Scars
Scars are described by the NHS as “a mark left on the skin after a wound or injury has healed.” They are a natural part of healing and some scars are barely visible. Others, however, are vivid and sometimes keloid in nature, which is an abnormal overgrowth during the healing process.
Scaring is not just superficial, i.e. found only on the surface of the skin, but can have an effect deep into the body as in the process of healing tissues become adhered together. This can also result in trapping nerves and blood vessels. These adhesions alter the way our movements are dispersed around the body and can lead to adverse stress being focus on one part of our bodies instead of forces being distributed evenly.
That said, scars are a normal part of life. We all have scars with some having, seemingly, little impact but others causing emotional and psychological trauma, as well as ongoing pain and reduced freedom of movement. They can have such an impact that we ‘disown’ parts of our bodies and are left feeling disfigured and not quite whole. Whatever the size of the scar, they can all cause puckering around the site of the scar, sensitivity, and numbness. They can limit movement around certain joints, cause long term discolouration of the skin and impede blood flow around the area and beyond.
The Sharon Wheeler Scar-work approach is gentle and nearly always pain-free, working towards reintegration of the scar into the rest of the body. The aim is to change how the scar feels and enable our system to reorganise itself resulting in more freedom, mobility, and improved sensation. The work promotes healing and stimulates our circulatory, lymphatic, and nervous systems, altering the way the scar is influencing the surrounding soft tissues, superficial and deep.
Examples of the types of scars that respond to this treatment are scars caused by:
- Joint replacements
- C-sections
- Skin grafts
- Burns
- Surgery of any type, including cosmetic
- Traumatic injuries
- Tube/drain sites
- Epidural/ spinal anaesthetic insertion sites