Scar Tissue

As we move through life our bodies sustain injury, both physical and emotional (and, more often than not, they occur simultaneously). Since we are organic beings, our bodies heal in strange, organic ways. Depending on previous injuries, your body will glue itself back together to steel itself against further re-injury in any way possible. Sometimes this means a body will glue itself back together in a way that re-aligns the way we hold ourselves. Scar tissue, in the pelvic floor and abdomen in particular, can cause a lot of problems in the future of our comfort level with sex, our ability to give birth naturally, and the way we stand upright in the world. Pelvic scar tissue in particular easily effects our posture, and can cause referred pain to other parts of the body over time.

When we have surgery, birth trauma or any kind of physical trauma, we heal in whichever way we're holding ourselves on a day to day basis. This is your body's way of setting up a structure system to support the holding of the injured tissue so that the site of injury doesn't reopen. More often than not, that scar tissue healing pattern can tighten our bodies into holding patterns that create more pain. Scar tissue can run internally like spider webbing from the site of incision to any other part of our body. Even if you can't see it, you can often feel it.

Endometriosis adhesions + Surgery scars

Repeat surgeries to remove endometriosis adhesions can actually contribute to MORE scar tissue and the proliferation of adhesions. When we’re chronically inflamed, as is the case with endo, we tend to not heal very well. The more we interrupt and already irritated process, the more likely we are to be furthering a potential problem. This means that we continue to get surgeries to REMOVE scar tissue that in turn end up CREATING more scar tissue in the process.

The dilemma is that many people need these surgeries in order to live a normal life. What can we do then, to ease our bodies out of a perpetual state of re-injury? Scar tissue remediation, both intrapelvic and with externally with acupuncture and Chinese medicine techniques, can help remediate the effects of surgical interventions. Herbal therapy helps bring inflammation down to a manageable level while we work on releasing scar tissue manually. Additionally, since endometriosis itself is a complication of internal adhesions, the combined methods of scar tissue remediation are important even before surgical intervention, or in its continued absence.

Birth Scars

Giving birth creates scar tissue no matter what. Even if there’s no birth trauma, the stretching of the vagina causes micro-tears. Sometimes we end up with a C-section scar that just did not heal well, or a poorly stitched episiotomy scar. Both of these things can bring pain and numbness with sex, contribute to poor circulation and cause a decrease in the viability of tissue to hold against injury. Scar tissue sessions can lessen the pain, release the story, and help us to move forward. Even 30+ year-old birth scars can begin to cause pain, become re-injured or tighten with a menopausal loss of lubricating hormones.

Independent studies in both the US and the UK suggest that 85% of those who give birth vaginally tear vaginally. C-section rates vary from country to country, with rates in the US at one in three births. In China, four out of ten births are delivered via C-section. Therefore, either pelvic floor injuries or surgeries happen to quite a large population of people giving birth. Unfortunately, sexual pain is a common, if unanticipated, outcome; a pain that goes unmentioned and untreated. Birth-related injuries, surgeries, and the scars they produce, remain a silent problem far more prevalent than currently acknowledged.

Physical Injury

Sustained injury to the pelvic floor, such as from things like snowboarding accidents, car accidents, horseback riding, major or even minor falls can cause scar tissue to proliferate up the pelvic and abdominal cavity. Over time this could cause complications that are seemingly unrelated to the original injury (i.e, hemmorhoids, urinary pain, painful sex or even shoulder pain and headaches). Addressing the root cause of injury to the pelvic area can often correct such ailments.

emotional injury

If the body didn’t have time to integrate a physical injury, likely the mind didn’t either. Our bodies tend to store emotions in our scars, especially when the event that caused scarring was somewhat traumatic. Often when the mind and body can integrate a traumatic event with somatic focus and proper bodywork, scar tissue can unwind with simultaneous emotional release. This emotional release is welcomed in session, as it is the purest expression of body and mind working in synchronicity.

scars prevent further healing

Scars can cause blockages in the energetic and physical meridians that deliver blood and oxygen to organ systems and parts of the body. This can in turn prevent healing to other parts of the body. Even old scars can cause long-term numbness or lack of sensation to a generalized part of the body, which only become stiffer as we grow older. Therefore, caring for both new and old scar tissue is an important part of the healing process and the prevention of further structural injuries.

scar tissue remediation sessions

Scar tissue is remediated with a unique combination of acupuncture / channel opening and massage, both externally and intrapelvically. Each scar is treated the same, and an entire series of healing sessions can be about remediating a single scar. During a scar tissue series we practice embodiment (staying present with the body). This assists the healing process and allows for emotional release if needed. Because sometimes simply recognizing the story we are holding in our scars will set us free.