Scar tissue massage

What is scar tissue?

Scar tissue is connective tissue — mostly collagen — that forms when the body tries to repair damage to the skin or internal tissue, for example after an injury or surgery. Whenever an object goes through the skin, a scar is formed. But scar tissue can also form under intact skin, for example from a muscle strain. The visible scar after surgery is just the tip of the iceberg. Almost all scar tissue caused by keyhole surgery (e.g. laparoscopy or arthroscopy) lies under the skin. The scars in the skin are sometimes not even visible after a few years, but they can always be felt with the fingers. Surgical procedures in the abdominal region, including caesarean sections, require the surgeon to cut through up to 10 layers of muscles and membranes in addition to the skin. A scar is formed in each layer. This scar can then attach to the scar of an adjacent layer. The picture above shows scars from two common surgeries in the lower abdomen: C-section and appendix removal. The formation of scar tissue typically continues for up to 2 years after tissue damage. All tissues in the body constantly renew themselves, and scar tissue is no exception. Scar tissue is therefore always changing.

What does scar tissue do?

Scar tissue is always less elastic than the original undamaged tissue. It can also stick together muscles or membranes, which normally slide freely past each other. Scar tissue can therefore restrict the mobility of structures in the body, such as joints, organs, membranes, nerves, and lymph and blood vessels. Since everything in the body is connected by fascia (membranes), a scar can disturb the balance in the body even at a great distance. Scar tissue pulls the surrounding tissue towards it, but usually you are not aware of this. Your brain tries to prevent the pulling of the scar from causing you pain or discomfort by adjusting your posture or by tightening muscles or fascia. In this way, a scar can cause many ‘inexplicable’ symptoms. This is why I always ask my clients about injuries and operations and check whether scar tissue could be a cause of the symptoms. Even a surgery in the first year of life can cause symptoms in adulthood, which can be remedied or reduced with scar massage.

Massage of scar tissue

Massage of scar tissue does not aim to break up the tissue. This would only cause inflammation and new scar tissue. However, it is possible to use massage to make and keep scar tissue supple. Furthermore, scar massage can promote the sliding of adjacent tissue layers past each other, which can easily stick together after surgery, for example.

As a rule, it is safe to massage scar tissue 8 weeks after the sutures are out. Earlier, extra caution is needed to avoid infection or straining of the tissue. With a caesarean section, it is recommended to wait 9 months. But if a scar causes bothersome symptoms, it is possible to treat it earlier. I started treating one of my own scars even before the stitches were out. But it is never too late to start scar tissue massage. Even scar tissue that is decades old still responds well to treatment.

I treat scar tissue mainly with Sharon Wheeler's ScarWork method, gently and without pain. Both myself and my clients are surprised every time, how with so little force you can bring about so much change in scar tissue and relieve or eliminate symptoms far away from the scar.