When I say Scar Work, I mean releasing the visible, and sometimes below-the-surface, scars resulting from an injury or surgery that have caused some sort of adherence.
Now, a lot of practitioners work with scars as if they are this dense, hard tissue, like a rough rope that can be frayed and smoothed by hard rubbing. Now, that may work, but I would argue in some cases, it can have the opposite effect, and it’s not comfortable for the patient.
My approach to Scar Work is to go in and appreciate the scar. The fact that the body can create that dense, protective tissue to knit us back together and adapt to injury is truly incredible. We can acknowledge the incredible job the scar has done while recognizing that once we are healed, it is no longer needed. Rather than breaking up the scar or removing it, I prefer to encourage the reintegration of the scar tissue within the overall fascial matrix.
Unlike a lot of my Structural Integration techniques, which can often be quite firm and direct, my Scar Work techniques are much softer, and almost like kneading bread dough. Of course, our bodies are much more dynamic than dough, but with a similar soft approach, the body can absorb and reintegrate that scar tissue.
Sometimes, people notice a difference in the smoothness, density, or coloring of the scar immediately following a Scar Work session. The most exciting part for me is that by integrating the scar into the surrounding tissue, patients who have suffered nerve damage as a result of their injury will notice improved nerve response following their Scar Work treatment.
There has been some scientific backing that shows the effectiveness of Scar Work. Sonograms performed before and after treatment have shown improvement in the striation and organization of the tissue. I’m not entirely certain of the mechanism behind it in terms of what we know about how scars heal, but this technique works, and I have found it to be effective for people in a lot of different ways.