Symptoms of Abdominal Separation or Diastasis Recti

Diastasis recti is not painful. A lump (tumefaction) may appear in the abdominal midline, usually above the navel (supraumbilical). It is usually visible when the person is standing or when flexing the abdomen. It disappears on lying down.

The difference from a ventral hernia is the absence of a sac and that the conjunctival membrane, which covers and holds in the muscles (aponeurosis), is intact. However, on many occasions an umbilical or epigastric hernial orifice may appear, due to the weakness of the area.