Self Massage for Cesarean Scars

Self Massage for Cesarean Scars: Jane Podmore

Over the past three years I have had the joy and pleasure of working with families, in varying capacities, throughout their child-bearing years. This work has been both fascinating and rewarding and has taught me many things about the miraculous capabilities of the human body and spirit.

Some of these lessons have come from watching women recover from cesarean deliveries while caring for their newborn babies. Instantly selfless, the unwavering love and commitment to their new baby so often results in their own health and wellbeing becoming secondary. These women provide the perfect example of the innate transformation into motherhood that follows birth.

According to 2007/2008 data from the Vancouver Island Health Authority, inclusive of home births, 31.8% of babies born in the Victoria area were delivered by caesarean section. This means that close to one-third of Victoria mothers will have spent the first few days caring for their newborn while healing from major surgery herself. If you are one of these women, you will know that no matter the circumstances that led to your cesarean birth, the recovery from it is both an emotional and physical journey.

Surrounding yourself with attentive support, spending lots of time skin-to-skin with your baby, and taking the time to nurture your own healing are some of the most important steps you can take towards a healthful recovery.
In the days and weeks following birth, your body will begin to heal. The pain from the incision will wane, movements will feel natural again, and many aspects of caring for your newborn will feel easier. As your incision heals, a scar will form in its place. Underneath this visible scar adhesions will develop as part of the body’s natural healing process. During this process, tiny strands of collagen fill the site that has been cut and attach in a random pattern to create the glue-like bonds we call adhesions, otherwise known as scar tissue. Wherever they form, adhesions can remain in the body for life.

As a by-product of cesarean surgery, these adhesions are known to form connections between tissues and organs that are not normally connected. For example, it is common for adhesions to form between the skin, intestines, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, bladder and other organs.

Symptoms of these adhesions include:

• abdominal pain
• diarrhea or constipation
• irritable bowel syndrome
• acid reflux
• pelvic pain and pain with intercourse
• blockages in the fallopian tubes
• deep “tugging” or “pulling” sensations
• low back pain
• puckered, raised or asymmetrical scar formation
• numbness and/or itching

While adhesion formation is a normal and expected result of surgery, adhesions that prevent tissues and organs from moving freely can become a health issue. Many of these potential problems can be avoided with the appropriate care of your c-section scar.

Massaging your cesarean scar for even a few minutes a day can have a huge benefit. In fact, knowledgeable self-massage is one of the best things you can do to avoid complications from adhesions and to improve the look and feel of your scar itself. Because massage helps to stimulate nerve endings, it can also be used to help relieve numbness and restore feeling where it has been lost.

With massage, self or otherwise, the best results are achieved when begun soon after the scar has healed, however older scars can benefit from increased circulation and the release of abdominal adhesions as well.

Because every mother’s recovery is as unique and individual as the mother herself, you should talk to a Registered Massage Therapist with specialized training in cesarean recovery about which self massage techniques will be safe and effective for your own healthful recovery.

The birth of a baby is one of life’s most monumental and meaningful events, after which you will be busy learning to feed, change, love and care for a new life. I understand that as a new mother, time is so very precious but I encourage you to find some time for yourself. If only for a moment or two a day, empower yourself by actively assisting in the healing of your body, while honouring the great gift it gave to you.

Jane Podmore is a Registered Massage Therapist with specialized training in pre & post-natal massage, cesarean-section recovery, and doula support. She practices at the Elements of Health Centre

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