C-section Recovery

Overview of cesarean section recovery:

A cesarean birth is a major abdominal surgery that brings unique recovery needs. In addition to healing from childbirth, your body is also repairing from an incision that impacts muscles, fascia, and skin. Many women experience lingering symptoms months—or even years—later, such as tightness, numbness, weakness, and difficulty connecting to their core and pelvic floor. Other symptoms years later are urinary urgency and frequency. Another common concern is the “C-section shelf,” where tissue and skin protrude over the scar, often due to scar tissue adhesions, fascial tightness, or changes in abdominal muscle tone.

Common Causes:

  • Surgical trauma to abdominal and pelvic tissues

  • Scar tissue formation binding skin, fascia, and underlying muscles

  • Abdominal muscle inhibition or weakness after surgery

  • Fluid retention or swelling in the healing phase

  • Postural adaptations and movement compensations

  • Limited early mobility or activity restrictions during healing

Impact on daily life:

The effects of a C-section can go far beyond the incision site. Physically, you may feel pulling or tightness when standing tall, exercising, lifting your baby, or even getting out of bed. The C-section shelf can make clothing fit differently, cause self-consciousness about your appearance, and lead to frustration if it lingers despite healthy habits. Scar tenderness or numbness may impact intimacy, and unresolved weakness can contribute to back pain or pelvic floor symptoms. Emotionally, many women feel disconnected from their core or discouraged if their recovery feels slow, which can impact self-esteem and confidence.

How pelvic floor therapy helps:

Pelvic floor therapy addresses C-section recovery from all angles. We assess scar tissue mobility, abdominal muscle activation, pelvic floor function, and postural alignment. Through hands-on scar mobilization, fascial release, and gentle stretching, we help restore tissue mobility and reduce the appearance of the C-section shelf. We also guide you in reactivating deep core muscles, improving posture, and retraining movement patterns so you can return to daily activities and exercise without discomfort.

Our treatment:

We offer 1:1, hour-long sessions so we can address your unique recovery needs without rushing. We perform scar mobilization techniques to improve mobility and reduce adhesions, and we teach you to do these techniques on your own so you can keep things moving forward between sessions. We don’t just look at the skin and the healing of your incision line that we can see. We know that many other layers were cut through and separated during your surgery, and we know those other layers can impact function and symptoms later in life. We look at the pelvic and abdominal organs to make sure everything is moving well. We give you core and pelvic floor strengthening exercises tailored to your stage of recovery and strategies to manage and minimize the c-section shelf. A c-section shouldn’t dictate how you live your life or what types of activities you can do!

Ready to heal your core after cesarean? Book your evaluation today.