Every girl wants to be a mother, so when she manages to get pregnant, she looks forward to giving birth. However, as if future mothers did not monitor their health, not everything always goes well. Very common are cases when a cesarean section is required. How the operation will take place depends not only on the level of professionalism and specialist qualifications, but also on the genetic characteristics of a particular person.
Any radical methods, and especially operations, have a very serious effect on the general condition of the body, so after them long-term therapy and recovery are required. Let's find out what exercises you can do after cesarean section in order to quickly recover from this unpleasant procedure and become attractive again.
general information
Before you talk about what exercises you can do after cesarean, you first need to understand why they are needed.
Today, the development of modern medicine is at a very high level, so after the removal of the child through an incision in the uterus, special complications, as a rule, do not happen. However, unfortunately, such cases are not completely excluded.
Most often, girls face the following problems:
- large blood loss;
- violation of the normal functioning of internal organs;
- connective tissue seals;
- inflammatory lesion of the uterus;
- seam divergence;
- ligature fistulas;
- hernia;
- keloid scar.
To avoid all these consequences, certain exercises after cesarean section will help. However, one needs to have an idea about which physical activities are permissible and which are recommended to abstain. This article will discuss the most effective of the allowed.
How long after childbirth can I resort to physiotherapy?
If you have any health problems or you just want to restore your body to its former beauty, it is very important to consider the fact that exercises after cesarean section are allowed to be performed only after a certain time after childbirth. It is impossible to give exact dates, since each individual case is unique.
The physiotherapy program should be selected by an experienced specialist based on the patient’s clinical picture. As a rule, doctors call numbers in the region of 6-8 weeks. During this time, the body must have time to fully recover.
However, the following factors must be taken into account:
- how many women had cesarean sections;
- the presence of complications and their nature;
- seam location;
- whether any internal organs were damaged during surgery;
- whether the girl had pressure problems while bearing the fetus.
Based on all the factors listed above, the doctor will select the most suitable exercises after cesarean section, which will not cause harm to health and will achieve the maximum result.
When is physiotherapy contraindicated?
It’s worth starting exercise and sports only after the body has completely recovered after surgery. If the birth was accompanied by any complications, then the girl is recommended to wait a bit with physical activity. It is recommended to postpone any exercises after cesarean in the following situations:
- with inflammation of the internal organs;
- exacerbation of chronic diseases;
- any pathologies of infectious etiology;
- at elevated body temperature;
- not completely healed seams;
- any injuries sustained during childbirth;
- endometritis;
- endometriosis.
Even if you do not have the problems listed above, then you should not immediately begin to engage in physiotherapy. It is necessary to undergo a preliminary examination by a doctor and consult what exercises after cesarean section can be done. This will minimize the likelihood of serious complications and avoid many health problems.
Allowed Exercise Types
In most cases, home workouts after an unsuccessful birth, which went with complications, can begin after a month and a half. However, this applies only to therapeutic exercises and special physiotherapeutic exercises. More serious sports require the confirmation of a doctor. The list of allowed includes the following physical exercises:
- Yoga. Promotes good relaxation, excellently improves muscle tone and normalizes a person’s emotional state.
- Swimming. It is permissible in 60-80 days after surgery. This sport affects the whole body as a whole. It helps strengthen the muscles of all groups, helps to lose weight and tones.
- Run. Such physical exercises after cesarean can be performed no earlier than 10 months later, they are very effective because they help to put in order the figure. Excessive training in the early stages of rehabilitation is contraindicated due to the high load created by the body.
- Classes on simulators. It is forbidden to go to the gym on your own, as a wrong approach to the exercises will do more harm than good. Therefore, it is best to sign up with a coach who will choose the most optimal training program.
If you have seriously decided to go in for sports and do not want to wait long, then some exercises at home are allowed. More details about them will be described later.
Breathing exercises
Answering the question about what exercises after cesarean section do, it is worth starting with this particular technique. It is aimed at strengthening the muscular skeleton of the abdominal and thoracic region, increasing the tone of the body and normalizing the psychological state of a woman.
Exercises are performed as follows:
- The alternation of various breathing techniques.
- Deep air intake and slow exhalation.
- Quick breath and slow exhale.
- Alternation of inspiration with the involvement of the chest and abdomen.
Inhale only through the nose, and exhale through the mouth. During classes involving the involvement of the muscles of the abdominal cavity, it is necessary to carefully monitor the seams so that they do not separate.
Press
According to statistics, even with normal childbirth, the muscles of this area are simply in a terrible state. However, there are some special exercises after cesarean section, which will allow you to bring the press in full order and make the belly of a young mother attractive. As for the terms, then you can start training not earlier than 3-5 months after the operation.
The training program is as follows:
- Take a horizontal position on a hard surface and bend your legs under you. Hands should be in a crossed position on the stomach. Raise your head slightly so that your abdominal muscles are tensed.
- Keeping a similar position, take a deep breath, and as you exhale, press your legs to your body as much as possible.
- Inflate the stomach while breathing in, and breathe out while breathing out.
- Straighten yourself on the floor and spread your legs apart for the maximum distance that you can.
If you will perform these exercises on an ongoing basis after cesarean section, then after a short period of time your abs will again become beautiful.
Waist
This area needs no less attention. Waist - this is perhaps the most important part of the female figure. To maintain it normal, the following exercises are intended:
- Comfortably sit on one side and lift the opposite leg up. Periodically it is necessary to change the position of the body.
- Stand on all fours and take out the right and left leg back in turn, while drawing in the stomach.
- Take a standing position, spread your legs at shoulder level, put your hands on your sides and make bends in different directions.
- Lying on your back, try to raise your legs up as high as possible.
If you do not know what exercises you can do after a cesarean section from the above to do it yourself, it is recommended that you go to the doctor’s office first.
Back
Spinal problems can occur not only in women after childbirth, but simply in people of different age categories, so it is very important to know how to deal with them. If you are tormented by back pain, then the following exercises will help get rid of it:
- Take a horizontal position on an elastic surface, and then lift your leg up, while trying to bring it as close as possible to your shoulder.
- Perform half-rotations and tilts in different directions.
- Do squats several times a day.
- Perform rotational movements with your head.
Such physiotherapeutic exercises help strengthen the muscles of the back. They do not create a large burden on the body, so they can be started to be performed a little later only 14-21 days after the surgery, when the woman was unable to give birth on her own due to various complications.
Crotch
This area also suffers very much during childbirth, so it needs to be pumped. The physiotherapy system developed by Kegel is best suited for this. The exercises included in its composition are aimed at strengthening the muscles of not only the perineum, but also the pelvic region, due to which a complex effect is achieved. The technique includes the following exercises:
- A finger is inserted about 2 centimeters into the vagina, after which it is necessary to tighten the muscles of the perineum as much as possible so that the pressure is noticeable.
- During coping, you need to interrupt the urination process, and then resume it.
This technique is valid for use only a month after cesarean. Exercise helps to normalize the functioning of the genitourinary system and pelvic organs, as well as strengthen the muscles of the perineum. If you regularly perform them, then your figure will always remain slim and attractive.
General tips and tricks
In order not to harm your own health when playing sports during rehabilitation after a complicated birth, you must strictly adhere to all the doctor’s instructions. Doctors advise the following:
- Wearing a bandage. With it, you can return your muscles lost tone and reduce pain.
- During sleep, it is better to try to lie on your stomach.
- The lactation period should be as long as possible.
- Provide yourself with long walks in the fresh air.
- 60 days after giving birth, you can start cycling or swimming.
These recommendations will help you significantly reduce the rehabilitation period and return to your lost form much faster.
Yoga
The ancient Indian technique helps to cope with a huge number of health problems, including recovering from an operation when a woman for some reason could not give birth on her own.
However, in order to do yoga, at least six months must pass, since with a shorter period there is a high risk of seam divergence. Performing various breathing practices and taking special poses, you can speed up the recovery process after childbirth, restore flexibility to the joints, get rid of extra pounds and restore muscle elasticity.
Fitness
If the delivery was accompanied by surgery, then in most cases the woman will experience severe back pain. To get rid of it, you must perform exercises to increase the tone of the back muscles.
There are many methods based on the use of a special sports ball. They are elementary in execution, but from this their effectiveness does not decrease.
The Pilates system has proven itself particularly well. It can be used 3-4 months after birth. It is based on the simultaneous effect on all muscle groups, so that the rehabilitation period is much faster.
Conclusion
This article examined in detail what exercises are done after cesarean section. However, each case is unique, therefore, before starting any physical activity, it is advisable to consult with a specialized specialist who will draw up the most sparing and effective treatment program.
Self-training can not only benefit, but also harm, so you should not lose sight of this. Care must be taken in therapeutic gymnastics.