Understanding Scars: The Impact of Scar Tissue on Chronic Pain
You know that pain in your shoulder that you just can’t get rid of – the one that you’ve tried EVERYTHING for, and it’s STILL there? Well, that old scar on your leg might have something to do with it!
What is a Scar?
Scars are the body’s natural way of healing and replacing damaged skin – either from injury, surgery, illness, burns, or acne.
You’ve probably had a few scars throughout your life that might look different from others – some may be flat, or raised (keloid), or sunken into the skin (atrophic), or puckered (contracted). Some scars may have a different colour – red, pink, purple, white, brown, or just darker than the surrounding skin.
What is Scar Tissue?
Scars are made up of thick, fibrous tissue called – drumroll – Scar Tissue!
When soft tissue (i.e skin, fascia, muscle) gets damaged, your brain sends a signal to your body to start producing scar tissue – and its ONLY JOB is to close the gap in your wound AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE! Unlike normal tissue that is arranged in a basketweave-like bundle of collagen that lets your tissues stay flexible in all directions, scar tissue gets laid down in parallel bundles, which decreases elasticity and makes the area stiffer – and this stiffness causes 2 BIG PROBLEMS:
How can Scar Tissue Cause Pain?
1.Scar tissue sticks to the surrounding tissues (skin, fascia, muscle, organs), connecting them together, restricting movement and reducing their function. This is called an “adhesion”.
2. Scar tissue disrupts your nervous system!
Nerves are everywhere in our body – from our skin, to deep into our spine – and they need to be able to send signals to the body to maintain its function.
Nerve connection gets disrupted by cuts, disease, or anything that harms the tissue. Over time (especially if the scar is left untreated), the nerves that have been damaged by the injury will send ABNORMAL SIGNALS throughout your body, leading to Chronic Pain Syndrome and dysfunction in your body’s natural movements – and not just in the area of the scar, but also in areas that are NOWHERE NEAR THE SCAR!
So remember that pain in your shoulder from before? It may not be a muscle problem – it may be an abnormal communication from the nervous system!
Solutions for Chronic Pain Caused by a Scar:
So what do should you if you have a scar?
Well, the first thing is, we need to fix the communication! This can be done in a couple of ways:
Manual Scar Release Therapy:
This treatment uses hands-on manipulation to soften the scar and scar tissue. This approach works well for “adhesions”.
Micropoint Stimulation (MPS) Therapy:
This treatment uses a low-dose (DC ) microcurrent applied to the scar, and to specific acupressure points! The DC microcurrent neutralizes and corrects the abnormal signals, restoring proper communication between your nervous system and your tissues and may help reduce pain signals throughout your body.
Both of these treatments will allow you to move more freely and pain-free!
If you’re suffering from Chronic Pain and nothing has provided long-term relief so far, a Scar Treatment might be worth a try! Our RMT Alicia specializes in both of these treatments and can help address your pain.
Book with Alicia for your Scar Treatment! 😀