Pregnancy & Parenting

When I work out after a couple of days my c-section incision starts to hurt and then stays continuously sore whenever I bend, pick something up, or turn my upper body. It has been 9 months since my c-section and I have had many people tell me that this can continue for up to 2 years!

I can usually just ignore the pain but sometimes it turns into a constant thing and can be very painful and almost feels like my somach is ripping open (its not I checked lol) The pain will get better the more I rest but the more I rest the less I exercise and then I stop losing weight.

Has anyone ever had anything like this and is there something I can do to help ease the pain? I need to stick with my exercise which is usually one of the following elliptical, biking, walking, and sit ups. Any tips or advice would be wonderful and greatly appreciated!!!

Hello.. I hear you... After 3 c-sections myself i often run into this problem.

My recommendation would be to not do sit ups any more.. Sit ups only put pressure on your already tender abdomen.  When doing your eliptical and walking, keep your stomach muscles contracted.  There is also a band that you can wear while doing these exercises that helps to loose the tummy flab.  It makes you sweat.  I got mine at walmart for $7.  And if i want to do a little more for my tummy i use a yoga ball and do light crunches NOT full out sit ups.  Hope this helps.

-Angela  

hello i know the feelings well thank god i don;t have that problem no more but  u need to take it easy until it heal it need to heal more thats the reason u are having tender in your abdomen i have had 5 c-section and i thank god i don;t go though that now but at first i did but when i mention it to my doctor she said i had to heal in the inside some more so do that for about 6months then try again and u should be sat god bless and take your time don't rush it your health is the most important than to destroy your inside good luck and i hope i was very helpful

6 months!! seriously!  I am 6 weeks post with a c-section incision (but not a pregnancy) and was hoping I could get right back into exercise, in fact I have a duathalon planned in 8 weeks.  I thought that after 6 weeks I'd be good to go.  I had surgery on my uterus, fairly intensive, but it doesnt hurt anymore, just the scar.

On a side note, when my scar aches or gets itchy i just wash it and slather on the polysporin, it seems to help a lot!

Ah, yes, the lovely, everlasting c-section pain. My daughter was born almost 4 years ago via c-section and I still have twinges of pain if I move the wrong way. The "stomach-ripping" pain stopped somewhere in the first year. My doctor told me that the place where they start the incision will always be the most sore spot and it's not uncommon for the pain to last up to 7 years. Ibuprofen is best for the pain since it is an anti-inflamitory as well as a pain killer however, I was told not to use it while breastfeeding. I would be willing to say you need to take it easy and that the severe pain is your body's way of telling you to slow down. The weight will come off; it shouldn't be a race. The last thing you want to do is injure yourself even more and have to take more time off from exercise. Best of luck!

I've had 3 c-sections and each time took a LONG time to heal. I didn't do much exercise during the first year after surgery, except walking. I would stop doing sit-ups altogether, there are other ways to tone up your stomach muscles without doing sit-ups.

Right now, if I were you, I would rest it easy for a while. Do you have a heating pad? Put it on your c-section scar for 20 minutes or more each time you rest, the heat will fascilitate healing to that area. This advice was given to me by my nurse after my first c-section. I use it during mid-cycle too when I have mid-pain.

HTH.