Healing From a C-Section: Cesarean Scar Massage
Healing from a C-Section: Cesarean Scar Massage
When you have a Cesarean birth, you don't get a whole lot of advice afterwards besides walk around and take your meds. And you know you need to rest and take it easy as much as possible so you can heal. But did you know you're also supposed to be massaging your Cesarean scar?
Not right away, of course. Your scar needs to be healed over before you mess with it. No redness, signs of infection, oozing, or anything like that.
So around the 6-8 week mark, or after you've had your last OB-GYN postpartum checkup and they give you the all-clear, you can start massaging your C-section scar to enhance your healing process.
Why Are You Supposed to Massage the Scar, Exactly?
A Cesarean is a major abdominal surgery, and your scar is no joke. These are the layers of your body that will form scar tissue and knit back together:
Skin
Fat
Fascia
Peritoneum
Fascia
Uterus
Your body knows to heal itself and join back together when cut, but it may grow a little haphazardly and without discretion. These layers can heal stuck together, limiting your body's movements and causing discomfort, and even adhere to other parts of your body.
There are women who have pain and discomfort for years after having a Cesarean, when they bend or twist; when they have intercourse; and even when they go to the bathroom. These issues can go on or present a long time after the surgery, so they may not think to associate the symptoms with their births. (Apparently scar tissue can press on or adhere to the bladder, causing frequent urination to occur years after the Cesarean. SAY WHAT?!) Pelvic pain is pretty common in women and one of the causes to look for is definitely inhibition or adhesion from Cesarean scar tissue.
How to Do Cesarean Scar Massage
Once your scar is healed, you can start gently testing the waters with a little scar massage. Check how tight the incision feels by moving the skin around a little with two fingers. This will help you feel out if there are any stuck areas. It may feel very tight, but given some time and some massaging, it should eventually glide around like the rest of your skin.
Be gentle with yourself and use the tips of your fingers. You're not looking for a greasy, oiled-up glide over the skin – you're looking to move the skin around on top of the layers. If you feel a pulling sensation against the tightness you can hold the skin there for a minute to stretch it, but stop if you feel much pain. You can try doing this for a few minutes every day or so. It might take weeks, it might take months, but eventually some of that tightness should start to loosen up and hopefully you will be able to prevent adhesions and other problems from scar tissue.
There is a good video by a physical therapist who shows exactly how to massage your Cesarean scar, close up and with instructions. Click here to watch it on YouTube. It's not gross or anything, but if you feel squeamish at the thought of touching the incision, or are struggling with a lot of emotions around healing from Cesarean birth, it's okay if you are not ready to watch this and do the massage yet. You can also ask a physical therapist, midwife etc. to work with you on this and massage your incision.