The Hidden Dangers of Scars and Adhesions

Functionally, scars are relatively harmless. Aesthetically, they may be practically invisible. They may cause pain and itching. But are there hidden dangers lurking behind those scars?

What is a Scar?

Scars are a result of the body’s remarkable innate potential and power to heal itself. A mark or disfigurement is left after an injury to tissue. A scar develops after the deep layer of skin, called the dermis, is damaged. New collagen fibers are laid down at the site of the wound to repair the tissue. These collagen cross-links form in a random and unorganized pattern, forming adhesions underneath the scar or injury site of the body.

These adhesions can occur at the tissue site or even deep within the body, attaching to internal structures. These deep connections can form tight or binding attachments and thereby limit the mobility and movement within the structure of the skeletal system.

These adhesions bind the body’s connective tissue, known as the fascial system. Our body’s fascia surrounds and connects every muscle, bone, tendon, organ, and cell in our body. Imagine, a single pull on your fascial tissue can misalign or cause imbalance in any system of body.

Why Scars Can be the Culprit for Pain and Dysfunction in the Body

Adhesions develop underneath the scar tissue and connect structures together that are not supposed to be connected. These are the internal scars that form when the body is healing itself from any kind of injury, surgery, infection, trauma or inflammation. These connections pull the body’s fascia so that it acts like a straight jacket or compression garment around the muscles and nerves, which can cause loss of movement or pain. These adhesions can also wrap around and pull on organs, and this can cause disease or life threatening issues.

Surgery is the leading cause of adhesions in the body. Digestive Surgery reported that 90% of patients with abdominal surgery developed adhesions. Consider how many women have undergone one of these common abdominal surgeries: c-section, appendectomy, hysterectomy, plastic surgery, gastric bypass, back or hip, abortion, bowel repair, or laparoscopy.

The scars and adhesions create a negative impact no matter where they are located on the body, but there are certain connections between a scar/adhesion’s location and chronic pain that therapists have made. For example, if a woman has a scar on the abdominal region, it’s common that this scar and internal adhesions can result in pain in either the low back or neck and shoulders.

The reproductive system is often negatively impacted when there is abdominal scarring, due to its proximity to that scarring. The adhesions can connect to the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes, which can cause pain and infertility.

Surprisingly, scars can also be the culprit for sexual pain and dysfunction, along with lack of libido or orgasms. A scars constant pull on the fascia can also cause inflammation in tissues. The systems that function and don’t function properly are fairly easy for us to recognize. We either have pain or difficulty with a body system or we don’t.

One of the most common frustrations for women is knowing they never felt “right” after their c-section surgery, but not being able to understand why. I’ve talked about the significance of the fascial system, but there’s another important player in the connection between scars and pain … the energy flow in our bodies. Our bodies are electric!

Every single action that takes place is due to the bioelectricity that runs our nervous system. A scar simply impedes the proper flow of this electricity, causing an imbalance in the body like restrictions in the fascial system.

So…What’s a Woman to Do?

Until recently, the medical community has been primarily concerned with the sensitivity and appearance of scars, rather than the painful impact they can have on our bodies. However, more and more therapists and doctors are exploring new therapeutic approaches that attack scars from all angles. One particular approach, MPS Therapy (Microcurrent Point Stimulation), has given us a simple and profound way to treat scars based on the theories of Neural Therapy, and the combination of ancient Eastern medical practices and modern Western medical practices.

Often referred to as “needleless neural therapy,” MPS Therapy has taken the lead in this field. MPS uses an FDA approved AL-TENS unit, applying a gentle microcurrent around the scar sites, similar to surgical stitching. The scar and tissue site is changed instantly and becomes much softer and more pliable, also displaying improved circulation and flow through the tissue that you can actually see after just one treatment.

The most significant improvements in function to the body are reported after the initial treatment, resulting in improvements in body functions that the woman never would have considered was a result of a surgical scar!

Especially an old c-section scar that didn’t even hurt.