How to Help Heal Your C-Section Scar
Here I come…one big step up onto my soap box for this topic, you ready?? A C-Section is a major abdominal surgery and should be rehabbed!
I cannot emphasize this enough, and I won’t stop talking about it because those C-section mamas DESERVE it. They deserve treatment. They deserve care. They deserve education, and awareness, and ALL THE THINGS that a standard surgery (not resulting in a baby) automatically includes. So we are going to take some time and give some acknowledgement to our C-Section mama’s and use this blog post to discuss the things we can do to help with optimal healing.
Here are some of my major issues with the fact that requesting physical therapy post-surgery isn’t automatically a standard of care….
There are 7 whole layers of tissue that are disturbed in order to get to that baby.
An untreated C-section scar could lead to multiple issues…
Unhealed diastasis recti
Pelvic pain/discomfort
Incontinence
Abdominal pain
Hip/low back pain
Menstrual pain
Pain with pressure
Numbness, tingling, burning sensations
Painful bowel movements
And lastly, women just DO BETTER with focused and specific treatment following their C-section surgery. According to a case study done back in 2016, they discovered that the participants who had been suffering for 6 to 9 years from ongoing pain following their C-section surgery actually demonstrated massive improvement with ALL of their symptoms after receiving treatment! Not only that, but they also reported 0/10 on the pain scale, where previously they had been experiencing increased pain with premenstrual symptoms, pain with pressure to the lower abdomen and pain with bowel movements. You’re probably thinking this took months to achieve, right? This case study reports that these participant’s symptom improvement occurred after just 4, 30 minute sessions performed over a span of 2 weeks. So again, WHY is this not the standard of care to receive after birthing a baby from your belly?!
Alright, stepping off my soap box to give you some scar tissue recovery tips!
Prior to doing any sort of work directly on the scar you need to make sure that the scar is fully healed. You should receive a 2 week and a 6 week check-up where your medical provider will be able to tell you when the scar is 100% healed.
There are a few things you may consider trying before the scar is fully healed. One really beneficial indirect treatment option is hands-on breath work. You want to place your hands over the incision and then focus on breathing into your hands. You can do this with or without clothing on, whatever feels comfortable to you, especially early on! As you progress off of doing this laying down, you can also try doing breath work in different positions like kneeling or on all fours. Watch this reel to demonstrate a few of those positions!
Another really great option to start with, prior to doing scar tissue mobilization, is a technique called nerve desensitization. This is something you want to do to ensure that the nerves don’t become overly sensitive while healing. You can start with some soft textures (like a q-tip, cotton ball or silk material) and lightly rub the material on the tissues surrounding the scar, not directly on the scar. Start gentle and progress to a little firmer pressure and different textures, like a sock! You can also use scar tissue mobilization techniques, but instead of doing it directly on the scar, perform above, below and to each side of the scar. This video demonstrates some of these techniques discussed for desensitizing the nerves.
Now, once you have been cleared by your doctor and your scar is fully healed, it’s time to start some scar tissue mobilization techniques:
This will typically be around 6 weeks postpartum, but may vary just depending on how you heal. There are many different ways to do it, but you want to make sure that you are not pushing yourself into pain. Start lightly and gradually progress. You can utilize cross-friction (moving up/down on the horizontal scar line), circles both directions, and abdominal pulling (all shown in the video above). Cupping is also an option, although you will want to make sure you’ve been instructed in proper use or have a pelvic health professional trial cupping techniques on you prior to performing them independently.
Direct scar tissue mobilization is just one of many different ways to ensure your scar heals properly and with good mobility. Another option is considering hip, pelvic and low back mobility. Many of the muscles that help the hips, pelvis and low back to move, either cross the region that your scar is located or are very close to it! You want to make sure that they are mobile as well. Here are a few movements to try that will help to indirectly mobilize the scar tissue, and here are a few more options to try out in the beginning! Remember, this is about full body healing and looking at the big picture. When thinking about rehabbing a scar or a small region, it will almost always require a full body approach.
Red Flags to be Aware of:
There are some red flags you’re going to want to be very aware of during your healing process. If you experience any of the following, you will want to reach out to your medical provider immediately.
Redness/irritation to the scar
Oozing/discharge
Increase in pain/discomfort
Excess pulling
Abdominal discomfort
Bleeding after 6 weeks
Thinking Long-Term…
So, continuing to think big picture, the scar tissue itself can take up to 2 years to fully heal. Because of that, you will want to keep your scar in mind when you are continuing to rehab and work to mobilize the tissue. If you are further along in your C-section recovery, here are a few mobilizing activities to try that can still help even if you are years post-surgical. And a side note - I don’t want that number to discourage you or make you feel like it will never heal! But instead it is just a reminder to be gentle with yourself and remember that your body just did something amazing…and you didn’t just heal, you came back STRONGER!
Mind Body Core
If you are having issues with your scar or simply recovering from your C-section, my Mind Body Core Program is a GREAT option for C-section specific guided program. My program includes education on what a C-section is, weekly scar massage work, scar healing guidance from day 1, education on how to use binders/bloomers for support, 20+ videos for functional movement with a C-section and a 2 week pre-phase for C-section mom’s for BEST possible healing outcomes! Check it out by clicking below!
Pain after birth should not be the expectation or your reality. There are resources and professionals out there with the tools to help you. We may not be to the point in our society where we get handed these resources on a silver platter, but until we get to that point (and trust me, I’m doing everything I can to be that resource for YOU), go out there, be the assertive person that you are, and get the help that you need and deserve!