-universal improvement in gastrointestinal symptoms for postpartum women. These findings suggest that DRA is a contributing factor to functional GI disorders in this population and that its repair confers important functional benefits beyond cosmetic and musculoskeletal improvements.

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