Can Old Scars Cause Problems and Other Common Questions

I have been asked many questions about scars and scar tissue over the 10+ years I have been a licensed massage therapist. In the past five years I have begun to focus my continuing education and training on working with scars and scar tissue. It is estimated that over 50% of the global population has scar tissue of some kind. Scarring can occur from things like injury, surgery, medical procedures, or burns.

I have been asked questions like:

“Can an old scar cause problems?”

Short answer, yes. The brain has a map of the entire body, and that map can become distorted from injuries and scars. Over time, that blurry map can lead to things like pain, muscle compensations, muscle imbalances, movement challenges, and nervous system dysregulation.

I have personal experience with this since my scar is just about as old as I am and is located in my lower abdomen. I breathe more easily and have much stronger squats and lunges if I gently push inward on my scar. What does that information tell me? My scar is neurologically involved with my diaphragm, glutes, abdominal muscles, hip muscles, quads, hamstrings, etc. Something like NeuroKinetic Therapy testing, for example, could help determine if it is the overactive structure or not. 😉

I have had clients with foot and ankle injuries or surgeries from childhood have global compensation patterns coming from that original injury and the small compensations that began when it happened.

Another common finding is a c-section or abdominal surgery leading to muscle imbalances involving the back muscles or pelvic floor muscles.

One explanation, to my understanding, is that our fascia is richly innervated with sensory nerve endings, which are in constant communication with the brain. These nerve endings can be injured or damaged, which alters the messages they are sending. This communication breakdown can lead to funny things happening because our brain is interested in survival, even if that means some structures work crazy overtime and others go on an extended sabbatical.

“Is this why I feel tight?”

Maybe. That feeling of tightness or tension can be related to scar tissue that has contracted the surrounding fascia, which will affect tissues in that area. Scar tissue can also anchor onto internal structures, which could lead to sensations of pulling or tightness.

One thing to note about scar tissue is that is not the same as our muscles or even other collagen-based structures like fascia. Scar tissue does not have the ability to contract and relax. It can also have micro-tears that then lead to inflammation and/or additional scar tissue formation. It is a dense type of connective tissue.

“Where does the scar tissue go?”

Scar tissue will often anchor to bone. This could be the body’s way of providing extra stability and anchoring. Scar tissue, especially in the abdomen, can “attach” on organs, lymph nodes, muscles, and other structures within the abdominal cavity. I put attach in quotation marks because it would be considered more of an adhesion where things are sticky and so can be a little sticky on or between each other. Scar tissue’s purpose is to heal a wound and provide stability to an injured area, so it makes sense to me that this tissue could expand beyond where we might expect as the body lays it down. Sometimes the fibroblasts involved in laying down these collagen fibers can also get a little wild and lay down more tissue than we think might be necessary.

“What can I do to get rid of scar tissue?”

Beyond surgery, the approach towards scar tissue ideally should be integration, management, and support of the whole body’s ecosystem.

There are an increasing number of massage and manual therapy techniques that focus on treating scars and scar tissue. I have trained in two levels of Sharon Wheeler’s ScarWork and absolutely love this approach for effective and gentle integration of scar tissue into the surrounding fascial web.

That is a fancy way of saying we help the scar tissue and the rest of the stuff around the scar play nicely with each other instead of being bad neighbors. 🙂

Other manual therapy techniques that I have certified and trained in for scars include McLaughlin Scar Tissue Release (MSTR), RAPID NeuroFascial Reset, and NeuroKinetic Therapy, and Chikly Lymph Drainage Therapy.

I am not interested in scars just because they are scars. I am interested in helping the whole body as an ecosystem adjust to the scars and scar tissue so that everything in the ecosystem is happier.

Beyond massage therapy, there are many other approaches that can be helpful to support and manage scar tissue.

Topicals like rosehip oil and castor oil have been studied for their effectiveness in softening scars and helping their healing process. DMSO has also been studied for scars and injuries in the past.

There are device-based solutions like ultrasound, SoftWave, Dolphin MPS, red light therapy and more. I am less familiar with this world, but I like to mention it.

There are nutrition-based approaches that focus on things like systemic enzymes or enzymes like serrapeptase to help the body process internal scar tissue. On the nutrition side, I would also say eating in a way that is low-inflammatory for YOUR body can be crucial. There is some anecdotal evidence of vitamin C helping people with scar tissue, likely due to its role in collagen production. (Scar tissue is made of collagen.)

If you are curious about how scar tissue may be impacting your body’s function and are in the general Raleigh area of North Carolina, I would love to work with you and help you in this process. If you are not local to Apex, NC, I have included links below where you can look for a practitioner who may be able to help you.

https://sharonwheeler.com/scarwork-find-a-therapist/

https://www.rapidnfr.com/find-a-therapist

https://www.mcloughlin-scar-release.com/find-a-practitioner

https://neurokinetictherapy.com/certified-practitioners/