Soft tissue goes through many stages of healing in the months and years after an injury. Thick, fibrous scar tissue helps create structure so your body can repair your skin, muscles and connective tissue. As tissue heals, scar tissue can become restrictive, which may result in stiffness and reduced circulation. Scar tissue around nerves can cause compression, which is sometimes painful. At every stage in the healing process, physical therapy treatments can help relieve pain and stimulate healing for better long-term outcomes.
Persistent pain from scar tissue is common, but there are treatments that can help. In this blog post, we’ll share five reasons why your scar tissue may still be causing you pain years after a surgery or injury.
5 reasons why your scar tissue may still be causing you pain years after a surgery or injury
Scar tissue pain can happen for a number of different reasons. The location of your injury, the stage of healing, the treatments you’ve received, your movement patterns and other factors can affect your level of pain. It’s also common to experience itching, swelling and tenderness or sensitivity in and around scar tissue.
The following are five reasons why your scar tissue may still be causing you pain years after a surgery or injury:
- Adhesions restrict movement and pull on surrounding tissues.
Adhesions are places where tough scar tissue fibers cause layers of tissue to stick together. During the healing process, this helps strengthen the area. Once the inflammation and stiffness have subsided, adhesions can restrict normal movement and cause tightness and pain.
- Neurological entrapment causes chronic pain signals.
Scar tissue that forms around nerves can put pressure on them, affecting their function. You may feel pain, numbness, tingling or prickling sensations. Physical therapy treatments can help relieve pressure on entrapped nerves and create flexibility in the area.
- Scarred areas may have poor blood circulation.
Scar tissue is stiff and fibrous, so it can keep blood from circulating in the area. This limits the amount of oxygen and nutrients to surrounding tissue, which can cause chronic pain, stiffness and other health issues.
- Damaged nerves are healing.
Sometimes a scarred area doesn’t hurt until later on in the healing process because the nerves were damaged. Nerves have a slightly different process for regeneration than other tissue. If there’s too much scar tissue near newly healed nerves, you might start feeling pain several months or up to about two years after the initial injury.
- Compensatory movement patterns strain other areas.
If you’re not able to move parts of your body as usual because of scar tissue, this can affect overall movement patterns. You might find yourself feeling pain from strain and overuse in other areas.
- Psychological factors may amplify scar tissue pain.
Physical injuries can come along with psychological trauma and anxiety. When people are anxious, it puts their brains on the lookout for danger and pain signals. Anxiety can also make you avoid normal movements or behaviors that you associate with a risk of reinjury. However, healthy movement is an important part of the healing process. Over time, favoring the injured area and not using it can contribute to chronic pain.
Find relief from painful scarring at Forever Fit
When you’re healing from a surgery, an overuse injury, a sprain or another soft tissue injury, going to physical therapy early and often can help relieve pain from scar tissue. You may have heard that some techniques can help “break up” scar tissue, but that’s actually a myth. What we actually do is help the scar tissue form in a way that doesn’t limit mobility or create restrictions. Physical therapy treatments stretch and strengthen tissue at the appropriate time, especially in the first 12 weeks after an injury. They also decrease the muscle protective response in the area, decreasing pain and allowing you to move more freely without anticipated pain that reinforces tightness and stiffness.
The following are some physical therapy techniques that can help with scar tissue pain:
- Manual therapy — In this technique, the PT uses their hands to perform massage-like movements. This can loosen up adhesions, improve circulation and reduce stiffness.
- Instrument-assisted soft tissue manipulation (IASTM) — In IASTM, the PT uses a set of stainless steel tools to find scar tissue beneath the skin and apply direct stimulation. This creates a more concentrated experience, like a deep tissue massage.
- The Graston Technique — The Graston Technique is a specific type of IASTM that uses a unique set of ergonomic tools.
- Dry needling — Unlike acupuncture, dry needling directly stimulates the affected area for more targeted relief. It is similar in that PTs insert long, thin needles at specific points. However, they may gently move the needle for increased stimulation.
Are you looking for ways to relieve scar tissue pain? At Forever Fit, we use natural techniques to provide personalized treatments for each patient. We offer most of the above treatments at our locations. For dry needling, book an appointment at our Rockville location.
Our friendly PTs are ready to listen to your concerns and help you start feeling better. Schedule an appointment and get started today.