When skin or organs are damaged, the body naturally wants to heal itself. A lesion to the skin causes scar tissue, forcing the body to respond in a way that closes any openings. The body cannot re-create healthy skin tissue to replace that which is damaged. Consisting of fibers, this barrier is not much more useful than as a protective layer. When this barrier is completely healed, it is known as a scar.
What is scar tissue? Scar tissue is the fibrous connective tissue which forms a scar; it can be found on any tissue on the body, including skin and internal organs. This tissue is not as functional as regular skin tissue as it doesn't support sweat gland or hair growth in addition to being less resistant to UV rays.
Scar tissue is denser and paler than the surrounding skin as the blood that reaches it is limited. Even though it has a pertinent role, it is limited in function. Scar tissue symptoms therefore include restrictions in movement and blood circulation as well as tactile sensitivity.
Scars that are reddish in color, protrude and remain within the shape of the injured region are known as hypertrophic scars. Hypertrophic and keloid scars can occur in anyone but are more common in younger and dark skinned people. Keloids, similar to hypertrophic scars but continue to grow outside of scar borders, have been known to form without injury.
Scars can also form due to stretching of the skin. Stretch marks most typically form due to the rapid stretching of skin that occurs during pregnancies and growth spurts. Scar tissue will form regardless after surgery. Surgeons know, however, how best to cut the skin so that it will heal with as little scar as possible.
Scar Tissue Treatments
Most people involve themselves in some form of scar minimizing technique during their lifetimes. When considering different treatments for removing scar tissue, make sure to keep in mind that there is no method that will 100% get rid of and heal scar tissue. Still, there are a variety of very promising methods to treat different types of scarring.
If scarring is very dense, a professional surgery or other method might be necessary.
Laser resurfacing is a recent advancement in removing scars. In the majority of these procedures, a laser is used to vaporize skin cells, stimulating new cell growth. Theoretically, if all scarred tissue is vaporized, the scar should vanish. Laser technology is still being developed but has a promising future in removing scars without a trace.
Massage is used for those scars involving muscles, tendons, joints or ligaments. A soothing motion is applied to relax the muscle groups involved and help to restore function to any nerves that may also have sustained injury.
Deep tissue therapy is a type of massage aimed at the deeper tissue structures of the muscle and fascia. Deep tissue massage is a powerful massage but can be likened to a stronger Swedish massage.
Surgeries literally remove the scar but will leave behind new scar tissue. The original scar will be less obvious but that which remains, although smaller or less noticeable, may still be visible. Surgery is not recommended for hypertrophic or keloid scarring, as there is the risk of recurrence and worse scarring.
A cream to help heal and remove scars might also be recommended by your doctor.
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