Scar
From Make Me Heal
Contents |
What Is Scar Tissue?
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Scar Therapy & Healing Solutions
There are various scar healing methods for treating scar tissue, with the aim of reducing the scar and minimizing its appearance. These methods include sun protection, silicone gels and sheets, vitamin, botanical & natural remedies, massage, and other scar healing solutions.
Protecting Scars From The Sun
Following any procedure that results in a scar, it is imperative that your wounds and scars that subsequently form are protected from the sun at all times for 6-9 months or longer. If you don’t protect your scars, then they can get yellow with sun exposure or hyperpigment and darken instead. Therefore, if you are going to be outdoors – regardless of whether it is sunny or cloudy outside - you should definitely use a sunscreen with a skin-protection factor (SPF) of 15 or greater at all times. Sunscreen should be applied on your surgical regions for the first 6 months of the post-op period. However, you should not apply your sunscreen on open wounds because it can irritate them. You may apply a sunscreen on the incision areas once they have closed, which typically occurs sometime after 1-3 weeks post-op. For this reason, it is advised to do your best to avoid the sun altogether during the first 1-2 weeks of post-op when a sunscreen may not be applied directly on your incision areas. Even with sunscreen, incisions that are exposed to the sun can still be permanently affected and never turn white. Because sunscreen products usually need to be put 15-30 minutes prior to sun exposure, you will need to apply your sunscreen a bit of time before you decide to go outside. Be sure to read the instructions on the product label, as sunscreens usually need to be applied every few hours (3-6 hours) to remain effective. The effectiveness of your sunblock may also be affected by how long you are out in the sun, whether you are sweating, exercising, or being in contact with water. So you will need to apply your sunscreen more often if you are engaging in any of these activities. As an added way to protect yourself from the sun, it is highly recommended to wear clothes or accessories (such as a hat) that cover your scars when you go outside for the first month of post-op and maybe even longer -- the longer the better. If your procedure led to scars in the face or neck, wearing your hair in a way that covers your scars will also benefit your scar healing.This also applies to tanning beds as the radiation from these will affect scars just as much as from natural sunlight. Keeping your scars completely covered while using a tanning bed is advisable for at least 6 months to 1 year or until they have turned white.
Silicone Gels & Sheets
Silicone gels, creams and adhesive silicone sheets promote scar reduction and make your scar less noticeable. These products can reduce, flatten, and soften the scar size, thickness, height, and color of all types of new and old scars, post-surgery scars, keloids, hypertrophic scars, and scars caused by injury, trauma, and burns.
Silicone scar products help reduce scar appearance by forming a protective barrier over the skin surface, increasing hydration, pressure, and oxygen tension, and maintaining the skin’s moisture.
Silicone gels are recommended for areas that are visible to the eye and places where a sheet is not convenient to use. Self-adhesive silicone sheets come in various shapes and sizes and can stick to any body area. Sheets offer the added advantage of putting pressure on the scar, which benefits scar reduction. These gels and sheets should only be applied after wounds have fully closed.
Vitamin, Botanical & Natural Remedies
Patients also use scar creams made of vitamins, botanical extracts, and other ingredients that help fade the scar. Patients have reported improved scar appearance with Vitamin K, and Vitamin C creams, copper peptide gels, arnica montana cream, and cocoa butter.
Massage
Once the incisions have fully closed and scars have formed in such areas, a widely practiced method among patients for promoting better healing of the scars and minimizing their appearance is massage of the scar regions. This practice should only be undertaken once the skin is no longer fragile and vulnerable to pressure, which can occur anywhere around 2-4 weeks post-op. Using clean fingers, one can gently massage the scar up to a few times a day for a period of several minutes or longer per session. Massage reportedly helps smooth out thick scars and may help in stopping a scar from growing larger during the initial phase of the scar formation. Massage may help prevent the scar tissue from 'sticking' to the fascia, which can result in fleshy pockets forming along either side of the incision line. The massaging of the scar area exerts pressure that can help break down fibers of collagen that make up the scar tissue. Because collagen is normally laid down randomly during the initial phase of the scar evolution, some research indicates that mechanical tension from massaging movements may reportedly help limit the growth and size of the scar and promote more evenness in the scar formation. Additionally, massaging of the scars facilitates blood circulation to the area, which is also beneficial to the healing of the scars. It is worthwhile to note that performing more massage than the ranges discussed here or doing too rough a massage may lead to inflammation. Some patients have used massagers to perform their manual massage. A good number of patients combine their manual massaging with the application of moisturizers, creams and oils, copper peptide creams, and cocoa butter. The addition of moisturizing products to the massaging process can make the ritual more soothing and easier, as well as also enable you to relieve the itching and irritation that can occur in the scar areas. Similarly, some patients also apply scar healing creams and gels (discussed in this article) at the same time as they massage to speed up their scar care routine. Once believed to improve the look of scars, topical application of Vitamin E oil is now discouraged by most surgeons. It is more likely to either do nothing or cause a local reaction. Therefore, it is suggested that vitamin E be taken by mouth only. Antibiotic ointments must also be used with caution unless prescribed by your physician as they have been known in some patients to cause redness and blistering.
But how, exactly, does one effectively massage a scar? Shari Aizenman, a massage therapist who frequently works with scar tissue, explains how:
NOW THAT’S A NICE SCAR!
Lessons on Scar Tissue by Shari Aizenman, Massage Therapist
reprinted from HeadLines, April, 2004
Scar tissue??? Doesn’t sound so bad, does it? I mean, we have all cut ourselves, maybe had a surgery, and, of course, it needs to heal, so what? So EVERYTHING! That’s what! Knowing the anatomy of scar tissue and what to do with it and about it can mean the difference between freedom and bondage. Excuse me if I sound like I am on a soapbox, I am. As a massage therapist practicing for seventeen years, I have touched more scars than I can count. None of them have been exactly alike, although each of them has something in common; they want to hold on!
Scar tissue forms as a natural part of healing of all tissues in the body that have been damaged. Aren’t you surprised that a broken bone can actually heal and possibly the healed part will be stronger than the rest of the bone? All of this happens because the inherent nature of the body is to be as whole as possible and to maintain homeostasis, which is a relatively stable state of equilibrium. So, what’s the big deal?
In its desire to maintain balance, the body repair process is not as simple as it may seem. The human body’s cellular structure is so well designed. Soft tissues are designed for strength as well as flexibility, and the cellular construction is what determines both. Where more strength is needed the cells are more dense and fibrous. Where flexibility is desired, cells are less dense and less fibrous. Where strength and flexibility are both desired, the structure is even more complex.
To insure the best performance in soft tissues, the cells are designed in rows and spirals. When there is disruption in soft tissue, like a cut, for example, collagen fibers form at the injury site in a manner I compare to mayhem. These fibers have only one thing in mind: STITCH and MEND!
Again, what’s the big deal? Remember that inherent design process? When it is disrupted, the flexibility in the tissue is compromised. What does that mean to you? If you are an average healer, maybe not much, especially on superficial (close to the surface of the body) scars. But all scar tissue is not as simple as what it may seem on the surface. Scars can bind deeper tissues, tying its collagen fibers around organs and other layers of fascia, the fibrous connective tissue that surrounds all soft tissues in the body. This can mean a lifetime of bondage in some cases.Aha! You have a scar, you say? And you want to know what to do about it? Don’t fret! All scar tissue, no matter how old, can be addressed with a special type of massage known as friction or deep friction. The definition of friction in this case is: the movement of superficial tissue over deep tissue. Friction is done by locking the superficial tissue down over the deeper tissue and moving back and forth over the affected area. Scar tissue becomes more like normal tissue through the breakdown of unnecessary collagen fibers and with repeated treatments, and the effects are cumulative.In this treatment, no lubricant is used. After treatment, I encourage you to use pure 100% cocoa butter to rub into your scar as frequently as you like. This will soften the scar and eventually, the scar will begin to disappear. You can begin treating your scar as soon as the stitches are removed, beginning lightly on a fresh scar, deeper on an older one. Pure cocoa butter can be purchased from a beauty supply or health food store. It will be in solid form, easily melted as you rub your fingers on it or rub it directly on your scar.
Here is the first step for using the “friction” technique. Look in a mirror and know exactly where the superficial scar’s borders are. Palpate your scar. Do you have full sensation or is it numb? You need to get to know the feel to your fingers of the surrounding tissue and of the scar tissue being treated. Is your scar thick and bumpy? Or smooth in some places and irregular in others? Can you pick up your scar, as if it is free from the tissue beneath it? Or is it just stuck? The thicker and bumpier and more stuck the scar, the more work it needs.
Next, make a plan of action. If you can press your scar against a bony structure, here is the plan for you. Use your index and middle fingers to press your scar against the bony structure underneath. Using a back and forth motion, hold the scar down and move the scar over the underlying tissue. Go back and forth twenty or so times, using enough pressure to pull the scar tissue away, a little at a time, from the deeper tissue. Move two finger widths at a time over the scar until the entire scar is treated. When you are finished doing this “cross-fiber” friction, go over the scar again using a circular motion, pressing the tissue down as before.
If you can’t press the scar against a bony structure here is the plan for you. Squeeze the scar between your index finger and thumb (adding your middle finger if possible), as if pinching it, lift and roll the tissue back and forth.
When you have treated the scar fully this way, roll it again in circles between your fingers. You may need to utilize two thumbs or maybe even two index fingers on with two hands. The important thing is to get the scar between two moving, opposing forces to cause a friction reaction.
How often should you treat your scar and what should you expect with continued treatments? Touch your scar daily if not more often. You cannot touch it too much. Your scar is just like every other part of your body and needs love and attention!
No matter what your skin tone, in the beginning, you may notice that your scar looks reddened, and the tissue around it may also become pinker. This is from the increased blood flow to the area. Good for you!! Increased blood flow means increased oxygen (which is carried in the blood) and faster healing. Your scar may be a little sensitive due to the increased attention. If you feel a bruised sensation, back off your treatments to every other day. Use cocoa butter daily after treatment. Your scar may be numb but that will change and sensation should gradually return to most of it and the surrounding soft tissue. Remember that touch is the ultimate form of self-love. This is a gift to yourself!!
No Drinking or Smoking
Avoid drinking alcohol and smoking for 2-4 weeks pre-op and 2-4 weeks post-op because this can lead to poor scar healing. Ideally, at least one month should elapse between your last cigarette and the day of your surgery. Most post-operative problems with healing are usually traced back to patients continuing to smoke in spite of their best efforts to quit. Tissue needs oxygen and good circulation to heal properly. When this healing is inhibited by the constrictive effects of smoking, necrosis and skin slough can occur. For example, when large flaps of tissue are sewn together after a tummy tuck, blood flow and circulation to these areas is crucial in order for healing to take place. In the case of breast lifts, the nipple-areolar complex is sutured to breast tissue and new connections of circulation must develop. Smoking is very dangerous to new tissue in the early healing stage and interferes with this. If you are having difficulty putting away your cigarettes, ask your doctor to prescribe prescription medication or patches.
See Also
Sunscreens
Scar Reduction Creams & Gels
Scar Reduction Sheets
Arnica Montana Creams
Arnica montana
Sunscreens
