C- Sections Scars

• Do you have tightness or restriction in your scar?
  

• Do get a pulling sensation in your scar when you make certain movements?
  

• Does it feel lumpy or ropey?

• Do you avoid touching your scar?

• Do you feel like your scar or this part of your body doesn’t belong to you?

If you answer yes to one or more of these questions, then you would benefit from our C-section Scar Massage work.

The C-section is one of the most common operative procedure with over a quarter of all women giving birth this way. They are so common as to be thought of as routine, but this leads us to forget that they are still a major surgery.

It requires a pretty epic effort for a woman’s body to recover from the birth of a new baby AND major surgery against the back drop of little sleep, the all consuming experience of being a new mum and potentially caring for older siblings at the same time.

Women are awesome and incredibly many women heal without difficulty and few after effects. However, there are some women who have a variety of issues arising from the procedure.

For some women the scar feels restrictive, giving rise to tension and discomfort when they move. Scar tissue is less elastic than the surrounding tissue and as the tissue heals adhesions can form which can limit the slide and glide of structures around the scar.

Some women may have reduced feeling and/or hypersensitivity around the scar. The area doesn’t quite feels like part of them and they can feel squeamish about touching the scar. These sensations can persist months or years from the birth and all of these can be compounded if there were traumatic experiences at the birth.

To tackle the restrictions caused by scar tissue and adhesions our approach uses a collection of massage and scar work techniques applied over the scar and across the whole of the abdomen. Freeing up “stuck” tissue, and breathing life and movement back into the area.

This gentle work can also be an important part of healing following a traumatic birth experience. Disassociation is a common survival technique in a traumatic experience leading women to disassociate with their scar or whole the pelvic area following a difficult birth. Scar work which gently re-establishes both a physical and emotional connection with this area can be a powerful tool in healing and resolving this trauma.

C-section Scar work is very gentle and should not cause pain. It is highly effective in reducing restriction and tightness, freeing up movement through this area and allowing the abdominal wall to function effectively again.

We often find that c-section scars and even historic abdominal scars e.g. childhood appendectomy scar can have an impact on Diastasis resolution. C-sections scars can also interfere with bladder and pelvic floor issues causing urinary frequency or leading to poor pelvic floor connection.

As a standard part of our C-section service we include work to establish a good core connection through breath and pelvic floor integration.

Whilst it is wonderful if we can work on scars that have recently healed these techniques are also very effective on scars that are years or even decades old.