#92: Tight Back, Weak Core, No Energy? Why C-Section Recovery Needs More Than Just Exercise
“The body always leads us toward healing. We just have to learn how to listen.”
You’ve stretched. You’ve foam-rolled. You’ve done the cat-cow, child’s pose, maybe even Pilates. And yet...
Your lower back is still tight. Achy. Sometimes it feels like it wraps around your waist. Other times, it tugs under your ribs, pulls to one side, or gets worse after lifting your toddler. You’re doing what you’re supposed to. But something’s not adding up.
This isn’t just stiffness. It’s your body protecting you.
And if you’ve had a C-section, what you’re feeling may not be a muscular problem — but a compensation pattern rooted in nervous system stress, scar adhesions, and core dysfunction.
Let’s unpack this, not just so you understand the why — but so you can start responding with clarity, not frustration.
The Muscles Most People Miss: Your QL and Psoas
The quadratus lumborum (QL) is a deep back muscle that links your bottom rib to your pelvis. It helps you bend sideways, stabilises your spine during asymmetrical movement (like carrying a child on one hip), and is often a silent overworker.
The psoas is another key player — a deep hip flexor that connects your spine to your legs. It plays a central role in walking, stabilising the pelvis, and supporting upright posture.
After a C-section, your deep core — especially the transversus abdominis, pelvic floor, and diaphragm — may not be coordinating properly. Scar tissue can distort signalling. Nerves may fire out of sync. And your QL and psoas, sensing instability, step up to brace and protect you.
This isn’t failure. It’s adaptation.
Your QL is trying to do a job that your core can’t currently perform. But that comes at a cost.
This kind of overcompensation doesn’t just make you tight. It can create a cascade:
Lopsided tension across your lower back and waist
Pelvic misalignment
Neck and shoulder pain from upper-body bracing
Hip stiffness or pain when walking or sitting
Fatigue, as your nervous system stays on high alert
Sometimes both the QL and psoas are overactive — creating that braced, locked-down feeling in your low back and belly. Other times, one compensates while the other collapses. It all depends on how your nervous system is trying to protect you post-surgery.
And here’s what most recovery protocols miss:
If you’re still in a state of fatigue or hormonal imbalance, your body doesn’t have the bandwidth to respond to traditional rehab. You need a different starting point.
Why Standard Core Work Often Fails Tired Mums
You’re not lazy. You’re not weak. You’re probably educated, proactive, and have tried your fair share of postnatal fitness advice. But here’s the real issue:
Standard exercises don’t account for the energetic, neurological, and hormonal needs of a C-section recovery body.
Deep fatigue after birth isn’t just about sleep deprivation. It reflects disrupted cortisol rhythms, nutrient depletion, and a nervous system stuck in survival mode. And when you’re operating from that place:
Your breathing becomes shallow, keeping the diaphragm and pelvic floor disconnected
Your core can’t fire reflexively, because the signal chain is jammed
Your muscles brace instead of move, and tension builds layer by layer
That’s why exercises that “should” help (like bird-dogs, glute bridges, or even basic Pilates) can leave you feeling more disconnected, or even tighter than before.
What Your Body Actually Needs: Safety First
Before core engagement. Before strength. Even before stretching. Your body needs safety.
You cannot strengthen a system that’s in defence mode.
Here’s how to start shifting from overcompensation to integration — especially when both the QL and psoas have been stuck in a bracing loop:
1. Regulate First, Move Second
Before you attempt to stretch or strengthen the QL or psoas, your nervous system needs to feel safe. If it’s in a protective state, these muscles will stay tight — no matter how many mobility drills you do.
Start with nervous system downshifting. If your stress response is active, your core can’t function. Try:
2 minutes of diaphragmatic rib breathing lying down
Eyes closed, lights low
Let your ribs expand outward on the inhale, soften on the exhale
This activates the vagus nerve, helps reconnect your breath to your core, and tells your psoas and QL it doesn’t have to brace.
2. Reconnect the Inner Core — Gently
Use floor-based exercises that prioritise breath, awareness, and coordination over intensity. If you haven’t yet, download my free guide: C-Section Core Recovery: Your Gentle Start to Rebuilding Strength.
It includes:
Neuromuscular re-education exercises
Progressions for when you’re ready to integrate into daily movement
But let’s be clear — these are only the beginning. To truly rebuild strength after a C-section, your body needs to relearn how to activate the core in motion — when standing, walking, lifting, squatting, and moving through daily life. Floor-based work is essential, but it’s not enough. Without this progression, your QL will keep overcompensating. The long-term goal is not just core awareness lying down — it’s confident, automatic activation throughout your day.
3. Tend to the Scar and Fascia
Your C-section scar isn’t just a surface mark — it holds tension, trauma, and altered communication between tissues. The fascia that runs through your core connects everything from your diaphragm to your pelvic floor. When the scar binds or restricts this tissue, it can pull on your QL, your psoas, even your hips and shoulders.
Tending to your scar might include:
Placing your hands gently over the scar and simply breathing into that space
Light, slow massage using small circles around the perimeter
Stretching and hydrating the tissue with slow spirals or intuitive movement
Releasing emotional holding, especially if the birth experience was traumatic
You don’t need to rush this. Trust your pace. Working with a trauma-informed therapist or holistic practitioner can help if this feels too much to navigate alone.
4. Rebuild Movement Without Overload
You may want to get back to lifting, squatting, or even running. But movements like lunges and deadlifts are not “basic.”
They require:
Reflexive core support
Balanced pelvic and spinal mobility
A calm, responsive nervous system
If you’re skipping foundational work, your QL and psoas will keep taking over.
Progression is powerful — but only when the foundation is stable.
When to Progress: Signs Your Body Is Ready
So how do you know when you can move on to more complex movements?
Not when you’re pain-free. Not when you’ve ticked every box on a rehab checklist. But when your body begins to respond with integration instead of compensation.
Here are some signs:
You can breathe deeply and fully without effort
You feel your lower belly and pelvic floor respond naturally during daily tasks
The tightness in your lower back softens after movement instead of increasing
You feel more stable on one leg, or when walking and carrying
You feel energised after gentle exercise — not depleted
This is when your core is beginning to work with you again. It’s also when you may benefit from specific movement tests that assess whether your transversus abdominis (TVA) is firing automatically — not just on the floor, but during dynamic movement like squats, load-bearing, and lifting. In my upcoming course, I’ll guide you through these assessments and teach you how to rebuild your strength from a truly integrated foundation. And that’s the moment to slowly and intelligently reintroduce load and complexity.
You’re Not Broken. You’re On the Edge of Real Strength.
That tightness? It’s not failure. It’s your body saying: I’ve adapted the best I can — now I need support to function fully again.
Right now, you might feel disconnected or uncertain. But this is a powerful threshold. When you train in a way that honours your physiology — when you respect the scar, re-pattern the core, and rebuild your energy — you don’t just return to where you were before.
You become stronger. Smarter. More attuned. More capable.
You stop bracing through life and start moving with clarity and confidence. You feel your strength in the way you stand, carry, and care — for your family, and for yourself.
And I’m here to walk that path with you.
Ready to Start Rebuilding?
Your first step is here: Download your free C-Section Core Recovery Guide This isn’t just about exercise. It’s about restoring trust, safety, and true strength in your body — from the inside out.
You are not too late. You are not too broken. You are already healing.
With love,
Karo