We all have scars. Some are just a mark, some are a mystery, some are tight or affect our range of motion, and some cause us pain, whether physical or emotional. Your scars can be better. They won’t go away, but the tight ones can become softer and more flexible, the painful ones can stop hurting, and the ones that you don't want to look at or touch, can lose their power over you. The deep scars can fill in, the raised ones can flatten, and the red ones can become pale, and may even blend with your skin tone. Skin next to the scar that is puckered, stretched or bulging out can flatten and become smooth. The waver in your voice when you speak of them can be released.
Painless, permanent manual scar tissue release is available for any scar beginning, in most cases, eight weeks after the injury or surgery that caused it. Even decades after the scar healed, it can be improved.
You will lay on a warm massage table, in a peaceful room. For some scars you will remain fully clothed, and move clothes to expose the scar. If the scar is in a place that is hard to expose, and you have to partially undress, the surrounding area will be draped with a sheet. Many people fall asleep during the session. Most report that it feels good, and is relaxing.
Depending on the size of the scar most sessions will be 60 or 90 minutes long. We will talk and assess the scar for the first ~10 minutes. I work on the scar for 40-70 minutes. Then we end with head and/or foot massage, or energy work to help your body integrate the scar work.
You will likely notice some improvements to your scar during the first session. Over the week or two following each session more changes may occur. Most people need three to five sessions to reach their goals for their scar. But some get what they need out of one session. I recommend scheduling subsequent sessions two to three weeks after the previous session. If you have less time available, we use the longest gap your schedule can accommodate. Longer gaps between sessions are fine. Note that very large scars take longer to treat, so they may take more sessions to reach desired results.
What kinds of scars can benefit?
- Painful scars
- Itchy scars
- Tight scars
- Deep scars
- Raised scars
- Keloid scars*
- Scars that you don’t like to look at
- Scars that you can’t stand to touch
- Cesarean scars -please come before subsequent pregnancies
- Epidural and lumbar puncture scars, especially if you have had new back pain since the epidural or lumbar puncture
- Breast and chest surgery scars- mastectomy, lumpectomy, reduction, top surgery, implants
- Biopsy and cyst removal scars
- MOHS scars
- Surgical scars from open surgeries
- Laparoscopic surgical scars
- Knee and hip replacement scars
- Radiation scars and radiation fibrosis
- Burn scars
- Skin graft scars
- Injection site scars (may not be visible)**
- Acne scars
- Scar tissue that lies below the skin, even if the surface of the skin is undamaged
Other conditions that can benefit from this work:
- Trigger finger
- Whiplash
- Plantar fasciitis
- Stretch marks
*A note on keloid scars:
It is possible to reduce or flatten some keloid scars. If you have them you may know that they can be sensitive and can grow if irritated. So we start with a small amount of very gentle work. Then we wait three weeks. If the scar doesn’t become irritated, we do a bit more gentle work, and wait again. (The first session may or may not reduce the size of the scar.) Once it is clear that the scar isn’t responding negatively we spend more time on it and begin to reduce it. The first couple sessions are 15 minutes and allow time for up to four small keloids, like from an ear piercing or small biopsy, or one or two larger ones. If we continue after the first two I will customize the session length to accommodate your scars, or we can do a longer session and use some of the time for massage of lymphatic drainage.
**A note on injection site scars:
Regularly used injection sites, like for diabetes medication, fertility treatment or testosterone, can receive work any time, no need to wait eight weeks. For ongoing injections it may be helpful to receive regular, maybe infrequent, maintenance sessions every one to six months. I am happy to include this as part of any other session if the area is small and doesn’t take up a full session.
