C-section recovery and exercise

[vernalsole1355]

For all the c-section moms, how has your return to exercise been going? Are you still sore?

I’m 9 weeks pp and very tender about 1-2 inches above the incision and still feel delicate doing gentle exercises like air squats. My pelvic health physio has given me the all clear to gradually start training again (no running until 12 weeks) but I’m slow to get back into it. I also don’t like the feel of clothing against my scar even with high waisted pants.

 

[3rdday]

@vernalsole1355 12w pp here! I started walking more around 3-4 weeks for about 10-15 min. Got cleared at 6 weeks but waited another week before I started a pp core routine I found in YouTube (Lauren Fitter). I've started some strength training, but haven't been as consistent as I'd like (we just put our house on the market, so it's been a little busy here).

My scar is sometimes tender, and I definitely have numbness above and below it. I've noticed some tenderness above my hip bones (the ASIS - the ones you can feel in the front), but I'm not sure if that's bc my hip flexors are tight or from my C-section. I still have a lot of core weakness which will make my back hurt pretty quickly at times. And oddly enough, I have a lot of soreness/tenderness up high, right below my xyphoid process over my ribs on both sides.

Overall, I'd like to be a little farther along with my recovery, but between breastfeeding and our moving plans, consistency has been the biggest issue. I'd like to start reincorporating yoga into my routine because I just feel so tight from sitting and breastfeeding.

This was my first baby, and we hope to have at least one more, so I plan to get my core as strong as possible before that happens. I think staying active through my pregnancy has helped with my recovery. I do feel a little frustrated at times bc my weight is higher than I'd like still and I do feel weaker than I want to, but I grew and gave birth to a tiny human! I try to keep thinking: It took me 41+ weeks to do that, then I had major abdominal surgery, so it's going to take time to recover. Even athletes with ACL repairs aren't back to full capacity at 12 weeks!