C-Section Scar Desensitization

 Okay. So you've had a C-section. Now we want to start to get the C-section scar mobile and also desensitized. What does that even mean?

That means that you start to get the scar able to have touch. Now from day one, maybe you have stereotypes, maybe you don't. And those are the little bandages that are on the C section scar. You might be too scared to even look at it right now. So the very first thing that you can do is to start to take a mirror and look at it.

‘Cause then your brain can start to process. Okay, that's my body.  That scar really happened to me. Now maybe you were planning a C section and this is all you ever wanted, but a lot of times there's trauma associated with a procedure that we maybe didn't necessarily want and or was unexpected for us. And so it is very common to have trauma.

Feel like you don't even want to think that this is your body and for that Our brain is really good at being like it doesn't it doesn't exist. Don't look at it. Don't touch it But the reality is is that our pants will start to touch it We want to start to get those muscles working again after the surgery And so we're going to talk about in this video how to desensitize those muscle or those that skin and that scar in Order to feel like it is safe safe to touch and it is okay and that it is part of your body and part of your story.

So very first thing you can do is get a mirror and start to look at the scar itself. Just get your brain familiar with, okay. This is my scar. This is my body. And if that's all you can do, that's a great starting point. And do that for as long as your body needs. And then once you start to believe, okay, that's my scar, then it might become safe to start the desensitization process.

process, but we need your body, your nervous system to feel like this is safe to now start looking at and then to start desensitizing and getting used to touch. Once we work through those, then we can start to work on the actual scar tissue itself to help dissolve the scar tissue. And then once we do the dissolving of the scar tissue, we can start to retrain the muscles.

Now, we work with many people who've gone through their whole life, 10, 20 years, 30 years, that never even looked at their C section scar or would avoid it at all costs, then also never turned back on and started using their core muscles. So they ended up with things like joint replacements and other discomforts in their bodies because their cores were weren't working for them.

So my goal of this video is to help you start to regain control of your core so you can live an active, fit, confident, and healthy life through motherhood. The very first thing you're going to do is start looking at that scar. Again, once that becomes safe for your body, then we can start the desensitization process.

The desensitization process looks a little bit like this. I'm going to use a balloon shown with a glove, sorry, a blown up glove, if you will, with a line through it, that's going to demonstrate the scar. So this is going to be my pseudo C section scar. And you can do this if it's too uncomfortable or too scary to do this with just skin to skin, then it's okay for you to just do it over your clothes.

And that is a safe thing to do. The very first thing I think that you can do, and you can start this from day one, is just place your hand over it. You can place your hand above it, or you can place your hand below it.  And, if you feel comfortable, you can do a couple deep breaths into that hand. You're going to be using a diaphragmatic breath in order to help get the breath to go to these places.

So, what it would look like is if you're above the scar, your hand is on your belly,  And you're just taking a nice deep breath into that hand. Exhale and let it go. Now if you feel like you can touch right on top of the scar, even bonus. Now let's take the shirt away and let's just go right on the skin.

We've taken the skin, we're on the skin now. The shirt is peeled back and you can start to take a tissue paper  and start to touch above the scar line. Just dabbing it.  Then if that feels okay, then you can start to rub it.  You're going to do this below the scar as well.  And just get the scar and the skin woke up again.

You're just trying to help the nerves regenerate to that area, the blood vessels, just get a little bit more sensation to the area and that is going to help stimulate the healing. Now this is all safe to do starting from the very beginning. From this point forward, what I'm going to talk about is touching the scar, that you want to wait to for the six to eight week mark once you're cleared by your physician.

So then you're going to start touching. the scar with the actual Kleenex. Now if the Kleenex feels too much and you might feel safer to use a q tip and a q tip is great. And same thing you can do it above the scar line and below the scar line. At that six to eight week mark you can start touching on the scar line because at the six to eight week mark we're assuming that the scar is completely healed and that the scar tissue has laid down and nothing has opened back up.

That's why it becomes safe to really touch the actual skin scar at the six to eight week mark.  Now, once we've started this desensitization process and our brain and our body are okay with how all of that feels, then we can move on to doing a little bit more. The first thing I need you to know, though, is that when you are cut open, your belly is a lot bigger.

And when it's a lot bigger, and then you're stitched in each of the seven layers that are stitched, then what happens is that the scar comes back and doesn't, when our bellies start to shrink, everything scars back on a different level. So the skin scar is really just the skin that you're seeing. A lot of the deeper scar tissue actually ends up being above the scar line, and so we wanna work above, below and on the scar.

The skin scar is really just the aesthetic piece of the whole deal. The muscle scars, the scar and the uterus, those are a lot deeper and they tend to be a little higher up than the actual scar line itself. So.  It's important that you help follow these tools to help decrease the scars on all the planes of the body.

It's also fair to mention that working with a pelvic expert physical therapist who is absolutely skilled in helping melt and work on these C section scars and rebuild the core is absolutely essential. for core healing after c section and it's never actually too late to do this. The sooner the better so you don't end up with other compensations.

And you also do want to look at the pelvic floor because the pelvic floor is affected when you have a c section and you can check out some other videos for that that I have on this YouTube channel. Now we're going to, we're going to go a little bit more into what scar mobilization can look like above the scar.

Now we're past the desensitization stage. We are going to start rubbing a little bit more aggressively. So you're going to see my hand divot in to the balloon. with a little bit more force. Now, I'm not like pushing and screaming into it, but I am gently providing a little bit more force where you see an indention into the tissue, and I can go side to side above the scar, and I can go up and down above the scar, and I work my hands side to side, up and down above the scar, and I do this all the way up to the belly button in order to help get all of that tissue moving.

So from the scar, from the scar all the way up to the navel, and that will help get that scar tissue on the deeper layers moving. Now we're going to go down. We're going to go lower towards the pubic bone. We'll go right underneath the scar and just move the tissue side to side, side to side, and then you can go up and down, up and down.

Then you're going to go right on the scar and you're going to go up and down with some pressure and side to side with some pressure, working your way along the scar.  Now, after this session, if you feel some itching and burning, that is okay and normal. That is the blood flow going back to the scar. Now, we want to continue to work this scar tissue, as the scar needs to become very mobile and move in all directions.

So that when you pick up the skin, there is no puckering and that there's no shelving. So a lot of times people will feel like they have a muffin top or a shelf over the C section scar. And so that means that we need to work that C section scar and really get it moving on all the planes of the tissue so we can start to dissolve that scar tissue and get the core to function more effectively.

And so, same thing, we're going to be working the scar right on the scar, side to side, up and down. Then you can start to pick the scar up and pull it away, pick the scar up and pull it away, pick the scar up and pull it away, pick the scar up and pull it away. And again, this is only okay after that six to eight week mark.

Now that is how to start moving your c section scar. You have some techniques that are safe from day one and you have some techniques that you don't want to start until that six to eight week mark. But if you are past six to eight weeks, start from the beginning so you don't skip that desensitization phase and looking and accepting that scar into your body.

This is going to help heal not only the physical aspect of your pain, core, but also the mental piece. It can start to allow that acceptance into your body for what has happened to you and help you start to process all of that and be able to read, train and recreate  your body story with building a really strong core.

So I wish you the absolute best in your C section healing. And I hope you found this video valuable. I'm Dr. Allison Felt, owner of Body Motion Physical Therapy. We are located in Poulsbo, Washington, in Edmonds, Washington. And we have clients that fly from across the world to come here for intensives to really help start to dissolve that scar tissue.

We use manual pelvic floor physical therapy along with the shockwave technology to help create regeneration of the abdominal wall and help people get the recoil and scar movement that they need so that they can start to retrain their entire core system and help avoid things like peeing their pants, sciatica, achy joints, heavy periods, all that stuff as they start to age and as the compensations of the C section catch up with them.

You can read all about that and Restore Your Body After Kids. The Secret to Avoid Peeing Your Pants and Achy Joints As You Age. It is one of my books that is sold on Amazon and it is a bestseller and I wish you all the best in your journey to heal your body after the cesarean. Take care.