Tightness and Difficulty Standing Up Post-Tummy Tuck

I do a lot of "mommy makeovers," and I tell my patients that the abdominoplasty part is the toughest! After having quads, your abdominal wall was way over stretched, and you lived like that for four years. Now it is very tight and you are not used to the feeling.
Start straightening up slowly (you might find that the abdominal wall feels tightest in the morning and it gets better as you move around), do not push yourself. Allow your body to heal. I do not allow my patients to do any strenuous activity up to 6-8 weeks postop. Only then can they start doing sit ups or push ups.
You waited four years to have this done, give your body time to heal. It might take up to six months or longer before you get back to "normal."
Best regards.

Being tight after an abdominoplasty is normal, although most of my patients can stand up straight.  Your background in fitness and dance unfortunately does not confer any advantage in the speed of the healing process.  You are much too early in the recovery period to be worried about the tightness of your abdominal wall.

As a rough guide, it takes approximate two weeks before you even start to feel like you can stand up straight due to the skin and muscle tightness. I would start to encourage to stand up straight however do not force it, it will happen when it wants to happen. 

Hello Sheribrock, Thank you for your questions about difficulty standing straight after tummy tuck.  During a tummy tuck, the rectus abdominis muscles are sewn together with permanent suture. In your case, the abdominal wall was also further treated with a hernia repair.  In addition, your abdominal skin was pulled tightly to achieve a flat abdomen. Two weeks after a tummy tuck, it is not uncommon to be still bent over.  With time, your abdominal skin and abdominal muscles will relax and you will be able to stand up straight with minimal effort. This may take another one or two more weeks. I would suggest you take a muscle relaxant  pill to ease the pain and relax your rectus abdominis and erector spinae muscles. Please let your plastic surgeon know of your concerns.  I am certain that with time, things will resolve.  I hope that I have answered your questions regarding standing up straight after a tummy tuck. If you have any more questions regarding the tummy tuck or abdominoplasty, please contact my office.  Sincerely, Dr. Katzen. 

Typically my patients are able to stand up fully by 4-5 days.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that theres a problem.  These sort of situations definitely resolve themselves, but follow up with your plastic surgeon so that he can manage your care properly.

At 2 weeks out from surgery your body is still very much in the healing process. Do not be alarmed that you are still tight and cannot stand fully upright. Also, don't beat your self up that you are not "bouncing back" fast enough. Give it time and be patient. Typically around the 4-6 week mark the tissues will start to relax and you will be able to get back upright. Congratulations on your tummy tuck!

-Dr. Angelos

Thank you for your question.  During your abdominoplasty procedure, your surgeon corrected your diastasis (or separation of the abdominal wall muscles) and umbilical hernia, which requires that your abdominal muscles are pulled together.  As a result, it is normal for patients to experience some tightening and discomfort following their abdominoplasty procedure.  The degree of discomfort, tightness or pain that you are feeling is dependent upon surgeon technique, how much the abdominal wall muscles and tissues were pulled together and how severe your diastatis was.  Most patients do bounce back fairly quickly but patient recovery is highly variable and usually takes patients a couple of weeks to feel comfortable standing up straight.  I suggest that my patients begin standing up straight slowly day by day but don't push yourself too hard.  I also encourage my patients to walk around the day after surgery to help promote good circulation and to help the patient bounce back sooner.  I would recommend following up with your operating surgeon to discuss your specific recovery.  Best of luck!

This can be a very normal feeling with the correction of
your diastasis recti and hernia, especially after you spent so much time living
with the muscles stretched out such a great amount. You may be feeling much
more tightening for a little but longer, and the initial recovery period may
last up to four weeks, where you should be off your feet a great deal. Giving
it time into the fourth week where you may be able to try a little more
stretching and walking, then possibly some yoga in order to help get the
muscles stretched back fully into place, and then if at the end of the fifth or
sixth week you are still feeling a great deal of discomfort then you should
consult your surgeon to see you in person.

Depending on the technique and specifically the magnitude of both muscle repair and skin excision/repair it is certainly normal to feel tightness for several weeks or more. Regarding standing straight, women are advised to walk in a slightly crouched position for the first week or so but soon after to gradually work on standing straighter. At 2 1/2 weeks you probably should be nearly upright or your back will be hurting more than your TT. It is good that you are fit and usually active as you should bounce back quicker but you definitely have to be patient as you will not be fully back to your fitness and dance for a couple of months.  Hopefully you made plans accordingly.You will be better soon!    

Hello,It is not unusual to still feel tightness which bothers you two weeks out. Your personal experience of pain and "tightness" will depend on the degree of repair. a Patient's perception of pain and discomfort can be very subjective. I've had patients stand straight with little issue after 1 week and those who feel what you are describing, for much longer. I feel that this can be more frustrating for those who are accustomed to a very active lifestyle. I recommend that you share your concerns with your Plastic Surgeon who knows you and your surgery details the best. They will advise you on next steps with activity and let you know what to expect as you heal. For any pain or discomfort that really concerns you, ask to be seen in person in order to rule out any underlying problem. Take care

Thank you for your question!The recovery of a Tummy Tuck could be painful and discomfort, this procedure required repair of the abdominal muscle and skin tightening this is why you can't walk straight for the first 4 to 5 days after this time you most walk straight to help your skin to stretch, follow up with your plastic surgeon muscle relaxers could help as well. Good luck!Thank you