A woman I worked with, about a year after she had her second child, hadn’t had her period since and was having horrible low back pain. I worked with her lower abdomen and found scar tissue and worked it out. Her lower back pain subsided that day, and one week later, she called me and reported that she had her period. It is amazing work!

Old impact injuries, surgeries and even repetitive strain injuries often leave behind scar tissue. This restricts surrounding blood vessels, nerves, and muscle function often resulting in a lot of pain. It can be real tricky to identify when it is scar tissue that is causing problems.

Very often my clients will come in complaining of low back pain, and upon inquiry and exploration of the tissues, I feel scar tissue and learn that he or she had some sort of injury or surgery (sometimes 20+ years ago.) Hernia repair surgeries and C-sections are the most common source of the scar tissue, but it can be from many other things.

A client of mine came to me because he was having poor circulation in his legs and his balance was decreasing. This was a huge problem because he loves to stand-up paddle board. Upon exploration, I discovered lots of scar tissue, and he told me he had double inguinal hernia repairs 25 years ago. After only 6 sessions, his balance and circulation returned to better than it had been in 10 years. He later told me that he had been having prostate issues, and that had gone away as well.

Massage addresses the scar tissue and adhesions (knots formed in soft tissue), by breaking it up and bringing proper blood flow to the area. Imagine your tissues are stuck together like velcro. Things can’t move or flow in it. Through massage techniques, that stuck tissue is broken up so the tissues can contract and relax with ease again, and so that oxygen and nutrients can return to the area.

Another client I started working with four years ago was sent to me by his physical trainer because he was having a hard time doing much of any exercise. It all just hurt! As it turns out,10 years ago he had major abdominal surgery to replace his pancreas and kidneys then another one to fix a complication with his colon. What I felt in his abdomen was layers upon layers of scar tissue. It took us about a year of working directly on the scar tissue, but he was able to return to exercise, golf (his favorite exercise) and travel with no pain. He reported feeling lighter, more mobile and having better digestion.

If you are having pain, numbness or tingling I recommend getting a medical massage to see if you have scar tissue.