Could partial muscle plication cause back pain / spinal imbalance? 7 months post tummy tuck.

It is unlikely that your muscle plication is causing back pain. With muscle plication, core strength is improved and many do report improvement in back pain. I suspect you have another issue causing back pain. It might be as simple as sleeping on an improper mattress.

Your surgeon is the first person you should reach out to since he or she is responsible for your well-being and outcome after surgery.
Lots of people have a variety of different sensations including pain, tightness, limitations with range of motion and a variety of issues after a major operation like a full tummy tuck.
For most people they eventually get used to their new body and symptoms settle down but some have continued issues that may or may not be related directly to the surgical procedure.
There’s no shown direct correlation one way or the other. Like you describe some people claim back pain gets better and some people claim it gets worse but there’s never been shown a correlation or direct cause-and-effect relationship between the two.
Partial muscle play Quetion of the lower abdomen only puts people at risk for bulging of the upper abdomen and when done it’s usually done conservatively.
If done aggressively the upper abdomen will almost always bulge as a response to overtightening of the lower abdomen only.
For that reason it’s probably safe to say that your muscle tightening is probably less likely to be related to your lower back pain.
I recommend you discuss with your plastic surgeon and see a pain specialist if your pain is ongoing.
Best,
Mats Hagstrom MD