Twitching in the abdomen after caesarean section
A Caesarean section is, despite its frequency, a major operation and involves a relatively long incision in the abdominal wall. It often involves cutting through not only skin and fatty tissue, but also smaller nerves and vessels. This can lead to numbness postoperatively, as the nerves can no longer conduct information. After some time these nerves are “repaired” again, which can often lead to muscle twitches in the lower abdomen, but disappears again after some time.
The pathophysiology
Muscle twitching is a sudden and involuntary contraction (=tension) of the muscles. The brain sends impulses via the nervous system to the muscle. However, these impulses can also arise involuntarily and even overlap.
This can lead to different types of muscle twitches, which are classified in medicine by different names. For example, so-called “fasciculation” is the involuntary contraction of individual muscle bundles, which are often visible through the skin, but usually do not trigger any movement. Muscle twitches that result in movement are called “myoclonies”.
These occur for example in epileptic diseases. Another, more frequent example is the so-called “sleep twitching“, which occurs regularly in about 70% of the population. Other examples of muscle twitches are the long-lasting contractions (“dystonia”) colloquially known as “spasms”, as well as rhythmically recurring twitches, which are medically known as “tremors” and are often associated with Parkinson’s disease. The classic “muscle tremor” or “chattering of teeth” in cold weather are also examples of muscle twitches.
