The effect of scars on the body

Generally, I hear this from people: “I’ve got a couple of small scars, nothing important”.  When I tell them that these tiny scars may be contributing to, or even causing damage and dysfunction in their body, it takes some explanation on my side and, even then, I’m often not really believed.

However, when someone has heard of the fascia, and has an understanding of its scope – its sheathing of every single structure in the body, and its full continuity throughout the body, it is more intuitive for them to understand what I am saying. When I explain that cutting through the skin in surgery (or with accidental damage such as cutting one’s finger on glass) and the consequent development of adhesions that usually form as a result of the healing process, can lead to problems non-local to the scar, they can often comprehend the effect a scar might have.

A cut anywhere in the body stimulates the healing process, and that process, which is essentially in response to an emergency – damage to our outer, protective layer – is not necessarily neat and tidy.  If a pirate ship in days gone by was hit during a sea battle, the pirates didn’t stand around wondering how to fill it and what colour to repaint the hull afterwards – they stuffed the hole full of oakum (rope fibres soaked in tar, kept handy and ready) to prevent the boat from sinking!  And that is what the body does – minus the oakum and tar, of course….

Adhesions can form during that healing time; adhesions stick structures together that should not be stuck together. This means that the scar can become ‘tethered’, i.e. adhered to something else underneath, be it a bone or an organ. The fascia is always involved because it covers all the structures, so it’s hard to miss. The effect is that the tension created in the area is then transmitted throughout the bodywide fascia, cascading through systems, organs, etc., possibly causing limitation of mobility, or reduced functionality far away from the original scar.

What to do about this?  The main surgical option has always been ‘scar revision’, where the offending scar is cut open and the adhesions removed. But, guess what, adhesions can reform, so this is not something surgeons opt to do a lot of; sometimes all they can suggest is that people learn to live with it.  ‘It’ can be mild discomfort or crippling, agonising pain. Facebook abounds with support groups for Caesarean section pain sufferers, and for many other types of adhesions that affect lives and cruelly limit people.

I’m not saying that Sharon Wheeler’s ScarWork, which I teach, is the be all and end all; there are other types of scar therapy available. But it has a remarkable reputation and is now taught and practised worldwide. It is a light touch therapy; light touch is increasingly being promoted as more effective than the heavier form of therapies. Empirically, I have found that the lighter I work the more the tissue changes, and the research is slowly catching up with us.

Find out more about ScarWork at www.sharonwheeler.com and find a practitioner near you.

Reading for complementary and medical/paramedical professionals: Scars, Adhesions and the Biotensegral Body Trewartha, J., Wheeler, S.L. (2020). Pub. Handspring Publishing.