There are several unfavorable effects of scar tissue formation following surgery. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health or NIH, the body puts down scar tissue after an injury or surgery as a way to heal its wounds. The degree of scarring depends on the following factors: wound size, depth and location, a person& age and skin characteristics, including skin color or pigmentation. Post-surgical scar tissue can unfavorably alter joint range of motion, depending on the scar tissue & location.
According to the University of Washington & Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, post-surgical scar tissue tends to recur and can reduce joint range of motion unless movement therapy and stretching is begun immediately after surgery. Post-surgical scar tissue and adhesions can cause discomfort or pain, despite the fact that most scar tissue itself is not sensitive to pain.
According to the Myofascial Release Clinic website, scar tissue put down after surgery may pull on other areas, compress nerves, blood vessels and organs and limit physiological functioning. This can cause pain or dysfunction. In fact, scar tissue can restrict many layers of muscle and connective tissue, which can cause varying degrees of pain or discomfort. Scar tissue is weaker, less elastic and more prone to re-injury than normal, healthy tissue, and can lead to chronic pain if it affects the functioning of other structures--especially nerves and blood vessels. Painful post-surgical scar tissue may also indicate the presence of an infection in the involved area, which should be evaluated by a physician as soon as possible.
The human body is a self-contained organism with everything it needs to thrive existing within it. Any intrusion into this sealed environment, such as the incision for an operation, upsets the body’s natural processes and leaves residual trauma from the “injury” behind. The result is a scar that not only holds the negative energetic memory of the event, but also acts as a barrier that prevents the natural flow of the body’s energy from going beyond or through that point. The effect is an accumulation or stagnation of energy that often results in new physical problems cropping up in the same general area of the body.
This happens because scar tissue disrupts the pathways along which our life energy flows, called meridians. These invisible pathways run throughout the body, penetrating every cell, organ, and system, vitalizing them with the life energy they need to function optimally. The source of this energy is the earth. The 12 major meridians pass through many areas of the body but are named for the major organ or system along their route.
They include the lung, large intestine, spleen, stomach, heart, small intestine, bladder, kidney, pericardium (circulation/sex), triple warmer (head, also assists pericardium meridian), liver, and gallbladder meridians. Because alternative therapies such as acupuncture are achieving much success with patients, more traditional healthcare institutions are only now beginning to investigate the importance of energy meridians.
Photo used courtesy of AcupunctureMoxibustion.com
If we think of energy meridians as highways that run through the body, a scar is a roadblock along that route. Keep in mind that scarring from either surgeries or injuries can be internal, as well. These roadblocks create a condition known as reverse polarity and can affect the body’s energy flow in one of two ways.
As we’ve seen, the barrier a scar creates results in turbulence as moving energy hits the wall and begins to backup in that location. This over-saturation creates new health problems in the same area or in the vicinity where the energy is radiating. There are three effective ways to treat a scar to decrease its negative effects on health. One is with a red laser, the stronger the better, and simply painting over the scar with the back-and-forth motion for 3 to 5 minutes is an effective treatment, 5 to 10 treatments might be necessary depending on the condition. Applying wheat germ oil or lavender oil is also effective. With wheat germ oil you can take it internally as well to get those internal scars. Again applying the oil on the scar both crisscross and along the course of the scar is an effective approach do this daily until we can’t get a reading over the scar anymore.