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Conditions We Treat  /  C-Section Recovery

Women’s Health

C-Section Recovery Physical Therapy in Bakersfield

A C-section is major abdominal surgery, and you're recovering while caring for a newborn. Physical therapy helps you heal, rebuild your core and get back to feeling like yourself.

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Yes, physical therapy can help you recover after a C-section. It can ease scar tightness and numbness, rebuild your deep core and pelvic floor, and guide a safe return to lifting and exercise. At ARI Physical Therapy in Bakersfield, postpartum care is one-on-one with a licensed physical therapist, and we coordinate with your OB when needed.

Does this sound like you?

✓Your scar feels tight, pulls, or is numb or oversensitive
✓Your belly feels weak, or you have a bulge or gap down the middle
✓Getting out of bed, lifting your baby or the car seat is hard
✓Low back pain since your delivery
✓Leaking urine, or pain with sex
✓You're not sure when or how to start exercising again

What recovery involves

During a C-section, the surgeon opens several layers of tissue, including the skin, the connective tissue in front of the abdominal muscles, and the uterus. The abdominal muscles are separated, not cut, but they are stretched from pregnancy. It's common to have scar tightness or numbness, a weak core and back pain for a while, and pregnancy itself can affect the pelvic floor even without a vaginal birth.

How physical therapy helps

Once your provider says the incision has healed, gentle scar massage and movement can improve comfort and mobility. We rebuild the deep core and pelvic floor step by step, teach easier ways to get out of bed and lift your baby, and plan a gradual return to exercise. Many women also have diastasis recti, which we treat too.

What treatment at ARI looks like

1
A one-on-one evaluation

Your first visit takes about 45 to 60 minutes. We ask about your birth and recovery, check your scar, core, posture and movement, and explain what we find. Nothing is done without your consent.

2
Heal and rebuild

Scar care once healed, breathing and deep core exercises, pelvic floor work if needed, and easier ways to lift, carry and feed your baby.

3
Back to your life

A step-by-step return to exercise, lifting and the activities you enjoy, with a home program that fits around a newborn.

No referral needed to start. In California, you can see a physical therapist directly for up to 12 visits or 45 days, whichever comes first. Some insurance plans still require a referral for coverage; call us at (661) 282-8584 and we'll help you check.

When to see a doctor first

Call your OB, or get emergency care, if you have:

  • Redness, warmth, swelling, drainage or opening at the incision, or fever
  • Heavy bleeding, or bleeding that gets heavier again
  • Pain, swelling or warmth in one calf, chest pain or shortness of breath
  • Severe or worsening belly pain
  • Feeling hopeless, very anxious, or having thoughts of harming yourself or your baby. You can also call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-852-6262

Why patients choose ARI

Care at ARI is always one-on-one and in person with a licensed physical therapist at our Bakersfield clinic: 8200 Stockdale Hwy, Suite B2, in the Town & Country Village center next to Trader Joe's. Our clinic director, Deepa Konnur, PT, MPT, OCS, is a board-certified Orthopedic Certified Specialist. We accept most private insurance plans and Medicare, and we have staff who speak Spanish and Hindi.

C-section recovery FAQs

Gentle breathing, walking and posture work can often start in the early weeks as you feel ready. Many women begin physical therapy after their postpartum check, once their provider has checked the incision.
Yes, numbness or oversensitivity around the scar is common and often improves over months. Gentle scar work, once the incision has healed, can help with comfort and tightness.
Possibly. Pregnancy itself puts load on the pelvic floor, so leaking, heaviness or pain with sex can happen after a C-section too. Your therapist can check and treat it if needed.
Your surgeon will give you early lifting limits. After that, a gradual return guided by how your core and pelvic floor are working is safest. Your therapist will build that plan with you.
No. In California you can see a physical therapist directly for up to 12 visits or 45 days, whichever comes first. Some insurance plans still require a referral for coverage, so call us at (661) 282-8584 and we'll help you check.

Ready to feel better?

Talk to a licensed physical therapist at ARI, one-on-one. Request an evaluation and we'll get back to you, usually within one business day.

Request an EvaluationCall (661) 282-8584

Sources

  1. Physical Activity and Exercise During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (committee opinion), 2020.
  2. Cesarean Birth. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
  3. Cesarean Section. MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.

This page is general information, not a diagnosis. If you have symptoms, a licensed clinician should evaluate you.

Clinically reviewed by Deepa Konnur, PT, MPT, OCS, board-certified Orthopedic Certified Specialist · Reviewed September 2026