Hey everyone, was doing some reading up on Scar Tissue healing and found some great stuff. This page has a good 4-5 paragraphs on the formation of scar tissue, surface, and muscle scars and how to deal with them. Very good read. Also has techniques for finger positions, how to work the muscle "cross-fibrously" to get the most out of massage and heat and cold therapies to maximize benefits.
Of all the reading I did, almost all the sites recommended
Cocoa Butter and/or Arnica cream for aiding in the breaking down of scar tissue, be it deep or surface.
Vitamin E directly on the scar was said to have varying results, and in some cases even made the scar worse.
It was recommended to take Vitamin E interally however.
Here's the link and then the summary of the article:http://www.strive4impact.com/massage_files/Articles/massage_scar_tissue.htmlIn summary:Work with the scar as often as you think about it.
It is possible to overwork an area, but not likely that you will with the scar tissue.
Use heat to bring blood to an area, cold to take blood away from an area.
Generally speaking, you will want to take the blood away from an area before you work with scar tissue so that it will hurt less to work with it (the cold of ice will also numb the nerves so you can work with the scar tissue). You will then want to work with the tissue that is deeper in the muscle, using cross-fibering, while it is cold. When you are done, you will want to heat the area to bring blood in and carry away the toxins which are released as you break up the scar tissue and open up the area. (Too much time with the heat can cause an abundance of blood in an area, which can cause swelling and a different kind of pain. Generally, 20-30 minutes with the heat is a safe bet.) You will want to use moist heat if possible (i.e. a wet washcloth warmed up in the microwave or something comparable), as it will draw more fluids to the area and encourage the muscle to return to its natural state. (Don’t get the heat so hot that it burns you.)Working with the scar tissue may hurt initially.
Pain should decrease over time, but may not fully go away. Be prepared for this, but don’t psyche yourself out. It does get better.
Be patient.The human organism is amazing in what it can do, if given the time and resources it needs to do so. If you re-injure the area by doing more than it can handle (i.e. bungee-jumping two weeks after surgery), don’t expect your body to respond well. Also, eating well can have a huge impact on how quickly the body will heal. With regard to scar tissue, nutrition plays an important role in how quickly the body will be able to develop feeling in an area and breakdown the scar tissue. It needs the vitamins and minerals to build tissue, create chemical connections, and carry away toxins. Make sure you give your body what it needs dietetically.
Here's a link from the Breast Cancer Society: http://www.abcn.ca/artman/publish/article_243.html"The body has an amazing capacity to heal and tissue regeneration starts immediately after surgery. Within the first 3-4 days skin has started to form followed by shrinkage and sloughing of the scab after 7-10 days. From 5-6 days and up to 60 days, the body focuses on laying down collagen fibers which form cross linkages and thus a matrix that strengthens over time.
Full tissue strength can take three months to achieve and on occasion upwards of a year."
Anyway, I hope this helps resolve some of the confusion on Scar Tissue therapy. I've been only massaging, and in a random way. I'm going to commit to hot/cold massage at least once a day, and then cross-fibre massage another 1-2 times a day. I can tell already though that even the "amature" massaging I've done has helped a lot in shrinking my scar tissue so far.
Good luck!
Topic: Scar Tissue Instruction and Resource Links (Read 10542 times)
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