Think about it… is your knee not attached to your leg? Is that not attached to your hip? And isn’t your hip connected to your abdomen? If you have a C-section scar, it can literally be contributing or causing knee pain. The problem is not always where the pain is. You see podiatrists working with this logic all the time – align the feet, the rest of the body follows and the hip/back/neck pain miraculously disappears! The thing about scar tissue is that it is inelastic. While the rest of your skin and facia “slides and glides” your scar tissue is stuck. Furthermore, scars are more than just skin deep. Sometimes a simple surface scar can “spider-web” throughout your pelvis, connecting organs that didn’t used to be connected and causing blockages or “stuckness” where there shouldn’t be. The effects of scars are long-reaching; from digestive pain, posture problems, hip, back, and knee problems, to emotional distresses – scars can contribute or be the root cause. But what to do about it? I am SO GLAD you asked! There’s heaps you can do! If you’ve been treating knee/foot/back/digestive/emotional pain the conventional way and it hasn’t been working, you can complement these therapies with:
- Chi Nei Tsang, which can also be described as Abdominal Detox Massage. An Eastern abdominal massage technique that releases and softens scars, not just on the skin but throughout the abdomen, including organ adhesion. Read more here: https://into-you.com.au/abdominal-scar-release-is-back-on-a-new-level/). A practitioner will work with the meridian pathways, acupressure points, fascial networks and internal organs through massage.
- Acupuncture. Acupuncture can break up scar tissue and encourage it’s replacement with “slide and glide” tissues. Read more about how this is used here: https://ultrahealth.net.au/is-acupuncture-an-effective-scar-tissue-treatment/.
- Scar Release Massage. Some massage therapists take an elective course to release scars, and it works very well, but their treatments are mostly skin-deep, since they’re not usually trained in organ manipulation as well. You can look up the scar release therapists that we have found on the Northern Beaches here: https://into-you.com.au/for-mums/referral.
- Lymphatic Massage. Your lymphatic system is the garbage disposal of your body. You have a large number of nodes in your abdomen and groin, and a scar in this area can affect the Lymphatic’s system’s function. Regular lymphatic massage can improve the appearance AND function of the scar and tissues surrounding the scar. A great article on how this is achieved can be found here: https://www.themovementclinic.com/lymphatic-drainage-and-scar-tissue/.
- Soft Tissue Release. A technique that many personal trainers are utilising in the gym without realising it! When your trainer has you rolling your quads on a foam roller, or releasing your piriformis on a spikey ball, you are releasing the tissues around your scar, and taking the pressure off of it. Direct release is not advised with supervision from a qualified manual or physiotherapist.
- Movement. Different forms of movement encourage neural reconnections across the scar. Deep core qualified trainers understand that the fingers are literally connected to the toes along “facial pathways” and can release, re-connect, and co-ordinate the muscles and tissues around a scar with movement. You can look up an appropriately qualified personal trainer here: https://burrelledaustralia.com/directory.
- Neural Stimulation. Nerves = life. Different forms of touch and stimulation, applied directly to your scar will help it rebuild function. Some ideas include stroking with a feather, ice packs, heat packs, vibration, massage in 4 directions (think up and down, left and right, circles, and diagonals), light slapping, gentle scratching, and using different textured clothes or tools (dragged across the skin or used for massage, like silk vs wool, a wooden spoon vs a crystal, etc).
NONE of these treatments should hurt or cause pain.
When we experience pain, anywhere, it is an indication that something needs to change – but the tricky thing is that it is not always the thing that hurts that needs to change. Whether it is a physical injury or a dysfunction in any of our internal systems (digestive, reproductive, endocrine, respiratory, lymphatic) Chi Nei Tsang, or any of the above techniques will work to clear an area of your body that is coagulated, rigid, and slow moving.
Clare Hozack is an ex-athlete and owner and founder of IntoYou, Life Enhancement Centre. Clare is currently a Strength and Conditioning Coach, using her skills to return women to functionality after having kids, and providing education for personal trainers in how to train women better for Life. You can learn more about Clare and IntoYou on Facebook and Insta @IntoYouLife. Book a Nutrition Consult (via Zoom or in our Collaroy Plateau Studio) at https://intoyou.setmore.com